The proliferation of Chinese food: Yo! China plans expansion via different formats

Bangalore: Yo! China, the Chinese food restaurant chain, hopes to expand its business via different formats. Co-founder and managing director Ashish Kapur is looking to make the company a Rs100-crore business in about a year, and is banking on different fast food vending formats such as kiosks, dine-ins at malls, outlets in tech parks, international airports and railway stations to fuel their growth plans. The vision for the company, as outlined by the managing director, is to evolve the business to a Rs1,000 crore Chinese food company.

The company says its key differentiators are its trendy appeal, international packaging, and affordable price points, with entry-level pricing of items at Rs25 on its menu.

The company wants to open 200 outlets across the country by 2009. Presently, it runs 27 outlets across 15 cities, with plans for 30 more by the end of this financial year.

The booming mall culture, specially in non-tier-1 cities, shows promising growth potential which Yo! China would like to capitalise on. The chain recently opened four outlets in Bangalore, and has another three in the offing there. It is also actively looking at Chennai, where three outlets are planned for the next few months, Mr Kapur said.

November 2006 saw Yo! China receive Rs25-crore in venture capital (VC) funding from VC firm Matrix Partners India. Yo! China's same-store sales have seen 12 per cent growth year-on-year growth. The restaurant chain has won bids for running outlets at the international airport in Mumbai, and the domestic and international airports in Delhi.