Announcement a day after new store opens in Bangalore.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: A day after it opened its 36th store in India, and which marked the first in south India, in Bangalore, Dunkin’ Donuts (NASDAQ:DNKN) said Friday that it plans to add 500 restaurants in India amid a global expansion drive.
The parent of its namesake coffee and donut restaurants and Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops said that in working with its master franchisee in India, Jubilant FoodWorks, it has opened 36 Dunkin’ Donuts stores in 12 cities across India, but plans to go much more in the long-term, reported Investor’s News Daily.
“Dunkin’ Donuts is well on its way to having a national presence in India,” John Varughese, vice president of Dunkin’ Brands India, Middle East and Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
To attract Indian consumers, the donuts and coffee chain serves regional products that cater to local tastes, such as the Wicked Wrap, which features marinated spicy chicken tenders and nachos wrapped in a multigrain tortilla, and Spiked Iced Tea, which is freshly brewed iced tea with spices, said Daily.
Dunkin’s announcement came a day after McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), the world’s largest burger chain, heated up competition in the U.S. breakfast market. McDonald’s said it has applied for a trademark on the term “McBrunch,” which some market watchers said could be a prelude to an expansion of the hours it offers its breakfast menu. McDonald’s has made a big coffee push in recent years.
Dunkin’ this week also announced expansion plans in the American Southwest, said Daily.
The company is recruiting Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees in several Texas communities and cities in and near San Antonio and Austin. It currently has 27 restaurants in the greater Houston, San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. The company also laid out plans to expand its Baskin-Robbins footprint in southern California, adding franchisees from San Diego to Santa Monica to Bakersfield.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Dunkin’ Donuts is preparing also a return to coffee-rich Brazil, but with plans to offer more than just caffeine and its namesake pastries.
After exiting Brazil in 2005 following a two-decade stint, the company is readying an ambitious plan to open about 150 stores around the country over the next few years, Jeremy Vitaro, vice president of international development for Dunkin’ Brands, said in an interview.