Gaurav Burman, a scion of the group running consumer goods maker Dabur India and co-founder of India-focused PE firm Elephant Capital, along with other family members, has inked a pact with global quick service restaurant operator Yum! Brands Inc to come in as a franchisee partner for its QSR brand Taco Bell.
Besides Gaurav Burman, his brother Mohit and father VC Burman are also participating.
The Indian business family has formed a company called Burman Hospitality Pvt Ltd to house the venture. To begin with, it has become the franchisee for Delhi territory and it will expand into other cities later.
Burmans already have a presence in the food and restaurant space with Lite Bite Foods Pvt, which has already built a string of fine and casual dining restaurant chains besides being one of the franchisees in India for global QSR chain Subway. Some time ago, Mohit Burman also acquired a fine dining Italian restaurant in London.
“The Burman Family over the last 20 years has partnered with many of the leading Fortune 500 companies globally to bring their businesses to India. We look forward to opening Taco Bell restaurants across India and making it the most successful QSR brand in the country," said Gaurav Burman, director, Burman Hospitality.
Yum! Brands, which also runs brands like KFC and Pizza Hut, has been struggling to scale up the operations of Taco Bell. It had targeted to scale up the brand's presence to 100 stores by 2015 but still has just around half a dozen outlets in Bangalore and Mumbai. Unlike its other brands, all Taco Bells in India are operated by the firm directly.
“With a strong proof of concept in Bangalore and Mumbai, we are now eager to increase our footprint across India and are delighted to work with Burman Hospitality as part of our expansion strategy into northern states including New Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand," said Unnat Varma, general manager – Taco Bell & Pizza Hut.
Taco Bell's first store in north India, as part of the partnership with Burmans is expected to open later this month at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj. It aims to take the count to 25 restaurants with Burman Hospitality in next couple of years.
Taco Bell, America's largest Mexican fast food restaurant chain, has over 6,250 restaurants globally. It serves food including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and others to more than two billion people every year.
