Get ready for more ‘Maharaja Mac’ as McDonald’s unit plans major India expansion

The northern and eastern parts of India might see sigificant jump in McDonald’s outlets going forward, with its India arm and master franchiser Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL) looking to invest more than ₹1,280 crore ($150 million) in the market. This is in line with CPRL’s aggressive expansion plans, as they look to raise their total McDonald’s outlet count to 600 by 2030.

As of today, CPRL operates 245 outlets in the region. The investment is expected to bring the current store count to 300 by the end of 2025. CPRL also has plans to expand McDonald’s in-house beverage brand McCafe from 125 outlets presently to 200 by year-end.

CPRL, which McDonald’s India acquired in 2019 after settling a dispute with its JV partner Vikram Bakshi, is licensed to operate McDonald’s Restaurants in north and east India. According to McDonald’s India, CPRL “currently operates such restaurants in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.” In the south and west of the country, McDonald’s outlets are managed and operated by Westlife Foodworld Ltd.

Anant Agarwal, Vice Chairman at MMG Group and CPRL, told agencies that the market in the north and east regions are “very under penetrated” and they are looking at “very aggressive plans for the growth”.

“By 2030, the number of stores should be between 500 to 60,” said Agarwal, “…we will be investing between $100 million to $150 million to do this. This will be for opening new stores and modernising a few of the older remaining stores.”

The new outlets are expected to be operated by CPRL, with a renewed push to open in tier-3 markets such as Gangtok, Siliguri, and Guwahati. Such locations might get smaller format McDonald's, too. “We are constantly working to make the format smaller. We aspire to be able to manage a store in 2,000 or 1,800 square feet. That is something we would want to, maybe in the next one to two years, added Agarwal.

McDonald’s India expansion plans come at a time when local chains (Burger Singh, Jumbo King, et al.) and other international players such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Subway, Burger King, Popeye’s, and Chicking, have entered the market, flooding the sector with more choice for the Indian customer.

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