Yum! Bringing American Grub to the Global Masses

Looking for fried chicken in Vladivostok or Nairobi? You may be in luck. Yum! Brands is looking to grow such brands as KFC and Pizza Hut internationally, particularly in emerging markets including Russia and Africa, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. 

Yum execs said Wednesday that its Yum Restaurants International division could show a 10 percent growth by year’s end, the site notes, and that it is planning to “double its annual net openings over the next five years.” Many of those openings will be Africa and Russia, though China and India also are providing good sources of revenue.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, most of the international launches have been KFC, with Pizza Hut a distant secod. Meanwhile, Taco Bell “has yet to become an international growth vehicle,” the site reports.

The hope is to reach 1,000 net openings per year in the next five years, according to research notes from Andy Barish of Jefferies & Company and David Tarantino of Robert W. Baird & Co. That’s a pretty sweet jump from the 500 planned for this year.

Another American brand growing itself in Africa, though much more slowly, is Hooters, which is opening a few new spots in South Africa before year’s end. And Buffalo Wild Wings recently made a deal to open 22 of its franchises in Northern Africa and the Middle East. 

As for Russia, Burger King announced in June that it would open more restaurants there, and Krispy Kreme made the same announcement earlier this year.