US-based fast food chain Chick-fil-A reaches its goal to serve antibiotic-free chicken at all restaurants

KFC India strengthens its efforts to provide support to team members and communities in need through the ongoing Covid wave.

As part of its ‘KFC Care’campaign, the brand has undertaken various relief initiatives. Supported by the Yum! Foundation, KFC Care pledges to provide medical supplies & essentials to hospitals, food relief kits and home care Covid kits to underprivileged families.

To safeguard the safety and well-being of its team members across India, the brand has extended a Vaccination Drive for its team members, including delivery riders & restaurant managers, across 480+ KFC restaurants in the country.

“Since the onset of the pandemic last year, we have been making efforts to combat its impact on communities in need. Stepping up our efforts this year, we have extended support to our team members and identified need areas as hospital supplies to charitable hospitals, food kits as well as home care Covid essentials for underprivileged families,” said Samir Menon, MD, KFC India.

In association with partners as ResponseNet and Smile Foundation, KFC Care would provide relief to families of migrant workers and daily wage labourers, with kits of food & hygiene essentials, serving more than 1 million meals.

To support underprivileged families nursing diagnosed patients, home care covid kits will be provided to them. In addition, medical equipment for Covid care will be provided to more than 50 public and charitable hospitals. Ramping up efforts to safeguard the health & safety of team members& customers, the brand is covering the cost of both vaccines to 10,000 team members, including delivery riders, and is extending amenities as flexibility in scheduling shifts, option to rest with time-off after getting vaccinated, etc. to get both shots done.

Considering  the ongoing uncertainty caused by Coronavirus outbreak, McDonald's in California said it may offer some franchisees rent deferrals as the restaurant shuts.

The global fast-food giant also said that the “negative financial impact” to its results cannot be reasonably estimated at this time because of the uncertainty of the the duration of the pandemic which has been disrupting the scope of business. 

McDonald’s is working with franchisees around the globe to support financial liquidity, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Franchisees operate about 90% of McDonald’s restaurants.

In the US the restaurants are operating with only drive-thru, takeout or delivery option with some locations having limited hours.

In its internationally operated markets segment in France and Canada they have limited operations. Some, in Italy and Spain, have closed all restaurants.

Operating hours for locations in the company’s international developmental licensed markets are driven by government regulations. In Japan, the majority of McDonald’s restaurants are open, while 95% of its locations in China are also operating.

McDonald’s long-term forecast for earnings per share growth is in the high-single digits and system wide sales growth in a range of 3% to 5%. The company said in late January it would add about 1,000 net new restaurants globally in 2020 and forecast global capital expenditures of about $2.4 billion.

McDonald’s shares were relatively flat in pre-market trading. The stock, which has a market value of nearly $115 billion, has fallen nearly 25% since the start of the year. 

With a focus on Delivery, McDonald’s India (North and East) has partnered with Swiggy, one of India’s leading food delivery platforms. The partnership with Swiggy will allow McDonald’s to reach out to new customers, offering additional growth potential for its business.

The service will be available through more than 125 McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India.

Robert Hunghanfoo, Head, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd, said, “We are excited to be available for customers on Swiggy and are committed to deliver a great experience every time they order from us.”

Delivery is one of the key growth drivers for McDonald’s, not only in India but also globally.

“Delivery provides us a way to both attract new customers and regain customers who have not ordered from us for a while. It also enables us to service and win over those customers who are seeking convenience in this increasingly fast paced world,” Robert added.

Srivats TS, VP Marketing at Swiggy, stated, “We know our consumers love the convenience of getting their favorite dishes right at their doorstep. Through this partnership, we look forward to delighting our consumers in the North and East of India who can now order their McDonald’s menu favourites seamlessly through Swiggy.”

With one of India’s leading food delivery platforms Swiggy on board, McDonald’s will offer increased accessibility and availability of McDelivery to its customers in North and East India.

QSR’s Statistical View

As per a recent report, the Food Industry is no doubt booming at a fast rate, with Full-service restaurants and Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) together accounting for around 73% of the total restaurant industry.

According to the report by the National Restaurant Association of India, the overall restaurant market will touch Rs 510 billion in the next four years, from the current Rs 205 billion. It said that QSR space would be amongst the fastest-growing, touching nearly Rs 250 billion of the overall market in the next few years.

Popularity of QSR in India

QSRs have gained popularity with evolving lifestyles, urbanisation, and growing nuclear families. They are growing faster than the full-service restaurants across the globe due to their quick deliveries and competitive pricing that attract consumers. McDonald’s was the first QSR in India followed by various others such as KFC and Dominos.

QSRs have always been a zone of attraction for both consumers and business investors, making its franchises a lucrative segment for investment. QSR can be a one-stop destination for budding entrepreneurs that are stepping in this industry for the first time.

Papa John’s has added vegan pizzas to the menu at its over 70 locations across Spain. With this, the US-based pizza chain becomes the first fast-food chain to offer vegan pizza in Spain.

These new additions have been developed in collaboration with the vegan brand Beyond Meat and United Kingdom-based campaign Veganuary.

Papa John’s new menu will feature two pizzas, including Papa John’s Green, made with tomato sauce, onions, black olives, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, and vegan cheese, and Papa John’s Green PLUS, made with tomato sauce, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, vegan cheese, and topped with plant-based Beyond Burger meat. 

Javier Aranguíz, General Manager of Papa John’s Spain, said, “With this launch, we are continuing our commitment to quality ingredients and we are excited to partner up with Beyond Meat, a market leader in plant-based meats, to respond to new consumer trends like the growing demand for plant-based options. Papa John’s Green offers our customers two new pizzas for all those who want to reduce their consumption of animal protein without giving up the best pizza.”

Why Papa John’s introduced vegan pizzas in Spain?

As per the research conducted by Papa John’s, 86.2% of Spaniards prefer meatless pizza toppings, with 65% willing to reduce their meat consumption citing various reasons such as health, animal welfare, and environmental issues.

Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer of Beyond Meat, stated, “We are excited to introduce consumers to our agreement with Papa John’s that offers a pizza with the usual taste and quality, and with the added nutritional and environmental benefits, of plant-based meat. Papa John’s is a global brand and we look forward to continuing to work with them to offer new options to their customers.” 

Growing Pizza Market

The Italian food format stood third in preference after Indian and Chinese five to six years ago. However, recent studies show that pizza is the biggest and the most profitable segment in the Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) format.

