Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, all owned by Pepsi spinoff Yum! Brands, are gaining ground on McDonalds in China, India and Russia. With 37,000 restaurants in 110 countries, Yum! is the world’s largest restaurant chain in terms of outlets and its growing in popularity overseas, bringing in more money every year. That’s a lot of saturated fat.
Yum! opened its first KFC in China, near the infamous Tiananmen Square, 23 years ago, and its decision to hit the ground early in China (McDonalds opened in China in 1990) has given it an edge over the competition.
The company has more than 70 KFCs in India and 160 Pizza Huts, which sort of makes sense. In a country that (essentially) shuns the consumption of beef, giving a trans-fat filled alternative is a fairly smart idea. The company says it will have 1,000 outlets by 2015, employing 50,000 people around the world and bringing in $100 million in profits. Hope you’ve got a hankering for triple protein pizza sauce bun-sticks.