Wendy's targets McDonald's market share in India

US fast-food chain Wendy's will put up 400 cloud kitchens and traditional restaurants across India in the next decade, in a bid to catch up with rival McDonald's.

Wendy's and franchise partner the Sierra Nevada, which currently operates four brick-and-mortar restaurants and five cloud kitchens in India, would open 150 traditional restaurants.

The partners would also develop and operate 250 cloud kitchens in collaboration with Mumbai-based Rebel Foods.

Wendy's, which entered the market in 2015, said partnering with Rebel Foods will help it grow in India through digital innovation.

Rival fast-food chain McDonald's (MCD), which entered India in 1996 and its local franchise partners, already operates over 400 restaurants across the country.

According to Kallol Banerjee, co-founder of Rebel Foods, by plugging into a network of existing cloud kitchens in India, Wendy's will get immediate access to a rapid scale at far lower levels of capital.

Rebel Foods operates over 300 cloud kitchens, mostly in India.

Cloud kitchens are facilities that produce food solely for home delivery.
Because they don't need to attract passing dine-in customers, they are often located in buildings that charge lower rents than restaurants.

The global cloud kitchen market is expected to reach an estimated $71.4 billion by 2027.