Australia’s premier food chain, Country Chicken, a complete turnkey fast-food restaurant, is set to make its India foray. Besides eyeing 300 outlet-strong chain in three years through the franchisee route, it is also planning to set up a processing unit near Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

The firm intends to invest around Rs 200 crore by 2015 to establish the food chain. It will also set up few processing units to help establish a national presence, with the first full-fledged processing unit set to come up near Vellore, about 140 km from Chennai.

“In order to establish a frozen-food chain, we need to have the processing unit at a location that will help us serve a larger market. We identified Vellore because it will enable us to cater to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh markets, besides Tamil Nadu, since for the processed-food industry, it is logistically important to have the right connectivity,” Rama Krishna, chief executive officer India, Country Chicken, told FC.

While the company will set up a smaller, temporary unit in Chennai to support initial operations, the unit near Vellore will attain full capability in three stages. “The unit will be fully operational in 18 months with a total investment of around Rs 50 crore,” he said.

While the food chain will establish two types of outlets – express take-away and larger fine-dining restaurants, mostly planned for the metros and other larger markets, the company is also targeting institutions – educational as well as IT parks – to serve a different set of products.

“In institutions, the normal lunch window available is just around an hour, but the food caterer has to handle a larger group of clientele. Hence, we will supply products in small sizes, directly to these kitchens, and they can be heated and served in quick time to utilise the available window,” he said.

In addition, the company, which undertook a study of the Indian market, found out that Indians are yet to open up to the idea of a frozen food full meal, but they are keen to try them as snack food. “In order to cater to this large market opportunity, we will service them with our range of snack food through the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) route,” he added.

As for the food chain, the company through its master franchisee, will start off with four outlets in Chennai alone by December this year. In two years, this will grow to 35 units in Tamil Nadu and 120 across the south. “We are an international brand, with plans to have a national presence and are comparable with chains like KFCs. We are launching from the south, as past experience shows the region gives a better feel for the national level launch, even as we are about to finalise our plans for the west,” he said.

govardand

@mydigitalfc.com