Nirula's to inject Rs 100cr for opening 150 outlets pan-India

New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) Embarking on a major expansion plan, fast food chain Nirula's will pump in Rs 100 crore to open 150 new outlets across the country by 2009.

''At an investment of Rs 100 crore, we will come up with 150 outlets across the country by the end of 2009,'' Nirula's Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Managing Director Samir Kuckreja told reporters here today.

Nirula's has a total of 52 outlets located in the Northern parts of the country.

The company will spread out the outlets to other parts of the country, including West, South and East, Mr Kuckreja said.

Delhi-based quick service restaurant chain, however, ruled out any format change as part of its expansion plans.

''We will stick to our formats like Nirula's Express, Food Court Unit and Ice-Cream Kiosks, Family Style Restaurant (FSR), Quick Service Restaurant(QSR) and many more,'' Mr Kuckreja said.

A highway Nirula's restaurant at Panipat is already operational, while more highway restaurants in partnership with IndianOil Corporation(IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are on the cards.

''There is a huge potential for such food chains on highways and we are planning to tap it and are in talks with both IOC and BPCL,'' he said.

Nirula's, which operates a chain of restaurants, including Pot Pouri casual dining outlet and two hotels, is presently owned by Kuckrejas and Navis, a Malaysia-based private equity fund.

Nirula's widened its presence in north with the opening of restaurants at Panipat, Dehradun, Chandigarh and Lucknow.

Nirula's production facility in Noida produces 15 thousand litres of ice cream per day. It has two ice cream brands -- Nirula's Ice Cream and Dairy Cream.

UNI