&pizza to bring fast-casual build-your-pie model to India

&pizza is going international.

The 43-unit fast-casual chain on Tuesday announced its first move overseas with a master franchise deal that will take the brand to India.

Under the agreement, India-based The 90s Venture has committed to open a minimum of 10 &pizza locations by 2032, with the first expected to open next year in Mumbai.

Brett Willis, chief development officer for &pizza-parent Latitude Food Group (LFG), said the goal is to start in the north of India, building out Mumbai, before expanding to the rest of the country.

The 90s Venture operates other American restaurant brands in India, but Willis said the franchisee prefers not to disclose what brands it is working with.

Willis said &pizza had been seeing a lot of interest from franchisees in India. The top U.S. pizza brands from the QSR segment have a well-established presence there, especially Domino’s and Pizza Hut.

“But there’s really not any brand that has any scale in the fast-casual, create-your-own pizza space [in India],” he said. “So that’s very exciting to us and our partners, with our culinary group, and the amount of toppings that are different than your QSR pizza, we feel like the culinary space in India is ready for expansion into that segment.”

How &pizza might look in India has yet to be defined.

Willis said units there will likely feature about 60% to 70% of the standard U.S. menu, but about 30% will cater to local tastes and flavors, including a lot of chicken and vegetarian options. The restaurants will not have beef on the menu.

The brand is also looking to move into Asia and Europe, Willis said.

Meanwhile, &pizza is also pushing franchising domestically.

Last year, &pizza launched a strategic move into U.S. franchising, including the refranchising of company units. Of the 43, 38 are company-owned and five are franchised, and Willis said roughly three to five new &pizza locations are expected to open this year, including one new company-owned restaurant. The Washington, D.C.-based chain operates mostly up and down the East Coast, but the new openings will bring &pizza to Georgia, North and South Carolina and Nevada.

&pizza last year acquired the 95-unit Tijuana Flats brand, creating the new LFG. The group is also preparing to grow the Mexican fast-casual brand with franchising, and refranchising company locations.

Ideally, both brands will be about 80% franchised in time, Willis said.

&pizza’s U.S. sales dipped more than 10% last year to $53.6 million, according to data from Technomic.

That’s consistent with the niche. Competitors Pieology (down 26%) and MOD Pizza (down 10.6%) also saw double digit declines, and Blaze Pizza was down nearly 10%.

The sales estimates for &pizza, however, could also be impacted by the chain’s somewhat bold move of lowering menu prices last year, responding to inflation-weary consumers.

That move, however, has helped boost traffic, said Willis, though he declined to offer details.