Pizza Express opens first outlet in Mumbai

UK pizza chain, Pizza Express has opened its first outlet in Mumbai. The outlet located in Mumbai has an area of 3,300 square feet and has been done in an interesting mix of the trademark Pizza Express décor in the signature black and white colours.

Pizza Express' India debut has  been made possible with a partnership with Gourment Investments, promoted by the Bharti Family Office. Talking about the entry, Neil Wickers, MD, PizzaExpress International said, before the opening he went to most pizza outlets in Mumbai and Delhi and found what was available was the American version of what they understood as Italian pizza.

According to Wickers, Pizza Express' USP would be the authentic Italian taste that they were known for  worldwide. He said right from sourcing ingredients to building the team, everything would be Indian and no stone would be left unturned to make its Indian customers feel at home.

The organised Indian pizza market is estimated at Rs1,700 crore, led by and Domino's followed by Pizza Hut. While both the brands operated in the quick-service-restaurant (QSR) space, Pizza Express was different.

Positioning itself as a casual dining restaurant, the brand would look to drive its marketing activities in India through public relations and social media. The brand also plans to reach out to corporate businesses to explore possible partnerships, Wickers said.

Wickers, said the company would not look at launching a home delivery service immediately but would rather focus on driving footfalls into its restaurants. He said, the company would launch a few restaurants in Mumbai before moving to other cities.