The Hindu Business Line : Soon on the outsourcing list: Pizzas

Till now it was quite possible that you picked up a dress overseas, only to realise that it was made in India. Well, soon that could be the case with your pizzas too.

United Pizza Restaurant Pvt Ltd, a Bangalore-based company operating a pizza restaurant chain called US Pizza, is planning a similar venture.

Mr Akbar Khwaja, Managing Director, told Business Line, “There are various pizza companies, especially European, which would find it credible to outsource pizzas from India.”

The company plans to start exporting ‘made in India’ pizzas through its under-construction factory in Bangalore, scheduled to go on stream by March 2008.

Under the arrangement, United Pizza would only have to take care of the production of pizza base with tomato puree and Indian cheese, minus the toppings. “European companies have their own logistics tie-up whereby the end-product would be exported through cold reefer containers,” he said. The same factory would supply pizzas to US Pizza’s express and delivery counters in India too, he added.

Apart from a factory, the pizza chain would also be investing in a research and development unit to study the demand of pizzas in the Indian market. He said the purpose of the unit would be to “invest in the basic product” and modify it to Indian taste and make it “healthier”. The facility is likely to be operational in Bangalore by January end.

Both ventures along with the chain’s expansion plans would attract an investment of about Rs 30 crore.

The pizza chain has tied up with Kotecha Capital for funding. The pizza company is negotiating a sale of 49 per cent stake, the actual details of which would be finalised by first week of January, he said. And part of the money from diluting the equity would go towards supporting the expansion, he indicated.

Currently, the estimated Rs 20-crore US Pizza has 59 outlets spread across India. The food company targets 99 outlets by end-2008.

The Indian pizza chain operates through large outlets, express and delivery counters. It plans to set up large restaurants, that contribute 70 per cent to its revenues.

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