Dine Brands to accelerate IHOP pancake unit expansion in India - new perkins breakfast restaurant dish

(Reuters)-
Applebee's Dine Brand Group, restaurant chain (DIN. N)
Plans to speed up the opening of IHOP pancake stores in India, after the opening of the first restaurant in the northern Indian city of guluk last year, received a strong response.
Steve Joyce, chief executive of the company, told Reuters that the expansion was part of a strategy to expand the market.
"We think IHOP has a unique opportunity here because breakfast is an important meal in India, Joyce said at the opening ceremony of the second IHOP store in a shopping center in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Joyce had previously planned to open 20 IHOPs in India by 2025, and is now expected to open 15 IHOP stores in the next three to four years, and grow it to hundreds in at least seven years.
A source close to the company said that India's first IHOP branch "exceeded" the company's expectations and had already started making profits eight months after its opening, the person who asked not to be named because the details were kept secret
In India, breakfast is a food traditionally prepared and consumed at home, but with more than half of India's population under 30 years old, this trend is changing as disposable income increases, people prefer to eat out.
This shift helped make breakfast one of the fastest
Growing categories of meals in the Indian catering industry.
In 2016, 14% of Indians ate breakfast at least three to four times a week outside of home, compared to nine times.
According to a survey by market research firm Euromonitor international's Global Consumer Trends division, it was 6% in 2015.
Companies including McDonald's are in a growing marketMCD. N)
Introduction to items such as masala dosa brioche-an all-
A daily serving of a major South Indian breakfast dish called masala dosa was combined in the burger --style serving.
Analysts at the Dine brand said that at a time when IHOP North American sales had stabilized, developing India could be the company's growth driver
Low-level single digit
Single digits in the past few years.
However, configuring its dishes to usually prefer delicious rather than sweet Indian taste will be the biggest challenge for IHOP.
"India is a huge potential market, but the right menu mix can be tricky," said Ken Perkins, founder of research firm Retail Metrics . ".