The Indian pizza market is dominated by Jubilant Food Works and Yum Brands, who own the widely recognisable brands Domino’s and Pizza Hut, respectively. However, other brands such as Sbarro, Papa John’s and Marco’s Pizza are also competing to spread their base in India. Thus, with the increase in the number of players, the market is ripe for investors.

Serving pizza via franchise route

Global and domestic pizza brands in India are expanding their stores through the franchise route throwing many opportunities for entrepreneurs in the country. Be it Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s,  Sbarro, Neopolitan Pizza or any other pizza brand, the majority of them are spreading their footprints via a franchise model in India. Domino’s Pizza has Jubilant FoodWorks Limited as it Master Franchisee.

US-based Wendy's will start serving an all new breakfast menu nationwide on March 2. Its breakfast menu will include a Breakfast Baconator, Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, and Frostyccino.

The fast food chain anticipates that breakfast sales will grow to at least 10% of its total daily sales.

Kurt Kane, President, US and Chief Commercial Officer of The Wendy's Company, said, “People deserve a delicious, affordable and higher quality breakfast than what they're currently getting, so that's exactly what we're going to serve when Wendy's launches breakfast nationally on March 2.”

“Our crew will be hand-cracking fresh eggs on all our breakfast sandwiches and leaning into the quality ingredients that have long set Wendy's apart from the competition. We've crafted unique sandwiches that will leave you craving another, like the Breakfast Baconator, which features a fresh-cracked egg, signature sausage patty and six strips of Applewood smoked bacon,” Kane added.

At present, the vast majority of Wendy's locations open at 10 a.m. for lunch; however, breakfast items are becoming a growing segment of the fast food industry.

QSR’s Statistical View

As per a recent report, the Food Industry is no doubt booming at a fast rate, with Full-service restaurants and Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) together accounting for around 73% of the total restaurant industry.

According to the report by the National Restaurant Association of India, the overall restaurant market will touch Rs 510 billion in the next four years, from the current Rs 205 billion. It said that QSR space would be amongst the fastest-growing, touching nearly Rs 250 billion of the overall market in the next few years. This segment is expected to witness increased activity via market expansion and entry by various players.

Popularity of QSR in India

QSRs have gained popularity with evolving lifestyles, urbanisation, and growing nuclear families. They are growing faster than the full-service restaurants across the globe due to their quick deliveries and competitive pricing that attract consumers. McDonald’s was the first QSR in India followed by various others such as KFC and Dominos.

QSRs have always been a zone of attraction for both consumers and business investors, making its franchises a lucrative segment for investment. QSR can be a one-stop destination for budding entrepreneurs that are stepping in this industry for the first time.

The Changing Behavior of Customers

Standardization across food outlet chains in terms of ambiance, hygiene, easy accessibility, and service has caused an instant interest in the mind of the customers, increasing the QSR’s footfall. QSR’s are helping Indians to warm up the western cuisines.

Despite Indian food being the ultimate winner, cuisines like Chinese, Mexican, Italian, and American are gaining significant popularity because of the curious customers who are willing to experiment with their taste buds.

Seeing the potential of the Indian food industry, more franchisors could be seen entering the QSR segment for marking their existence as a brand.

KFC and Pizza Hut have introduced a contactless delivery service in China in order to reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission of the deadly Wuhan-based coronavirus that continues to spread throughout the country. 

While placing an order online, customers can select the “contactless delivery” option and couriers will call to set a delivery location. Couriers will be waiting until the customer shows up before they take the food out of its carrying case and put it on the delivery location agreed on by both parties in advance.

Then, couriers will step back and watch from a distance of at least 10 feet as the customer picks up the food and leaves. Couriers are required to wear masks and disinfect their hands and delivery boxes following each delivery. 

Parent company Yum China said in a statement, “The health and wellbeing of our employees and customers is our top priority and the innovative new services will help reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus and protect our employees and customers.”

Contactless in-store pickup service

KFC and Pizza Hut have also launched a contactless in-store pickup service at several locations. These stores have installed the pickup racks.

All orders, both in-store and takeout, will be having takeout packaging in a bid to avoid exposing the food to potential viruses in the air.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, person-to-person transmission of the deadly Wuhan-based coronavirus takes place during close contact, or within about 6 feet, when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This virus has killed at least 362 people and infected over 17,000 worldwide.

Beyond Meat will come to KFC soon. The company will be supplying the plant-based “fried chicken” to several KFC stores in Tennessee and North Carolina. The move comes after a test conducted by KFC last year showed strong consumer demand.

Yum Brands Inc’s KFC is the first to launch a plant-based chicken, however, it follows fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and Dunkin in jumping on the plant-based bandwagon.

The new Beyond Fried Chicken will be available in nearly 100 stores in Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville; and surrounding areas from February 3 to February 23. It is produced by Beyond Meat exclusively for KFC.

While being provided at 60 restaurants in Charlotte and Nashville, the chain’s plan is to go nationwide if the test is successful. 

Andrea Zahumensky, Chief US Marketing Officer for KFC, said, “It blew us away. The proof will be in this expanded test to really tell us if this is something that has legs. What we are really seeing in this kind of movement that is sweeping the country is a desire for people to eat less animal protein and they do it for various reasons, sustainability, health reasons. Many people do it because they want to be part of the movement and it’s cool to do it.”

“We’ve really pushed the limits to develop plant-based chicken that I think will have KFC and plant-based protein fans saying, ‘That’s finger-lickin' good,’” Zahumensky added.

Ethan Brown, CEO and Founder, Beyond Meat, stated, “The response in Atlanta continues to underscore the growing consumer demand for high-quality, delicious plant-based meats. Together with KFC's team, we have created a plant-based chicken that looks, tastes and pulls apart like a chicken breast.”

KFC’ Beyond Fried Chicken is 80 calories per piece and looks a bit like a fried chicken nugget, with a sinewy texture designed to feel like chicken.

BrightStar, a franchise partner of the Californian-based burger chain Carl's Jr, is looking at tripling its footprint and seeking investment in India. With this expansion plan, the company is riding on the growth wave of the Indian food and beverage industry.

BrightStar has been granted exclusive Master Franchise rights of Carl's Jr in North India. The hospitality giant has been winning the Indian market with its customised consulting strategies which focus primarily on customer experience & product for matured and underpenetrated markets.

Presently, the brand is in expansion mode primarily in the Punjab-Chandigarh region, owing to its consumer demography and diverse range of products.

BrightStar is targeting to launch four more outlets by March 2020, with an aim to touch 20 store marks by the end of this year. The company’s present expansion strategy is aimed towards achieving higher ROI by utilization of economics of scale.

