Sapphire Foods

What Sapphire Foods does

Sapphire Foods India Limited is a publicly listed franchisee of Yum! Brands Inc. operating the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands across India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Incorporated in 2009 and headquartered with its registered office in Panchkula, Haryana, and a corporate office in Goregaon (West), Mumbai, the company ran 1,028 restaurants as of December 2025 (556 KFC, 461 Pizza Hut, 11 Taco Bell), expanding to 1,052 by March 2026. The business is purely consumer-facing: Sapphire operates company-owned restaurants rather than sub-franchising, selling meals through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery channels with a Q3 FY26 mix of approximately 44% delivery, 33% dine-in, and 23% takeaway.

The operating platform combines physical restaurant infrastructure with digital channels — brand websites and mobile apps for KFC and Pizza Hut, partnerships with Swiggy and Zomato for delivery, and digital self-service kiosks deployed in 73% of stores. The company reports generating higher average spending through kiosks compared to counter orders, and indicates that dine-in and takeaway channels together account for 57% of quarterly sales. The technology stack is conventional QSR tooling rather than AI-native: there is no disclosed proprietary AI, no API/SDK surface, and no data-flywheel infrastructure described.

Revenue is generated entirely through restaurant operations and franchise royalty arrangements with Yum! Brands, with FY26 consolidated revenue of Rs 3,116 crore (Q4 FY26 alone at Rs 792.22 crore, up 11.37% year-on-year). KFC contributed Rs 2,114 crore of FY26 revenue while Pizza Hut contributed Rs 507 crore, reflecting heavy brand concentration in KFC. The company reported a Rs 31.96 crore net loss for FY26, reversing a Rs 19.25 crore profit in FY25, even as Q3 FY26 EBITDA margin reached 16.8%. In January 2026, Sapphire announced an all-share merger with Devyani International (177 Devyani shares for every 100 Sapphire shares, expected to close within 12-15 months subject to NCLT and CCI approval), creating a 3,000+ store platform with projected Rs 8,000 crore annualised revenue and Rs 210-225 crore in annual synergies.

Name

Sapphire Foods

Legal name

Sapphire Foods India Limited

Website

https://sapphirefoods.in

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Sapphire Foods India Limited is a publicly listed franchisee of Yum! Brands operating 1,052 KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives as of March 2026, serving individual consumers through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Concept / Global QSR Chains (Mixed Menus) (THAFAAAO)

Keywords

• Quick service restaurants
• Restaurant operations
• Food franchise management
• Multi-brand dining
• Restaurant chain operator

Headquarters

HQ city

Goregaon

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Operations Revenue: Revenue generated from company-operated KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery channels
2. Franchise Royalties: Operating as Yum! Brands franchisee with royalty arrangements for KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sapphire Foods India Limited is a Yum! Brands franchisee that develops and operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell quick service restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The company operates more than 1,000 restaurants generating revenue through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery channels, with KFC being the largest brand in its portfolio. The omni-channel mix is approximately 44% delivery, 33% dine-in, and 23% takeaway as of Q3 FY26.

Product overview

Sapphire Foods India Limited is one of the largest franchisees of Yum! Brands Inc. in the Indian subcontinent, operating a multi-brand quick service restaurant (QSR) portfolio consisting of three core brands: KFC (556 restaurants), Pizza Hut (461 restaurants), and Taco Bell (11 restaurants), totaling 1,028 restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. The company operates as a franchisee, running and managing restaurant operations under these Yum! Brands licenses. The business model involves operating physical restaurant locations with dine-in, delivery, and takeaway channels, with omni-channel mix comprising approximately 44% delivery, 33% dine-in, and 23% takeaway as of Q3 FY26.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KFC Restaurants KFC is an American fast food restaurant chain known for its fried chicken. Sapphire Foods operates 556 KFC restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives as one of Yum! Brands' largest franchisees, making it the largest brand in the company's portfolio.
• Pizza Hut Restaurants Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain specializing in pizza and pasta. Sapphire Foods operates 461 Pizza Hut restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives as a Yum! Brands franchisee.
• Taco Bell Restaurants Taco Bell is an American fast food chain specializing in tacos, burritos, and nachos. Sapphire Foods operates 11 Taco Bell restaurants across India as a Yum! Brands franchisee, representing a smaller presence relative to KFC and Pizza Hut.

