Jubilant Foods expects Rs 1,000 crore business from Popeyes

QSR chain operator Jubilant Foods Ltd (JFL) expects its fried chicken brand Popeyes to cross Rs 1,000 crore in sales in the next 3-4 years, its CEO and MD Sameer Khetarpal said on Wednesday.

Besides, JFL, which is also a master franchisor of Domino's, is expanding its reach and is expected to have around 3,000 outlets in the medium term.

The company is going to "rapidly expand across" its QSR brands, with a key focus on Domino's as India is a "very rapidly expanding market" with more discretionary income, and urbanisation led by its growing economy.

When asked about its latest addition Popeyes, Khetarpal said: "We have got an outstanding response from Popeyes as a brand here." JFL, which opened its first store in Delhi on Wednesday and its 33rd store pan-India, has plans to add four more stores in the national capital region next week.

"We are rapidly expanding and Popeyes will be the fastest QSR chain to get Rs 1,000 crore in sales," Khetarpal told PTI. Typically, a QSR chain takes an average of 11-15 years to reach such a scale, he added.

"We are opening stores very rapidly. We will do 30 to 50 stores this financial year they're already there," Khetarpal said, adding that the company will continue to expand rapidly next year as well.

On the timeframe for Popeyes reaching Rs 1,000 crore in sales, Khetarpal said: "It will take 3 to 4 years. By FY28, it would absolutely reach there." JFL has plans to expand the presence of Popeyes to NCR and other prominent cities of North India.

The brand, launched by JFL in January 2022, is currently present in 10 cities in south India, and Delhi is the eleventh city. For the current fiscal year, the company has plans to invest similarly around Rs 750 crore on expansion and opening of new stores, he added.

JFL is also building food factories. At present, there are two factories -- the first one in Noida and the second in Bangalore, which was recently launched. It is also working on the third one.

The recently commissioned Jubilant Food Park Bangalore is the largest food processing unit. This facility is designed to serve 750-plus Domino's stores, and 300 stores of Popeyes, Hong's Kitchen, and Dunkin', according to the company.

About the expansion of Domino's, the largest brand in its kitty, Khetarpal said it is expanding rapidly both in metro and smaller towns and gaining market shares from the competitors.

"When we started...Domino's 27 years ago, we would have not imagined we would get to 2,000 stores. Our medium-term outlook remains 3,000 outlets in the next 4 years," he said. The potential is far more than 3,000 stores. There are 1,000 colleges, which have more than 5,000 students, but Domino's is not present.

"There are so many metro stations and airports that are being built, where we are not present. Opportunities are for beyond 3,000 outlets, but our medium-term outlook is to open 250 stores every year..." Khetarpal added.

Besides Domino's, JFL which is part of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, also has franchise rights to Dunkin' and Hong's Kitchen! "Expansion is on the way for all the brands," he added.

The expansion would be through company-owned stores but it is also trying for a franchise model, Khetarpal said. As of December 30, 2023, JFL was operating 1,928 Domino's stores, 25 stores of Dunkin' and 22 stores of Hong's Kitchen.