Bengaluru: India is emerging as one of the most sought-after growth markets for global quick-service restaurant chains, prompting several international brands, which once struggled in the country, to attempt a comeback with revamped playbooks.
The latest entrant is Panda Express, the US-based Asian fast-casual chain, which plans to enter India in 2027 through a partnership with Trimex Foods. It is targeting growing demand for international dining brands and widening popularity of Chinese cuisine among Indian consumers, even as global chains remain cautious about the country’s highly competitive and value-conscious market
“India has become very aspirational with spending power growing up. People are looking for global concepts that have worked well around the world,” Vaibhav Kaushish, chief operating officer at Trimex Foods, told Mint. He said the company identified a gap in the market for an international Chinese fast-casual chain in the ₹300-500 per head price segment.
JSM Group, the India franchise partner of Hard Rock Cafe earlier held the India franchise rights for Panda Express back in 2016. Mint could not independently verify the reasons behind the failed attempt.
JSM was recently at the centre of a dispute after Hard Rock International terminated its franchise pact with JSM Corporation, leading to the shutdown of several Hard Rock Cafe outlets in cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai. JSM said the closures were “unilateral” and “illegal”, and that the cafes would continue operations while it evaluated legal options.
Kaushish said Chinese cuisine is embedded in India’s food delivery and dining culture, and presents a sizeable whitespace opportunity for organized global brands. “If you really look at it, there is no large global Chinese fast-casual chain in India today. You either have local food court players or very premium dine-in restaurants,” he said.
The company plans to position Panda Express as a fast-casual dining brand, rather than a traditional quick-service chain. “We don’t want to change the DNA of the brand. If we had to completely Indianize it, we could have opened something of our own,” Kaushish said, adding that the brand’s flavour profile is already “very compatible” with Indian consumers.
According to him, global chains entering India today are approaching expansion more cautiously than before, prioritizing operational consistency and customer experience over aggressive store additions. “The first visit happens because of the hype around the global brand. The second visit depends entirely on how you operate in India,” he said. India remains a uniquely challenging market for international restaurant brands, he said. “In India, eating out is still more of a celebration than a daily habit. Consumers want value, but they also want an experience worth spending on.”
Market shift
A January 2026 report by Kearney said India’s food services market is set to cross $125 billion by 2030 from $78 billion in 2025, with the organized chains expected to grow at twice the pace of the unorganized ones. The report said there is rising experimentation with global cuisines such as Korean, Vietnamese and Mexican, signalling growing openness among Indian diners towards international flavours.
Trimex, which also operates brands such as Chilli's and Paul in India, said it will initially focus on establishing Panda Express in key urban markets before scaling further.
The story of eatery chains re-entering the Indian market has American pizza maker Papa John's that made an India re-entry last year after having exited in 2017 due to underperformance. The company is now taking a more measured approach, focusing on localization, store formats and operational consistency before scaling aggressively.
Tapan Vaidya, group chief executive officer at PJP Investments Group, a major Papa John's franchisee, said the company has spent considerable time reworking its India strategy after learning from its earlier stint in the country. “India is a very complex market with unique consumer preferences, and you cannot apply a global template here without adapting,” Vaidya told Mint. He said the company is now focused on building the “right menu, technology and restaurant footprint” before pursuing rapid expansion. Unlike earlier, Papa John’s now bets on localization, including India-specific menu innovations and value pricing.
Pranav Rungta, vice-president at the National Restaurant Association of India, said the operating environment for international chains has changed significantly over the past decade. “There is a consumption upswing right now in India. Gen Z and millennials are increasingly accessing QSR chains for daily consumption, rather than just occasional dining,” he said.
Rungta said food delivery platforms and aggregators have made expansion significantly easier for global chains compared to a decade ago. “That ready infrastructure is available today, which was not available back in the day,” he said.
An industry executive, requesting anonymity, cited Ruby Tuesday, which struggled in India after attempting to replicate Western menu formats and pricing without adequately adapting to local consumer preferences and affordability expectations. The executive said several global brands initially entered the country with a “copy-paste” strategy that worked overseas but failed to resonate with Indian diners.
“You cannot use the same formula, recipes and pricing that work in Western markets and expect it to succeed in India,” the executive said, adding that local restaurant chains have historically been quicker to adapt to Indian tastes and consumption habits.
Several international brands have struggled to crack India despite strong global recall. For instance, Dunkin', operated by Jubilant FoodWorks, has sharply reduced its store network over the years, and the company recently decided not to renew its India franchise beyond 2026 after a struggle with scale and profitability. Wendy's has also faced challenges in scaling meaningfully in partnership with Rebel Foods.
At the same time, a new wave of global brands is entering or expanding in India, such as The Cheesecake Factory and BBQ Chicken that have entered the market through local partnerships, while brands such as Popeyes, Tim Hortons, Pret A Manger, McDonald’s and Domino's have scaled their expansion in India.