KFC India Receives Recognition in Top Food Service Brands
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Economic Times’ (India) Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands 2010 annual survey has named Pizza Hut the “Most Trusted Food Service Brand’ in India for the sixth year, ahead of all other Indian and global food service brands. Pizza Hut is also the only restaurant company to place in the Top 20 Service Brands list. KFC India was recognized for the first time by the survey with a spot in the top five of trusted food service brands. Pizza Hut and KFC India are part of Yum! Restaurants International (YRI), a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system units.
“Congratulations to our entire team in India,” said Graham Allan, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Restaurants International. “To be recognized for the sixth year as the most trusted food service brand is a true testament to our employees and franchisees. Their hard work, passion and professionalism have been instrumental in making Pizza Hut and KFC leaders in the food service rankings. India is an important emerging market for us. Both Pizza Hut and KFC are proving very popular with consumers and we recently introduced Taco Bell to India with a restaurant in Bangalore. We continue to make significant investments in India as part of our plan to capitalize on this large and rapidly growing market of more than 1 billion people,” added Allan.
The Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands Survey, which appears in The Economic Times’ September 1 edition, ranks the brands that have earned the trust and loyalty of consumers across India. The survey, conducted by ACNielsen’s ORG–MARG market research company, asked more than 8,000 participants, across different socio–economic, age, income and geographic backgrounds, various questions in order to determine each company’s overall trust score about the brands that consumers believe provide quality, consistency and reassurance.
“We are honored to have our Pizza Hut and KFC brands recognized as the most trusted food service brands in India,” said Niren Chaudhary, managing director, Yum! Restaurants International India. “The recognition reflects six years of Pizza Hut’s leading reputation in India and consumers’ enthusiasm for the Brand and demonstrates how we have successfully developed a strong Pizza Hut and KFC presence, highly skilled workforce and an innovative menu. This honor also recognizes the hard work of our passionate franchisees and Customer Maniacs in our restaurants who help provide outstanding service to our customers daily.”
Over the past 12 years, Yum! has become the largest and fastest growing restaurant company in India. As of the second quarter 2010 earnings, the Company had 159 Pizza Huts in 33 cities offering a range of localized products including masala pizza, chicken tikka appetizers and spicy Indian drinks. KFC is the fastest growing quick–service restaurant brand in India with 75 restaurants in 13 cities as of second quarter 2010 earnings. KFC is a young, vibrant brand in India from its contemporary restaurant designs featuring bold colors, open seating areas for large groups and flat–panel televisions to innovative marketing programs to unique signature products, including vegetarian items. The Company also opened the first Taco Bell in India earlier this year. By 2015, the Company forecasts 1,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in India, up from 235 restaurants as of second quarter 2010.
YRI, based in Dallas, Texas, is the largest division of Yum! Brands with more than 14,000 restaurants outside the U.S. and China. One of Yum! Brands’ four key business strategies is to drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere. In 2009, operating profit for YRI was $491 million. The year 2009 also marked the tenth year that YRI has opened more than 900 new restaurants outside the U.S. and China.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 37,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories. The company is ranked #216 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues of nearly $11 billion in 2009. Four of the company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, quick–service seafood, pizza and Mexican–style food categories. A&W Restaurants is the longest running quick–service franchise chain in America. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened more than four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development. The Company has consistently been recognized for its reward and recognition culture, diversity leadership, community giving, and consistent shareholder returns. In 2007, the Company launched World Hunger Relief, the world’s largest private sector hunger relief effort to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies. To date, this effort has raised nearly $60 million for WFP and other hunger relief agencies and is helping to provide approximately 250 million meals, saving the lives of millions of people in remote corners of the world where hunger is most prevalent.