Popeyes Sales Jump 40%, Emerges As Jubilant FoodWorks' Second Growth Engine

Jubilant FoodWorks said on Thursday that its Popeyes fried chicken chain is turning into a second growth engine for the company, even as efforts to revive dine-in traffic at Domino's Pizza show early signs of improvement.

Chief Executive Sameer Khetarpal said Popeyes delivered like-for-like sales growth of more than 40% during the quarter, driven by product innovation, differentiated flavours and strong execution on new store openings.

Speaking on a post-earnings call, Khetarpal said Popeyes had definitely become a second growth engine for the company, with significant room still left to grow.

Jubilant has previously said it aims to build Popeyes into a ₹10 billion brand over the next three to four years. Khetarpal said the company was now channelling more capital towards expanding both Domino's and Popeyes outlets, having largely completed major supply-chain investments in recent years.

Alongside the Popeyes momentum, Khetarpal said the company was making progress in reviving dine-in and takeaway sales at Domino's, a segment that has trailed its stronger delivery business. Jubilant has appointed dedicated leadership for this channel, upgraded stores with heavier dine-in footfall, and introduced store-specific promotions, including Wednesday offers to drive visits.

He said the immediate goal was to stop the decline in this segment, adding that the Wednesday promotional programme had already begun showing growth.

Domino's India reported like-for-like sales growth of 2.5% for the June quarter, up from 0.2% in the preceding quarter but still short of the company's long-term annual target range of 5 to 7%. Khetarpal said delivery order volumes continued to grow despite recent price increases, with the company focused on improving average order values while balancing profitability and demand. He said the company remained confident of returning to the 5-7% range over time, citing improving demand trends and a stronger start to the second quarter.

The company's first-quarter profit rose about 6% year-on-year to ₹97.24 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with ₹91.76 crore a year earlier, aided by steady growth at Domino's India and continued store expansion. Shares of the company were trading at ₹498.90 on Thursday afternoon, up 2.93% from the previous close.