Taco Bell has opened its first store in India in the city of Bengaluru. Yum! Restaurants International, the international division of Yum! Brands, unveiled its first store at Mantri Mall in Malleswaram.
With its latest international opening, Taco Bell is set to give India a ‘taste of Mexico' with the offerings of crunchy tacos, burritos, grilled StuftBurritos, Crunchwraps, quesadillas, topped nachos and Volcano tacos. The wide menu is comprised of both vegetarian and non vegetarian options.
To cater to the diverse Indian taste. more than 50 percent of the menu at Taco Bell is vegetarian with several items have been specially created for India. These include Potato Paneer Burritos, Crunchy Taco Potato, Quesadilla and many others.
Taco Bell India will focus on its value positioning, and is the first quick-service brand in the country to offer free refills of Pepsi.
Taco Bell India's customer experience includes a self ordering kiosk, a state-of-the-art digital menu board and the Wonder Bell which will give consumers a chance to win amazing freebies, with prizes such as a free meal or a week's supply of tacos.
"We're extremely excited to introduce Taco Bell to India, a key growth market in our global portfolio," said Graham Allan, president of Yum! Restaurants International, in a news release. "As we continue to introduce the brand to several additional markets throughout 2010, we're very optimistic about the unique appeal of this brand and the way in which international customers are embracing it. In particular, Taco Bell has a strong tradition of value offerings, which we believe will play especially well in developing markets."
Taco Bell currently has nearly 5,600 stores in the United States and more than 250 stores outside the country.
Niren Chaudhary, managing director of Yum Restaurants India Pvt. Ltd., told Yum! Brands' investors late last year that the emphasis on the youthful atmosphere is designed to appeal to the majority of the country's population: of its 1.1 billion residents, 70 percent are under the age of 30. Taco Bell India should have 100 stores by 2015, part of Yum! Brands' plans to open 1,000 stores among its top three brands over the next five years.
