McDonald’s Corp. is staking its future in India on burgers made from mashed potatoes, peas and spices. Sumil Mittal says it’s a good bet.
Mittal, 19, sits beneath the golden arches at a McDonald’s in Ambala, a small town 125 miles north of New Delhi. He is eating the vegetarian McAloo Tikki sandwich, with french fries and a Coke, before seeing the new Bollywood movie, “Wake Up Sid.”
“It’s a change from the food that we eat everyday at home and inexpensive,” said Mittal, a student at Mukand Lal National College in neighboring Yamunanagar. “It tastes good.”McDonald’s, the world’s biggest restaurant company, is expanding in India as a middle class predicted to grow 10- fold by 2025 develops a taste for Western-style fast food. Sales are up 30 percent during the first nine months of the year, led by growth in smaller cities, said Vikram Bakshi, managing director of McDonald’s India.
There are 170 outlets in India, and the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company and its local partners will invest 5 billion rupees ($108 million) to add 120 during the next three years, Bakshi said. By comparison, McDonald’s has 1,080 restaurants in China and plans to open 140 this year, down from the 175 it forecast before the global recession.