Why Pizza Hut operator Devyani International now wants to feast on biryanis

India's love affair with biryani is no secret. Swiggy and Zomato together saw over 170 million orders in 2024—that's about 320 biryanis a minute. Not surprising then, that a company that has been serving pizzas to Indians for more than two decades now also wants biryani on its plate. 

 

Devyani International, the largest franchisee for Yum Brands (KFC and Pizza Hut) in India, is acquiring a controlling (81 per cent) stake in Sky Gate Hospitality Private Limited for ₹419 crore, whose flagship brand is Biryani by Kilo (BBK). Sky Gate also has other brands—Goila Butter Chicken and The Bhojan. 

 

However, the company founded in 2015 by Kaushik Roy and Vishal Jindal is one of the leaders in the organised biryani market, offering authentic, dum-cooked biryanis prepared to order and delivered in traditional handi.

 

The three brands reported a revenue of ₹277 crore in the 2024-25 financial year. Sky Gate also operated Get-A-Way and Krazy Kebab Co., which Devyani aims to disinvest over the next nine months.

 

This strategic move aligns with the company's vision to diversify its offerings and deepen its strategy with respect to House of Brands, it said. Devyani's brand portfolio now encompasses 10 strong and diverse food and beverage brands, it added.

 

"While our portfolio boasts a diverse array of national and international brands, we identified a need to add traditional and authentic flavours of the much-loved Indian food to our portfolio. Our partnership with Sky Gate addresses this, bringing their exceptional brands, Biryani By Kilo and Goila Butter Chicken, into our fold," said Ravi Jaipuria, non-executive chairman of Devyani International. 

 

Sky Gate has expanded its reach to over 100 stores across more than 40 cities. Devyani operated 2,000 stores across 280 cities in India, Nigeria, Nepal and Thailand. Apart from being the largest franchisee for KFC and Pizza Hut in India, it is the sole franchisee for the Costa Coffee brand in India and also operates the south Indian vegetarian brand Vaango. 

 

"We believe that, post the acquisition, Devyani’s primary focus will be towards improving BBK’s unit economics to achieve profitability versus loss at present. Devyani will help to drive synergies in the area of branding and marketing, supply chain, operational activities and negotiation of better take-rates with food aggregators, and also aid in rapid network expansion," said Gaurav Jogani, research analyst at JM Financial Institutional Securities.

 

The biryani market in India is estimated to be around ₹20,000-25,000 crore. However, it is largely unorganised, with the organised market only estimated to be around ₹2,500 crore. BBK's market share according to analysts is estimated to be around 1 per cent of the total biryani market. 

 

"BBK’s revenue mix is currently skewed toward Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune which provides room for replicating success in other major cities as well. BBK also has a differentiated biryani offering, with it being the only fully fresh (cook-to-order meals) and pan-India D2C biryani brand," said Devanshu Bansal, research analyst at Emkay Global Financial Services.

 

The other marquee brands in this space are Behrouz Biryani, Biryani Blues, and Paradise with revenues ranging from ₹100-300 crore for each of them, note analysts.

 

The JM Financial analyst pointed out that no single brand has been able to scale revenue beyond ₹300 crore so far due to regional variations in taste preferences, large unorganised segment, difficulty in standardising quality and consistency, failure to establish a pan-India presence and difficulty in achieving profitability due to the high initial cost of operations.

 

However, the category’s universal appeal, suitability across day (can be ordered at lunch, dinner or late night), single wholesome dish, and delivery-friendliness make it an exciting business segment to enter, said Jogani.

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