Presence of Carl's Jr

Currently, Carl's Jr India is operating four outlets at premium locations of Delhi-NCR with an estimated revenue of Rs 10.5 crore for the FY 2019-20 and with a positive EBITDA margins at the store level.

Beginning from a humble hot dog cart in 1941, Carl's Jr has become a global giant serving the best quality burgers across the world. The fast food chain has been a pioneer of the quick service restaurants (QSR) industry for the past 75 plus years.

With more than 3800 restaurants in 43 countries, Carl's Jr and sister brand Hardee's focus on fresh food made with only premium quality ingredients to offer big-juicy burgers, hand-scooped ice-cream milkshakes and hand-breaded chicken.

The burger chain features a superior dining experience, which includes innovative menu items made-to-order and served hot and fresh at your table, all in a modern, upscale and spacious environment, while also having options of take away, drive-thru and home delivery for its guests.

Carl's Jr India

Carl's Jr India is known for its high-quality products made from a variety of fresh and healthy ingredients. The burger chain offers great taste at a great value to its guests and leads the industry in class and innovation.

In India, Carl's Jr has invested more than $1.5 million for substantial consumer research, product development & tasting trials, which has helped it to create a full line of fresh and flavourful premium vegetarian & non-vegetarian options.

The brand provides guests a wide range of products designed to meet the Indian palate, in addition to several signatures Carl's Jr menu items available globally.

Inspired by Indian taste palate, McDonald’s has introduced ‘Dosa Masala’ burger to its menu across restaurants in north and east of India. Priced at Rs 59, the new burger is a part of the all-day menu and will be available across all restaurants in north and east of India.

The new Dosa Masala burger is made with a tasty and spicy grilled vegetable patty flavored with a mix of Indian spices, exclusively crafted by McDonald’s for its Indian customers to deliver the iconic taste customers know and love. The patty is topped with a tangy rasam sauce to give a burst of authentic regional flavors, and all that packed in a whole wheat bun topped with black and white sesame seeds.

Ajita Saxena, Director (Marketing), McDonald’s, North and East India, said, “We are excited to bring Dosa Masala burger to our customers in north and east of India. We have a proud legacy of bringing authentic local flavors to our customers. McAloo Tikki is one such menu item that is very popular among our consumers here.”

“With Dosa Masala, we are providing more options in the vegetarian menu, staying close to the Indian taste palate. At McDonald’s, we remain committed to develop products as per the tastes and preferences of our customers,” Saxena added.

McDonald’s recent launch of its breakfast in North & East of India

Recently, McDonald’s launched its popular breakfast menu in the north and east of India, which has received positive feedback from the customers.

The menu offers a choice of breakfast options such as Veg McMuffin, Egg & Cheese McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, Egg & Sausage McMuffin, Hotcakes, Hash brown along with coffee and available beverages.

Adding delight to the mornings, McDonald’s is offering the choice of a complimentary beverage with Veg McMuffin or Egg & Cheese McMuffin. Additionally, dine-in customers can enjoy unlimited coffee refills during breakfast hours.

Saxena stated, “Our customers are at the core of everything that we do at McDonald’s. We have been receiving continuous customer feedback to bring the breakfast menu back in North and East of India. We are excited to launch breakfast with a variety of menu items. We look forward to their continuous patronage.”

McDonald’s top priority is to deliver overall value with the highest quality restaurant experience to the customers by offering hot, fresh, great-tasting food with fast, friendly service, in a welcoming, comfortable environment. Consumer’s willingness to explore different options makes McDonald’s breakfast a great choice.

McDonald’s has launched its popular breakfast across restaurants in North and East of India. The menu offers a choice of breakfast options such as Veg McMuffin, Egg & Cheese McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, Egg & Sausage McMuffin, Hotcakes, Hash brown along with coffee and available beverages.

Currently, select restaurants across North and East of India will serve breakfast between 8 am to 11 am with extended timings in highway Drive-thru restaurants. McDonald’s breakfast will also be available through McDelivery.

Adding delight to the mornings, McDonald’s is offering the choice of a complimentary beverage with Veg McMuffin or Egg & Cheese McMuffin. Additionally, dine-in customers can enjoy unlimited coffee refills during breakfast hours.

Ajita Saxena, Director, Marketing, McDonald’s, North and East India, said, “Our customers are at the core of everything that we do at McDonald’s. We have been receiving continuous customer feedback to bring the breakfast menu back in North and East of India. We are excited to launch breakfast with a variety of menu items. We look forward to their continuous patronage.”

McDonald’s top priority is to deliver overall value with the highest quality restaurant experience to the customers by offering hot, fresh, great-tasting food with fast, friendly service, in a welcoming, comfortable environment. Consumer’s willingness to explore different options makes McDonald’s breakfast a great choice.

“Our breakfast menu items are very popular across the globe and we are sure that our customers here will love it too,” Ajita added.

Among the must-try items in the McDonald’s breakfast menu are the fluffy steamed Hotcakes that are served with butter and maple flavoured syrup. McDonald’s coffee is made with 100% Arabica beans. 

McDonald’s to soon bring its first-ever fully vegan meal in the UK

McDonald's will soon launch its first-ever fully vegan meal, joining a growing list of fast food restaurants selling fully vegan meals in the UK. The move follows the likes of KFC and Greggs in introducing vegan options.

The brand will launch its Veggie Dippers meal, including vegan nuggets, served with chips and a soft drink, in the UK on 2 January.

The new dippers of McDonald's are made of rice, red peppers, tomato pesto and split peas, fried in breadcrumbs. This product will be fried separately from products containing meat and will be served with McDonald's UK chips, which are vegan-friendly.

The recent development by McDonald's comes as restaurants are capitalising on increasing demand from UK customers for vegetarian and vegan food options.

The fast food chain announced that in the last 12 months it had seen an 80% uplift in customers ordering vegetarian options.

McDonald's will soon launch its first-ever fully vegan meal, joining a growing list of fast food restaurants selling fully vegan meals in the UK. The move follows the likes of KFC and Greggs in introducing vegan options.

The brand will launch its Veggie Dippers meal, including vegan nuggets served with chips and a soft drink, in the UK on 2 January.

Animal rights activists Peta said, “A vegan meal was the very definition of a happy meal.”

The new dippers of McDonald's are made of rice, red peppers, tomato pesto and split peas, fried in breadcrumbs. This product will be fried separately from products containing meat and will be served with McDonald's UK chips, which are vegan-friendly.

