CP Foods to invest $500 mn for India expansion

Charoen Pokphand Foods India Pvt. Ltd (CPF) which operates Five Star Chicken, an international quick serve retail chain, is looking forward to invest $500 million for expanding its operations in India. CP Foods has 260 Five Star Chicken stores in Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysuru, Kochi, Salem, Kozhikode, Goa and Hyderabad. Out of these outlets, 95 per cent are franchisee-run and the rest are company owned. Internationally, Five Star Chicken is present in nine countries having more than 7,000 outlets in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh and India.

Elaborating more on the investment plan, Sanjeev Pant, Senior Vice President, CP Foods says, “The investment is primarily directed towards expansion of all the three units; namely shrimp, poultry and food. The company's revenue was $600 million last year and is growing at 10-15 per cent annually. We are a strong team 800 employees and we are expected to grow 10-20 per cent by the end of FY.” CP Foods operates its own farms, storage and distribution due to which it is able to establish control from 'Farm to Fork' to ensure consistent quality and food safety.

Five Star Chicken was founded in the year 1985 in Thailand. The brand hails from a Thai multi-national conglomerate - CPF India Pvt. Ltd with over $13 billion sales in agro and food industry. Adapting to the local taste and flavor and developing products which appeal to the masses has been one of the key strengths of Five Star Chicken.