Chris Holmes, International and Channel Director, PizzaExpress
PizzaExpress, a London-based pizza brand set up by late legendary entrepreneur and restaurateur Peter Boizot in 1965, is betting big on India’s increasing aspirations to dine on gourmet pizzas.
Chris Holmes, International and Channel Director, PizzaExpress told The Hindu, “India is the largest franchise in the world for PizzaExpress. The country’s immense consuming potential is now unfolding with a sizable population with increased wallet power aspiring for international cuisines including gourmet pizzas.”
According to Mr. Holmes, India at the moment accounts for the major share of PizzaExpress’ global footprint expansion. “We have 26 new outlets coming up globally at this point of time, of which 15 are in India.”
PizzaExpress would have 1,000 global restaurants, up from 400 currently, by 2030 and India would certainly have more than 10% of them, he said. The pizza chain is also entering new markets such as Indonesia, Hong Kong, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Thailand, South Africa and the U.S. The chain has 26 outlets in India currently and targets to open 100 restaurants in the next three to five years investing around ₹400 crore.
“Our ambition is to bring the very best pizza to customers across the globe. In recent years our presence in India has gone from strength to strength,’‘ he added.
Commenting on Mr. Boizot’s contribution to British cuisine, Mr. Holmes further said, “There was nothing cookie-cutter about this brand then and also today.” Mr. Boizot democratised casual dining in the UK. He added colours (Italian cuisines) to the traditionally dull-coloured (in beige, browns or whites) British cuisine and generated a lot of theatre in the air.
“Mr. Boizot’s business partner was an artist who decorated incredible buildings. As a result, some 57 of 375 PizzaExpress outlets in the U.K. are listed on important architectural buildings,” he added.
The pizza chain is backed by Gourmet Investments, a part of the Bharti Family office, which already has other restaurant brands such as Chili’s American Grill & Bar, and Ministry of Crab. Ramit Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Director, Gourmet Investments said his company would soon launch four more global food brands in India.