The recent development by McDonald's comes as restaurants are capitalising on increasing demand from UK customers for vegetarian and vegan food options.

The fast food chain announced that in the last 12 months it had seen an 80% uplift in customers ordering vegetarian options.

McDonald's is the latest fast food chain to serve vegan products. Greggs unveiled a vegan sausage roll at the beginning of the year, which it credited with boosting sales. Other chains with vegan options are Frankie & Benny's, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Nando's, Papa John's and Pizza Hut.

McDonald's Announces Ian Borden as President, International

Recently, McDonald's has also announced Ian Borden as President, International, effective immediately. He was most recently the President, International Developmental Licensed (IDL) Markets.

Ian Borden will be continuing his reporting to Chris Kempczinski, President and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's. This development follows the appointment of Joe Erlinger to President of McDonald's USA.

Chris Kempczinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's, said, “Ian has a proven record of focusing on the customer to deliver profitable business growth while strengthening collaboration with our global franchise community.”

“His deep experiences leading McDonald's in markets across the world uniquely position him to connect the dots to drive strong results. I'm delighted to announce his expanded role for McDonald's and am confident he and the talented leaders in our wholly-owned and developmentally licensed markets will make McDonald's even better throughout the communities in which we operate,” Kempczinski added.

Borden will be assuming oversight for all international markets in his new role. These markets include International Operated Markets (IOM) that comprises all wholly-owned markets outside of the US, in addition to over 80 markets in the IDL segment that he oversees in his current role.

Borden stated, “Our international markets have strong momentum and incredible growth opportunities. I look forward to working closely with franchisees, suppliers and company teams across all of our international markets to strengthen the ties between McDonald's and our customers.”

Jollibee is eyeing at expanding its store network in North America to 250 by 2023.

The announcement comes after the inauguration of Jollibee’s new North American headquarters in West Covina, California. The new 28,000 sq ft headquarters will be serving as a center of operations for Jollibee and its sister brands Chowking and Red Ribbon.

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), the parent company of the brand, is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies. It has identified North America as a key growth market in its pursuit to be among the top five restaurant companies in the world.

Jollibee, the largest fast food chain brand in the Philippines, is operating a Philippine network of over 1,400 stores.

In North America, Filipino fast food joint launched its first store in 1998 in Daly City, California. Jollibee now operates 46 stores across the region, including locations in California, New York, and Texas, and in Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta in Canada.

The company said, “The new Jollibee headquarters will ably support operations around North America in its quest to become a major fast food player in the region.”

The fast food chain has a restaurant network of more than 1400 at home and over 230 elsewhere abroad. Its parent company JFC has more than 5800 restaurants in 35 countries globally.

Fast Food Market in India

Almost the entire urban population starting from kids to the college-going students, from vegetarians to non-vegetarians, everyone is fond of fast foods. One just looks out for occasions to make an excuse and bump into fast food restaurants.

Indian fast food segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% by 2020 due to changing consumer behavior and demography, says a report produced by Research and Markets.

In India, the fast food market is likely to be worth $ 27.57 billion by 2020.

About 10% of the fast food market in the country is organized. NOVONOUS expects that the organized fast food market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27% by 2020.

Vegetarian fast food constitutes of around 45% of the whole fast food market in India and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% by 2020.

As per a report, the global fast food market was valued at more than $539.63 billion in 2016. It is expected to reach above $690.80 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of slightly above 4.20% between 2017 and 2022.

Burger Singh is planning to add 10 more outlets in its existing market before the end of this year. Launched in 2014, the home-grown fast food chain has a presence in West and North India with 30 outlets in Delhi NCR, Jaipur, Dehradun, Nagpur and Pune.

The burger chain has forayed into the UK market with two outlets in London. It targets to drive Burger Singh’s international expansion by taking Indian flavours across the world.

The brand has secured $6 million in Series A funding from both strategic and angel investors till date.

Also Read: Top 8 QSR Segments That Are Steaming Hot Franchise Opportunities

Burger Singh selling fries at Re 1 to woo young foodies 

The fast food chain has recently launched a witty and unique marketing campaign, providing fries complimentary with any burger at just Re 1. This has been done to attract youngsters to its stores. The brand is known for its Indian taste and flavours in comparison to other burger brands in the QSR category.

In order to generate buzz and popularise the campaign, Burger Singh has chosen offline branding and has connected with one thousand auto-rickshaws in Delhi-NCR. The QSR chain has also collaborated with apps like Inshorts and Saavn to advertise on the digital medium.

Kabir Jeet Singh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Burger Singh, said, “We get a lot of repeat customers because of our fries. We've curated an entire category around fries with 4 distinct flavours. Our target audience is just about anyone who loves to eat ‘burgers and fries’, everyone from school children to working professionals.”

Also Read: Reasons Why QSR Franchise Is Booming In India

Burger Franchise booming in India

In India, increase in disposable income has, in turn, increased the frequency of dining out. According to another report, the Indian fast food market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% by 2020 due to changing consumer behaviour and demography. This further indicates that India is sailing in the same boat as the US when it comes to fast food consumption. 

Burgers are widely known as the most beloved food of the Americans. On average, Americans eat three burgers a week and about 14 billion burgers a year.

After the entry of popular US-based QSR chains like McDonald’s and Burger King in India, burgers have gained popularity in the country too.

Burger’s popularity has made it a lucrative QSR franchise for Indian players. An Indian home-grown brand Burger Singh is also operating on the franchise model. The brand has become one of the most innovative and popular burger chains with a presence in pan Asia and the UK.

Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd, McDonald's India franchisee, has pulled the government to court over no input tax credit in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework for restaurants.

Presently, restaurants are levied a 5% GST, however, they can’t claim the input tax credit against the tax they paid on raw materials and other expenses such as rent.

In November 2017, the GST rate on restaurants was cut to 5% from 18%. The 18% GST allowed these restaurants to claim the input tax credit, under the 5% rate, they can’t do that.

Last week, a Council appearing for Hardcastle, Rohan Shah, filed a writ petition in the Gujarat High Court and notices were issued to the government to file a reply in this regard.

Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY India, said, “A lower rate while optically has fared well with customers, a denial of input tax credit to restaurant businesses has increased their tax costs. These businesses have for long been discussing with the government on an optional higher rate with input tax credit and would now also look forward to the final High Court Ruling on this.”

Burger King has partnered with Unilever’s meat alternative business, The Vegetarian Butcher, to introduce a new plant-based burger. The burger chain is launching the Rebel Whopper in its over 2,500 restaurants across 25 countries in Europe.

