Taco Bell has signed a franchise agreement to open Taco Bell restaurants in Japan. Based on a press release, the agreement is between the United States taco chain and Asrapport Dining Co., a Japanese restaurant operator.
Asrapport Dining operates 429 restaurants in Japan already, according to CNBC. Its business of food service franchising currently focuses on pub-style restaurants.
So Asrapport Dining would like to expand its portfolio to include restaurants that are open "throughout the entire day." CEO Shusaku Higaki said this in a press release.
KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants are already present in Japan. However, the Taco Bell restaurants there are only located on U.S. military bases.
The announcement was made in the press release from the Yum! Brands member. Currently only 250 of Taco Bell's over 6,000 locations are located outside the U.S. However, by 2023 the taco chain hopes to have 1,300 or more new international restaurants.
Asrapport will handle most of the logistical issues to open the new Taco Bell restaurants in Japan. This will help to make the franchising smoother.
However, there will be a few major challenges for the taco chain giant. One is that several fast food restaurants are already present in Japan. Another challenge will be adapting Taco Bell's traditional menu to the Japanese tastes, according to Yahoo.
Asrapport will handle most of the logistical issues to open the new Taco Bell restaurants in Japan. This will help to make the franchising smoother.
Yum! has already had great success in franchising KFC on the international market. For example, for quite some time in China people considered it a luxury brand.
Taco Bell also has plans to expand to Peru, UK, India, and South Korea. The international market for fast food provides more opportunities for fast food growth than the domestic market does.