American burger chain Burger King is launching its first outlet in Pune tomorrow, making its foray into the third Indian city after Mumbai and the NCR.

Located at Phoenix Market City on Ahmednagar Road, this will be the company’s 13th restaurant in the country.

“We have created an entirely new menu for India, and none of the products are from our global portfolio as we wanted to start from scratch,” Raj Varman, CEO, Burger King India, said.

This includes six vegetarian patties made from entirely different base materials, one with mutton, and six options in chicken, he said, adding that in India, the company is going with a zero beef, zero pork product policy.

After Pune, Burger King will open its first outlet in Bengaluru, followed by restaurants in Chandigarh, Jallandhar, and Ludhiana.

For raw material, the company has tie-ups with vendors it sources from globally like Pepsi, McCaine, Field Fresh Foods, Del Monte, OSI, among others. The only large Indian player is Pune-based poultry major Venkys.

Speaking on the investment plans, Varman said that the company is cash rich and could put $80 million into the system and factor in up to three times as much.

Master franchisee route

In India, the American company has chosen to adopt the master franchisee route, and has set up a joint venture company in which Everstone Capital holds the majority stake, Varman owns a small stake, while the rest is held by Burger King.

The deal includes a long-term master franchisee and development of brand agreement, as well as sub-franchise rights for India for Everstone.

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