The development comes three months after Burger King announced plans to unveil a plant-based burger in the US containing meat-free patties developed by Impossible Foods.

David Shear, President of Burger King EMEA, said, “We are confident that the Rebel Whopper is the sandwich everyone has been waiting for and provides the ultimate plant-based patty alternative with the iconic Whopper build,” said. “I’m excited to let the Rebel Whopper do the talking and see whether our guests can tell the difference.”

Hanneke Faber, President, Unilever foods and refreshment, added, “Less than a year after acquiring The Vegetarian Butcher in the Netherlands, we are excited to partner with the iconic Burger King brand across Europe. The new Rebel Whopper powered by The Vegetarian Butcher offers meat lovers a fabulous meat-free experience.”

Burger King is planning to double the number of stores in India by the end of next year with the funds from IPO. Recently, the US-based fast food chain has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the Indian market.

A Marketing Executive of Burger King said, “We are looking for aggressive expansion. The brand has received a good response, and with the IPO, we are looking to double our stores by the end of next year.”

Burger King India has filed for an IPO to raise at least Rs 400 crore. Of these, the brand is looking to use Rs 290 crore to launch new restaurants.

Burger King’s first restaurant in India was opened in 2014. It competes with market leaders like McDonald’s and KFC. Currently, the burger chain has 216 company-owned and eight sub-franchised restaurants across 47 cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Kochi.

The company targets to introduce restaurants in new areas, but has ruled out the regional franchise model.

Burger King said in its draft prospectus, “We also intend to open restaurants in new areas and markets where we believe there is a strong potential for growth, in addition to taking advantage of the growing online delivery market, including through engagement with delivery aggregators.”

Domino’s Pizza, the market leader in the chained pizza segment in India, has unveiled its new campaign ‘Dil, Dosti, Domino’s’. The campaign aims to strengthen the emotional connect with the consumers by creating tasty and memorable moments of togetherness while capturing it in the new tagline “Dil, Dosti, Domino’s”.

Domino’s has been a progressive brand in many ways. The promise of ‘30 minutes or free’ a decade ago was well ahead of its time. Even today, the brand continues to stay connected with emerging consumer trends.

The consumers today are seeking brands that are authentic, inclusive and engaging. So whether it was about acknowledging consumer feedback and launching ‘All New Domino’s’ product improvement campaign, offering great value to consumer with the ‘Everyday Value’ campaign, offering best in class digital ordering experience on the ‘Domino’s App’ or offering variety to the consumers through exciting launches like ‘World Pizza League’, Domino’s has always attempted to stay relevant to the new age consumer.  

Kapil Grover, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino’s Pizza India, said, “Today, relationships have evolved from what they were a few years ago, especially relationships between Friends and Families. Hierarchical parental relationships no longer bind families. There is a lot of mutual respect and friendship amongst kids and parents today. Similarly, with the family structures changing, friends have become your new support system and in fact an extended family for a lot of us. And if we recall these moments, good food has always been a glue for relationships, especially Domino’s Pizza being a shareable product has been at the centre of many such stories where “Friends Become Family and Families Become Friends.”

Swati Bhattacharya, CCO, FCB Ulka, stated, “Domino’s pizza is designed to be shared for people to gather around the "magic circle", pull at a cheesy slice and fight for the last bite. And in this very act of sharing and connecting, formality and boundaries get dissolved. Friends become like family, and family becomes like friends. Our campaign captures this essence of Domino’s and its role in the Indian consumer’s life.”

McDonald’s Corp has named Christopher J. Kempczinski as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Kempczinski replaces Stephen J. Easterbrook, who left McDonald’s following the disclosure that he violated company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee.

McDonald’s Corp has appointed Kempczinski in 2015, when he was responsible for global strategy, business development and innovation. Recently, he was serving as President of McDonald’s USA.

Enrique Hernandez Jr., Chairman of the board, said, “Chris takes the reins of this great company at a time of strong, sustained performance, and the board has every confidence that he is the best leader to set the vision and drive the plans for the company’s continued success.”

“He has the right mix of skills and experience to lead us forward having run our US business, where franchisees are delivering strong financial and operational results, and overseen global strategy, business development and innovation,” Enrique added.

Joseph M. Erlinger will be replacing Kempczinski as President of the US business. Prior to this new appointment, Erlinger was President of the company’s international business.

McDonald's famed Happy Meal is officially turning 40 years old this year, after being launched in the US in June 1979.

In order to celebrate this milestone, the fast food brand is bringing back some of its most iconic Happy Meal toys from the last four decades so big kids will be able to reminisce about the good old days. 

The limited-edition series is called the Surprise Happy Meal. McDonald’s restaurants in over 90 countries around the world are participating in the Surprise Happy Meal promotion.

 Steve Easterbrook, CEO of McDonald’s, said, "Since the Happy Meal was introduced on the menu, it quickly became synonymous with our brand. Today, this iconic red box creates lasting memories for billions of families annually across the world."

Colin Mitchell, Senior Vice President of global marketing, McDonald’s, stated, "Parents tell us how fondly they recall their favorite toys. So, unboxing the Surprise Happy Meal together creates a real moment of bonding with their children. We hope these toys are something that they will treasure and remember."

Burger King will soon offer its two plant-based meat offerings across Europe. The company’s aim is to develop meat substitutes that resemble real meat as much as possible, in terms of appearance, taste and texture. 

The fast food chain will serve the ‘Rebel Whopper’ and the ‘Rebel Chicken King’ in all of Europe, after the burgers had already been launched in Sweden before the summer.

In June, Burger King said that it created Rebel menu items for the Swedish market with Vivera, a Dutch producer of meat substitute products. In September, the burger chain also stated that it’s working with Marfrig Global Foods SA and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. to produce a meatless Rebel Whopper for Brazil.

Burger King’s foray into Europe follows its introduction in the US of the Impossible Whopper, a meatless version of the chain’s famous sandwich with a patty from Impossible Foods Inc. The Impossible Whopper is available in Burger King’s over 7,000 US locations.

American restaurant chain Johnny Rockets is planning to launch 23 new restaurants in 2019. These restaurants will be opened across Asia, South America, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Stephen O’Connor, Senior Vice President, International Business, Johnny Rockets, said, “Our success outside of the U.S. is a critical aspect of our company’s growth and is contributing to our current momentum. Our rapid expansion stems largely from our timeless all-American brand that deeply and instantly connects with consumers around the globe. The combination of our craveable menu items, engaging experiential elements and casual California-themed décor creates a unique dining occasion for our guests that keep them coming back for more.”

