Wendy's to open 250 cloud kitchens in India with Rebel Foods

The Wendy’s Company has announced to expand its presence in India over the next decade in collaboration with its master franchisee Sierra Nevada Restaurants and cloud kitchen specialist Rebel Foods, to open physical restaurants and cloud kitchens here.

Rebel Foods will partner with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to develop and operate approximately 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens pan-India, with Sierra Nevada starting another 150 Wendy’s brick-and-mortar restaurants here.

The move comes at a time when Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the restaurant business globally with diners reluctant to return to food joints operating under physical distancing protocols. This has led to a surge in takeaways and online food ordering through aggregators and restaurant websites driving firms to enhance their online presence via cloud kitchens.

Wendy’s already runs nine restaurants here including four traditional restaurants and five cloud kitchens in Delhi’s National Capital Region. Globally, the quick service restaurant (QSR) chain and its franchisees operate more than 6,800 restaurants. However, in India its presence is dwarfed in comparison to rivals McDonald’s and KFC present in the market for over two decades, and even more recent entrants such as Burger King and Carl’s Jr.

The move, said Abigail Pringle, President, International and Chief Development Officer of The Wendy’s Company, reflects Wendy's commitment to growing its international business in strategic high-growth potential markets through both traditional restaurant expansion and digital innovation with the meaningful addition of approximately 400 restaurants.

As India unlocked during the ongoing pandemic, restaurant companies upped their game online and expanded their cloud kitchens. Earlier this year, Lite Bite Foods that runs various casual and fine-dine restaurant formats said it will accelerate plans to open over 35 cloud kitchens in five cities as the future of brick and mortar outlets remains uncertain.