Burger King readies India launch.

Burger King, the world's second-largest burger chain, is giving the final touches to its India launch, persons in the know said. The US chain, which has about 13,000 restaurants operating in 100 countries, has finalised three stores - one in Gurgaon, another in Noida and a third in Mumbai.

Burger King India's chief financial officer Tanmay Kumar confirmed that the US chain is looking at an India launch in the fourth quarter of the current calendar year. He, however, declined to divulge further details. He said stores would come up in Mumbai and Delhi national capital region in the first phase.

Burger King's entry is expected to heat up the burger market in India, dominated by McDonald's. According to a report by retail consultancy Technopak, the Indian food service market will soar to $92 billion (Rs. 5.52 lakh crore) by 2020 from $48 billion (Rs 2.88 lakh crore). Of this, the $3-billion (Rs. 18,000-crore) chained restaurant segment is expected to see the fastest growth rate of 15 per cent, with the size pegged to touch $8 billion (Rs. 48,000 crore) by 2020.


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