The restaurant chain has already unveiled eight restaurants this year in Brazil (2), South Korea (2), Chile, Mexico, Peru and North Cyprus. In addition to this, 15 openings are scheduled through December in Brazil (3), Italy (2), Nigeria (2), Spain, Oman, Chile, Indonesia, South Korea, Peru, Mexico and Bangladesh.

“Our new design is an opportunity to lean into the brand’s nostalgic elements like our jukeboxes, soda fountains and California heritage, and combine that with contemporary elements such as vibrant murals. We are also remodeling existing units with key Fusion elements that create a unique dining experience,” O’Connor added

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Carl’s Jr. has unveiled a new menu item ‘the Beyond BBQ Cheeseburger’, expanding its partnership with Beyond Meat. The launch follows the success of its Beyond Famous Star.

The new offering will feature some of the fast food chain’s most popular ingredients like a Beyond Burger patty topped with Carl's Jr. original BBQ sauce, American cheese and crispy onion rings.

Patty Trevino, SVP of Brand Marketing, Carl’s Jr., said, “After seeing the overwhelming demand for our Beyond Famous Star, in true Carl’s Jr. fashion we knew it was time to give customers even more plant-based innovations to delight their taste buds. With one Western Bacon Cheeseburger sold every second, we saw this as the perfect flavor inspiration and so the new Carl’s Jr. Beyond BBQ Cheeseburger was born.”

“We’re always looking for the next great way to innovate and deliver the most craveable burgers, and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with industry leader Beyond Meat to bring new and exciting flavors to our customers,” Trevino added.

Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat, stated, “It’s been great to see the strong positive consumer response Carl’s Jr. has received since launching the Beyond Burger on-menu as more and more consumers look for delicious plant-based meat options. The on-menu expansion of Beyond Meat reflects Carl’s Jr.’s continued enthusiasm around the brand partnership and commitment to delivering innovative options for their customers.”

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Tim Hortons has promoted Axel Schwan to Regional President of its Canada and the US business, effective immediately. Earlier, he was the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Tim Hortons.

Schwan will continue to report to Alex Macedo, Global Brand President at Tim Hortons.

In its new role, Axel will oversee growing the restaurant business in both markets with a particular focus on delivering stable, profitable growth in both markets.

Axel Schwan said, “I am deeply humbled to work at such an iconic brand as Tim Hortons. Having grown up in a family of restauranteurs and working as a restaurant operator myself, I look forward to continuing to work closely with our 1,500 restaurant owners across Canada and the rest of the Tim Hortons family in providing exceptional products and service to all our guests.”

Alex Macedo stated, “Since joining the Tim Hortons brand two years ago, Axel has led our innovation work in coffee, including developing our new Fresh Brewers – our largest coffee innovation in 55 years. He has been essential to our work underway today on our core product innovation pipeline in breakfast, donuts and baked goods and has led our efforts in brand-based advertising.”

The fast food chain has over 4,800 system-wide restaurants located in Canada, the United States and around the world.

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McThai Co, who is operating McDonald's restaurants in Thailand, has unveiled a mobile app. This app will be collecting more data on customers amid increasing competition in fast food and online delivery.

Thunyachate Ekvetchavit, Managing Director of McThai, said, “As the leading QSR (quick service restaurant), McDonald's continues to lift up our customer experience by bringing new technology, including big data and algorithms, to deliver the best product and service that meet the individual customer's needs.”

The app is designed with a personalisation tool as part of a new marketing strategy. It is different from earlier ones that focused on mass marketing.

“This will differentiate us from others in the competitive QSR landscape with the bolder and better customer experience and ensure that they enjoy our new application,” Thunyachate stated.

The app will be providing deals on menu items depending on personal preferences and offering access to the existing McDelivery service.

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McDonald's USA and Grubhub, the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace, is expanding delivery across New York and the surrounding Tristate area, following the partnership announcement last month.

With this expansion, customers can now order McDelivery from approximately 500 McDonald's locations on Grubhub and the company's New York brand, Seamless. 

Katie Hunt-Rotolo, McDonald's Owner/Operator and President of the New York Tri-state Owner/Operators Association, said, “At McDonald's, we are committed to finding innovative ways to best serve our customers, whether that be in-restaurant or in the comfort of their homes. Through this partnership with Grubhub, we are thrilled to create more options for them to enjoy their favorite McDonald's menu items via McDelivery.”

“We're pleased to see the excitement our customers have shown for McDelivery being available on Grubhub and Seamless across New York and the Tri-state area, and we're proud to offer them new levels of choice and convenience,” Katie added.

Seth Priebatsch, Head of the enterprise at Grubhub, stated, “Giving our diners the best restaurant options and more of their favorites is a top priority, and adding McDonald's to that list is an exciting moment. In less than 60 days, we've been able to integrate, pilot, and launch our availability to millions throughout New York and other markets, making the dream of McDelivery even more of a reality.”

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US-based Burger King has reported a 66% increase in sales in India in the year to March 2019. The burger chain also significantly narrowed its losses. The development comes on the back of aggressive expansion, entry-level pricing and largest vegetarian menu within global quick service restaurant chains.

In FY18-19, the QSR chain posted sales of Rs 644 crore while its losses reduced to Rs 16 crore. It forayed into the Indian market in 2014.

India has been the fastest growing market for Burger King in terms of store expansion. Last fiscal, the QSR chain added about 58 stores, taking the store count to 187.

Rajeev Varma, CEO, Burger King India, said, “Even before we started the first restaurant, we were clear that Burger King’s offerings need to be truly Indian. Our menu width means we are able to offer burgers that cater to the Indian palate and attract customers looking for everyday value.”

“In the last five years, we have focused on a strong expansion plan through strategic investment in brand building and national supply chain development and operational efficiencies,” he added.

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McDonald's has made a comeback of its saucy fan-favorite McRib. The fast food chain will introduce McRib to its menu at 10,000 restaurants across the United States.

McRib is a boneless pork sandwich, made with a tangy barbecue sauce and topped with onions and pickles on a long seeded roll. It has earned cult status over the years for its limited-time run.

Chef Chad Schafer, Senior Director of Culinary Innovation & Commercialization, McDonald’s USA, said, “We’re always listening to our customers and we know the McRib has some of the most loyal fans. This year we’re excited to give every McRib fan new ways to show their love for the sandwich with our saucy McRib GIFS so they can celebrate the season no matter where they live.”

