Investors behind Pizza Hut in Myanmar say they plan to open 20 restaurants in Yangon and around the country over the next five years. Hot on the heels of the opening of its first restaurant in Yangon, CM Jardine Restaurant Group opened its second outlet in early 2016, said Vipul Chawla, CEO of Pizza Hut, Yum Brands Asia.
Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and other international brands like Taco Bell.
“Pizza Hut has 25 restaurants for every million people in the United States. In Asia, there are 11 restaurants per million people. Myanmar has huge potential with a population of over 50 million dollars,” said Mr. Chawla the official launch of pizza Hut in Myanmar.
“We will expand from 15 to 20 restaurants over the next five years,” he said, adding that favorable conditions will lead to a faster expansion.
CM Jardine Restaurant Group is a joint venture between Jardine Restaurant Group Myanmar and City Mart Holding, owner of the Pizza Hut franchise in Myanmar.
Jardine Restaurant Group operates more than 680 Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants across Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
Daw Win Win Tint, CEO of City Mart said he is excited to “bring the Pizza Hut experience the people of Myanmar”.
The first restaurant was a mix of local and international staff, but the proportion of local employees will grow over time, said Henry Yip, CEO of Jardine Restaurant Group.
“Ninety-seven percent of our workforce is local and most of our ingredients are locally sourced,” he said. “We also invest heavily in training and professional development to ensure global best practices.”
While the flavor of the food will be recognizable to international guests, Pizza Hut uses a test kitchen to study the preferences of Myanmar, said Simon Arnold, CEO of Pizza Hut Myanmar.
“We studied the favorite flavors local customers and adapt our recipes accordingly,” he said. costs K11,000 a normal pizza and pasta is K4000.
The company declined to provide figures on the value of the investment.
While Jardine Restaurant Group also represents KFC in other parts of Asia, it has failed to obtain the franchise in Myanmar.
KFC in association with Serge Pun-chaired Yoma strategic holdings.
Yum is based in Kentucky and has more than 41,000 restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories. It was formed as a spin-off from PepsiCo in 1997 and a turnover of more than $ 13 billion now.
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