Yum is considered the world's largest quick service restaurant company. While you may not be familiar with the name Yum, you certainly know their brands: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger.
Earlier this week Yum announced plans to add at least 100,000 additional global restaurants, and raised its long-term unit-count growth projections to 5%.
Already an undisputed powerhouse in the casual dining space, Yum operates 50,000 restaurants across 150 countries. The global brand believes that there is ample white space and an opportunity to expand in a major way.
Yum's is pretty much a contender for the fast food crown but it's not king of the hill. The Louisville Kentucky based company still lags behind industry leaders like McDonald's and Subway in terms of recognition and profitability.
Jumping back into the numbers, a 5% growth rate may not sound like much, but 5% works out to 2700 locations when your company operates 54000 restaurants worldwide.
Yum had a great 2021 in terms of expansion, with an astonishing 3100 new locations opened, and executives think all of Yum's chains could exceed those numbers going forward.
A significant portion of that growth will likely come from Taco Bell, which currently has approximately 7,000 U.S. stores. Claims Locations - Far from McDonald's 13000+ domestic units.
The international market also represents a huge opportunity for Taco Bell. Only a few countries are currently home to more than 100 Taco Bell locations.
Until now, Yum preferred international expansion to its other brands such as KFC or Pizza Hut, but in 2020 Julie Fales Masino was named president of Taco Bell International.
KFC and Pizza Hut, on the other hand, have achieved considerable growth and success outside the United States. Pizza Hut has around 12000 international units and KFC has 23000 global restaurants.