The boneless pork sandwich usually rolls out around the fall, sticking around for about four to six weeks before being whisked off once.

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McDonald's is now testing a vegetarian burger in Canada, dipping another foot into the world of plant-based “meat”.

The fast food giant will be selling the “PLT”, standing for “Plant.Lettuce.Tomato”, for 12 weeks in 28 restaurants in Ontario by the end of the month.

Ann Wahlgren, Vice President of global menu strategy, McDonald's, said, “McDonald's has a proud legacy of fun, delicious and craveable food, and now, we're extending that to a test of a juicy, plant-based burger. We've been working on our recipe and now we're ready to hear feedback from our customers.”

McDonald's rivals are also making a push into the fast-growing plan-based business.

In April, Burger King launched a vegetarian "Whopper", while KFC, also with Beyond Meat, has sold plant-based nuggets.

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McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India, operated by Westlife Development, have eliminated all single-use customer-facing plastic with eco-friendly and biodegradable alternatives.

The government announced October 2, 2019, as the deadline for single-use plastic elimination across India. However, Westlife Development has been replacing plastic at its restaurants since 2017.

McDonald’s has substituted plastic cutlery with wooden cutlery and plastic cups with superior quality paper cups. The company has further launched bio-degradable lids for hot and cold beverages and unveiled straws made from corn starch extract and eventually replaced them with paper straws.

The company said, “Westlife Development is committed to supporting the government’s vision of making India greener and drive sustainability. It has been undertaking initiatives to optimize energy consumption across electricity, gas, and diesel through its proprietary Energy Management System.”

“It has also started converting the Used Cooking Oil from the restaurants to 100% bio-diesel to fuel the delivery trucks. In addition to this, the paper used for the packaging is FSC certified. Through these initiatives, the company has cut its carbon footprint by 4300 tonnes,” it added.

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Philippines-based fast food chain Jollibee Food Corps is planning to expand in the United States, Canada, and China. The expansion plans come following Jollibee’s $350 million acquisition of US coffee chain Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL)

These expansion plans are expected to include more mergers and acquisitions.

The fast food chain is eyeing to earn 30% of its revenue in the US in a decade’s time. It is further looking to lift revenue in China to 30% of overall sales, while the Philippines would fall to 30%.

Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee, said, “We want to spread our portfolio and risk. There’s a huge opportunity out there.”

In 2018, Jollibee Food Corps also acquired Denver-based fast food restaurant Smashburger. As of 2018, the burger chain has 370 outlets located in 9 countries.

Jollibee is aiming to have six brands each in the United States and China. It has 16 brands or franchises to its name.

Currently, Jollibee has five brands in the US market. The Philippines-based chain has three brands in China, including the Dunkin Donuts franchise, as well as the Yonghe King noodle and Hong Zhuang Yuan congee restaurant chains.

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Wendy’s is planning to expand its breakfast menu to help increase sales.

Currently, the Dublin-based fast-food chain’s breakfast menu is available in more than 300 restaurants across the United States. Wendy’s will expand its breakfast menu nationwide in 2020.

The burger brand will be adding breakfast items like the Breakfast Baconator, Frosty-ccino and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit.

Todd Penegor, President and CEO, Wendy’s, said, “Launching breakfast in our U.S. restaurants nationwide provides incredible growth opportunities.”

“We are well-positioned to pursue it. We believe we have the right team and structure in place, and we put Wendy's fan favorites on our breakfast menu to set us apart from the competition,” Penegor added.

In order to support the expansion into breakfast, Wendy’s and its franchisees plan to hire about 20,000 crew members. The firm’s estimated investment in breakfast would be about $20 million.

The fast food chain has about 6,700 restaurants worldwide.

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McDonald's has signed a deal to buy a Silicon Valley-based start-up Apprente, specializing in conversational voice-based ordering technology. This is McDonald’s third tech deal in the past six months. It fits into its push to lean more heavily on machines and artificial intelligence to increase sales.

The fast food giant said that Apprente’s technology understands different accents and is expected to allow for faster, simpler and more accurate order taking at the Drive-Thru. The technology could also be incorporated into kiosks and mobile ordering.

Steve Easterbrook, President and CEO, McDonald's, said, “Building our technology infrastructure and digital capabilities are fundamental to our Velocity Growth Plan and enable us to meet rising expectations from our customers, while making it simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests.”

Founded in 2017, Apprente creates voice-based platforms for complex, multilingual, multi-accent and multi-item conversational ordering and uses neuroscience-based artificial intelligence technology.

Itamar Arel, Co-Founder of Apprente, stated, “Apprente was borne out of an opportunity to use technology to solve challenging real-world problems and we’re thrilled to now apply this to creating personalized experiences for customers and crew.”

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The latest fast food battle is all about mac and cheese. Earlier, the American fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A rolled out its new mac and cheese side.

Now, KFC is debuting Mac & Cheese Bowls. Using its legendary Mac & Cheese as a base, the new Bowl offering also includes Popcorn Chicken before being topped with a delectable Three-Cheese Blend.

Andrea Zahumensky, Chief Marketer of KFC US, said, “Mac and Cheese has a cult-like following, and bowl food is a trend that isn't going away anytime soon. So, it made perfect sense to call up a favorite side dish to the big leagues, in a way that only we could, with Mac and Cheese Bowls."

KFC said, “Arriving just in time for "back to school" season, the new Mac & Cheese Bowl $5 Fill Up comes complete with a medium drink and chocolate chip cookie. It's an abundant, convenient, filling and affordable meal that's a perfect grab-n-go dinner (or lunch!) for the whole family for just $5 (price and participation may vary; tax extra). In addition to Mac & Cheese Bowls, KFC offers a full line up of $5 Fill Ups, featuring KFC's world-famous fried chicken, Pot Pies and Famous Bowls.”

McDonald’s Happy Meal is back with Super Mario across all restaurants in North & East (N&E) India. Starting at Rs 147, customers can choose from the current favourites like McAlooTikki Burger, McEgg, Chicken McNuggets, McVeggie Burger, McChicken Burger, with a beverage and a toy.

Customers can collect a toy from the adventurous Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and five other characters from the Super Mario game, every time they buy a Happy Meal.

Happy Meal will now be a regular feature on the restaurant menu in N&E India and McDonald’s will continue to introduce an exclusive collection of toys across its restaurants. Customers across all age groups have largely associated Happy Meal with feelings of nostalgia and great joy along with the special toy that raises the happiness quotient.