Quantifiable outcome

• Q4 FY26 revenue grew 11.4% year-on-year to Rs 792 crore
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Devyani InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Devyani International and Sapphire Foods announced a merger effective April 1, 2026, creating one of India's largest QSR platforms with over 3,000 restaurants. The all-share deal involves a swap ratio of 177 Devyani shares for every 100 Sapphire shares held, with expected annual synergies of Rs 210-225 crore. The merger requires regulatory approvals and is expected to complete within 12-15 months.
• Yum! BrandscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerYum! Brands is the global franchisor for KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands. Sapphire Foods operates as one of the largest franchisees in the subcontinent with rights across India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
• KFCcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerKFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) brand operated by Sapphire Foods with 556 restaurants as of December 2025, representing the largest brand in the portfolio
• Pizza HutcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPizza Hut brand operated by Sapphire Foods with 461 restaurants as of December 2025, facing challenges with negative same-store sales
• Taco BellminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerTaco Bell brand operated by Sapphire Foods with 11 restaurants as of December 2025, representing a small but growing presence
• Vinod NambiarminorOthersResigned as Non-Executive Nominee Director due to professional engagements, replaced by Vikram Agarwal effective June 19, 2026
• Vikram AgarwalminorOthersAppointed as Non-Executive Nominee Director effective June 19, 2026, subject to shareholder approval

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Burger King India: Burger King India operates the Burger King brand in India as part of Restaurant Brands Asia. While now consolidated under RBA, it remains a direct competitor in the QSR category and competes for similar dine-in and delivery occasions.
• Speciality Restaurants: Speciality Restaurants is a listed Indian restaurant operator with casual dining and QSR brands including Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, and Sigree. While more casual dining-focused, it competes for similar middle-class consumer dining occasions in Indian metros.
• Haldiram's: Haldiram's is one of India's largest packaged food and restaurant chains with extensive QSR-style outlets selling traditional Indian snacks and sweets. While predominantly ethnic Indian cuisine, it competes for similar quick-service occasions and impulse dining in tier-2/3 cities.

Emerging players

• Wow! Momo Foods: Wow! Momo Foods is an emerging Indian QSR chain specializing in momos (dumplings) with 600+ outlets. While focused on a single ethnic category, it represents a new-generation Indian QSR competitor targeting similar value-conscious consumers.
• Barbeque Nation Hospitality: Barbeque Nation operates a chain of casual dining restaurants across India. While its live-grill buffet format differs from QSR, it competes for similar value-conscious family dining occasions in tier-1 and tier-2 Indian cities.
• Rebel Foods: Rebel Foods operates India's largest cloud kitchen network with multiple virtual brands including Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, and Oven Story. It competes with Sapphire for delivery occasions through aggregator partnerships but operates an asset-light model.

Direct peers

• Devyani International: Devyani International is the closest direct peer, operating KFC, Pizza Hut, and Costa Coffee restaurants across India. It is the announced merger partner with Sapphire Foods and together they form India's dominant Yum! franchise platform with 3,000+ combined stores.
• Jubilant FoodWorks: Jubilant FoodWorks is India's largest QSR operator and master franchisee for Domino's Pizza, Dunkin', and Popeyes. It directly competes with Sapphire's Pizza Hut in the pizza category and represents the primary same-store sales headwind for Pizza Hut.
• Westlife Foodworld: Westlife Foodworld is the master franchisee and operator of McDonald's restaurants across West and South India. It is a direct competitor in the Indian QSR market with comparable scale, public listing, and growth profile.
• Restaurant Brands Asia: Restaurant Brands Asia is the master franchisee for Burger King in India and operates over 400 stores. It competes directly with Sapphire's KFC and Taco Bell in the broader QSR category in India and is similarly listed on Indian stock exchanges.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sapphire Foods