The company has piloted separate initiatives aimed at consumers in evolving and more-developed chicken-consuming markets, Sapphire Foods India Group CEO says
Sapphire Foods India, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is looking to expand KFC’s annual consumer base from around 40 to 45 million users to over 100 million users over the next five years, its top official said.
The company has piloted separate initiatives aimed at consumers in evolving and more-developed chicken-consuming markets, Sanjay Purohit, Whole-Time Director and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sapphire Foods India, said in the company’s annual report for 2025-26.
In evolving markets, beginning November 2025, it tested and progressively scaled a communication campaign that gives new KFC consumers reasons to try the brand, coupled with a sharp value-led proposition (Rs 99 chicken krisper meal with fries and beverage) to aid trials.
“This has driven new consumer walk-ins and contributed to 4 per cent same-store-sales-growth (SSSG) in the January to March 2026 quarter, the highest in 14 quarters,” Purohit added. The company has now expanded this execution to its entire estate in evolving markets (north and west regions) in April 2026.
In more developed chicken-consuming markets such as Tamil Nadu, we have piloted disruptive ‘abundant meal’ value propositions. This has also driven new consumer walk-ins, albeit in a different manner, i.e., conversion of chicken consumers from single-location restaurants to KFC,” he explained.
KFC Brand Performance
KFC delivered healthy double-digit revenue growth of 11 per cent in FY26, while SSSG remained a challenge. However, with each passing quarter, the brand saw recovery in terms of SSSG. This is reflected in Q3FY26 achieving positive SSSG of 1 per cent after several quarters and Q4FY26 SSSG of 4 per cent being highest in last 14 quarters.
While restaurant Ebitda margin for full year dropped by 100 basis points on account of negative operating leverage due to flattish SSSG, Q3FY26 Restaurant EBITDA margin improved by 60 bps YoY and Q4 by 110 bps YoY.
During the year, the company added 73 KFC stores to its KFC network, achieving a balance between rapid expansion and the maintenance of restaurant margin. The company added that the two-pronged strategy to increase customer base and penetration thereby improving SSSG combined with healthy store expansion puts KFC in great position for future growth and profitability.