Generations across the world have grown up with Happy Meal as well as Super Mario, thus bringing back loving childhood memories that the brand stands for.

Burger King will start selling its plant-based "Impossible Whopper" nationwide after a successful trial run in select US markets.

The fast food chain’s Impossible Whopper will be available, for a limited time, at over 7,000 US locations from next week.

Burger King introduced Impossible Whopper, which is made with plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, in dozens of locations in April. Some of the test markets include St Louis, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas and Baltimore.

Chris Finazzo, Burger King’s Executive, has said that the burger was particularly popular among "flexitarians", those who still eat meat, but less of it.

Rachel Konrad, Chief Communications Officer at Impossible Foods, stated, “The Impossible Whopper rollout had unquestionably raised the demand for their product. The Impossible Burger is a unique product in that the more you’re aware of it and the more it’s available, the more you order it everywhere you go.”

McDonald’s has launched new mini outlets with a reduced menu in order to serve its meals faster. The fast food giant’s first mini outlet is opened on Fleet Street in London.

These new outlets will be helping those who don’t have long for lunch, or who need to grab lunch super quickly so that they can get back to their desks. The outlets doesn't have in-store seating as it focuses on takeaways.

In a mini outlet, people don’t have to wait in queues, they will have to order food using a touchscreen. The outlet offers a more limited menu of favourites like Big Macs, McNuggets and Big Flavour Wraps, all of which staff will have ready at peak times.

Henry Trickey, Head of IT for McDonald’s, said, “Changing tastes, new technology and more competition mean we need to continue to innovate. We know that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ and that’s exactly why we are launching McDonald’s to Go.”

“We want to trial different formats in different locations, depending on customer needs,” he added.

McDonald's is aiming to cash in on the breakfast boom by extending the hours when its early morning menu is available.

The fast food chain is expanding a previous trial to serve its breakfast menu until 11 am, extended from 10.30am, at 120 sites across the South East. This means that 10% of McDonald’s restaurants in the UK will now offer extended breakfast hours.

The restaurants will be serving favourites like Egg McMuffins and hash browns until 11 am at 120 sites following an earlier trial.

McDonald's breakfast menu has continued to surge in popularity and its original trial at just seven restaurants was hugely successful. The company’s sales of main meal and side salads surged by 55% as it said that its better tasting products struck the right notes with hungry customers.

Paul Pomroy, Chief Executive of McDonald's UK, said, “The launch of these products in June helped McDonald's to deliver another strong quarter of growth. The retail sector has always been fast-moving, and today's world is a challenging one due to a number of factors including more competition.”

“Together with our franchisees we've invested in new technology and a more convenient experience including table service, McDelivery and our My McDonald's app,” he further stated.

Tim Hortons, owned by Restaurant Brands International, is adding JUST Egg vegan omelettes at select Canadian locations, including in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughn. With this, the fast-food chain expands its vegan options.

The coffee chain has signed a deal with US company Just Egg for bringing the new product.

Tim Hortons is market testing the mung bean-based egg omelettes, which can be ordered atop breakfast sandwiches. Plant-based eggs are gaining momentum in the food industry with US company Just Egg sealing a deal this week with Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons.

The brand is planning a nationwide rollout in the coming weeks.

Andrew Noyes, Spokesman of JUST, said, “Canada is one of the most requested markets for Just and we’re excited to be able to offer our product at select Tim Hortons locations for this market test.” 

Jane Almeida, Spokeswoman of Tim Hortons, stated, “We are always listening to our guests and testing a wide variety of potential products in select restaurants across the country. As you know, we recently introduced our Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches and Beyond Burger. As we continue to test and get feedback, we will consider expanding plant-based options into other menu items.”

Tim Hortons started offering meat substitutes last year when it partnered with Beyond Meat to launch the Beyond Burger to its menu.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc (Popeyes) is eyeing to launch more than 1,500 restaurants in China over the next 10 years. The franchise has over 3,100 locations in more than 25 countries worldwide, including the United States and Canada.

Josh Kobza, Chief Operating Officer of Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of Popeyes, said, "We're very excited to grow the Popeyes brand in the Chinese market. We look forward to bringing our great tasting chicken, biscuits, sides and beautiful new restaurants to our guests in China with our partner, TFI TAB Food Investments (TFI)."

Korhan Kurdoğlu, Vice Chairman and CEO, TFI, added, "We are proud to bring this famous brand to China and we look forward to introducing its bold new flavors to our guests. We plan to build on years of experience of growing successful businesses in China and around the world."

US-based Popeyes is the last of RBI's three brands to enter the Chinese market. RBI’s Burger King is operating in China since 2005 and has partnered with TFI since 2012. There are now over 1,000 Burger King restaurants in China.

Global bee declines main reasons are linked to industrial agriculture, parasites/pathogens and climate change. Bees and other pollinating insects play an essential role in ecosystems, and our food depends on their pollination.

Honeybees are one of the world's leading pollinators, for they are responsible for $30 billion a year in crops, and we depend on them and other pollinators for one-third of our food supply. Our produce sections in supermarkets would look bare without bees and our favorite foods, such as apples, carrots, lemons, onions, broccoli, and honey, would become a luxury of the past.

As per reports, bees die off from season to season, around 17% annually. But in recent years, losses have been more than twice as high.

After observing that bee populations are in decline and to inspire the public to help look after bees, several fast food chains are introducing innovative concepts.

Earlier, McDonald’s has opened its smallest restaurant, named McHive, in order to help protect bees. The tiny franchise is actually a fully functioning beehive, which is complete with everything the endangered insects need to thrive.

McHive’s idea has been developed in response to the already existing sustainability efforts in many Swedish McDonald’s restaurants, where individual stores have installed beehives on their rooftops.

Recently, Papa John's has created the world's first pizza for bees. Called the 'Beezza', the world's first pizza for bees is less than one inch in diameter and made with actual Papa John’s pizza dough. It has a passata base and is then topped with wild flowers. 

Thom Whitchurch from The Tiny Cookery School has developed this mini masterpiece. He hopes to inspire others to create bee-friendly areas in gardens, parks and green spaces.

Whitchurch said, “We did a lot of research into which ingredients should go on the pizza, and along with the knowledge and expertise from the team at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, we seem to have got the recipe spot on – the bees were loving it.”

Giles Codd, Marketing Director, Papa John's UK, added, “Bees are fundamental to the making of pizzas, so we wanted to give them a slice of the action and create one perfect for them, whilst raising awareness of the well-publicised issue of declining bee populations both here in the UK and across the globe.”