Fast food chain spreads wings

The city’s fried chicken pie is set to get chunkier this winter, with KFC pumping in around Rs 30 crore and opening four new outlets in town by the year-end.

The quick-service brand, serving Colonel Sander’s “original recipe” chicken made with “a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices”, has already spread its wings to City Centre New Town and South City Mall, after City Centre Salt Lake, Park Street and New Market.

“Kolkata’s overwhelming response to KFC forces us into a roadmap rethink every year, and we are looking at investing close to Rs 30 crore in this region,” said Hridesh Sarna, the senior manager (business development) of Devyani International Ltd, master franchisee for the US brand in India.

Besides a 100-cover KFC restaurant on the Rashbehari connector near Acropolis, a 60-cover stop at the Lake Town-VIP Road intersection and one in the Mani Square food court will also open “by 30 November”. A fourth KFC, in the Diamond City North mall on Jessore Road, is expected to join the gang by December-end.

“We are also bringing in a completely new look and feel through our new international template EDI (enhanced dine-in) design format with new graphics and murals to all our new outlets, while doing a comprehensive makeover of the existing ones,” stressed Sarna.

KFC will also unveil a “wide range of vegetarian products”, including the Veg Zinger Burger, as it goes in for “a total menu makeover”, adding new appetisers and more variety in garnishing, he added. A delivery format for KFC is also expected to roll out next year.

Founded by Colonel Sanders in the 1930s, KFC is the world’s largest quick service chicken restaurant chain having grown from one small restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, to more than 12,300 restaurants in over 80 countries.

KFC is a part of Yum! Brands Inc., which also owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silver’s. Devyani, which also franchises Pizza Hut in the country, will introduce two new Pizza Hut Delivery (PHD) outlets in Kolkata this year.

Lake Town will have a new Pizza Hut, while the group is scouting for a suitable property in south Kolkata for another delivery outlet.


The Telegraph Metro