Church’s Chicken CEO Harsha Agadi

DALLAS – Texas Chicken, the international brand of Atlanta-based Church’s Chicken, opened its first restaurant in India.

The restaurant, located in Hyderabad, marks the first of 30 restaurants planned for Andhra Pradesh in the next five years, according to the company.

Texas Chicken has appointed the SH Group as franchisee for Andhra Pradesh.

“We are entering this market to grow aggressively and provide a unique value proposition to the Indian customers with home-style, freshly prepared fried chicken that is extra juicy and spicy with a unique crunch and signature side items,” said Harsha V. Agadi, chief executive officer of Church’s Chicken. “We feel confident that customers will try and love the taste and flavor of our chicken and all the veg and non-veg options.”

“We are delighted to be associated with Texas Chicken – an American brand with 57 years of heritage that is committed to offering fresh, tasty meals, using locally sourced ingredients,” said C. Suresh Rayudu, CEO of Srinivasa Hatcheries Ltd., the flagship company of the SH Group. “We have an established reputation in the hatchery business in the state, and will provide all the requisite support to make this venture a resounding success.”

With its expansion into India, Texas Chicken enters its third Asian market, following restaurant openings in Indonesia and the Philippines. The restaurant chain, although new to India, began expanding internationally in 1979. Today, it is one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world and is experiencing an impressive six years of positive same-store sales, according to the company. The chain prides itself on the care and attention that is taken in the preparation of food, unique crunch of the chicken and its signature side items – all at the best value, the company added.

“We have spent a year researching and engineering our concept positioning and menu development and are proud to bring a truly authentic Texas tradition with a touch of masala to India,” said Agadi.

Founded in San Antonio in 1952, Church’s/Texas Chicken is one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world. Church’s/Texas Chicken serves freshly prepared, chicken and tenders with signature sides and hand-made from scratch biscuits.

As of August 2008, the Church’s/Texas Chicken system had over 1,600 locations worldwide in 19 countries, with system sales exceeding $1 billion.

The SH Group has been promoted by Sri.C.Jagapati Rao and family who have over 3 decades of experience in successful entrepreneurship. The group has in its fold companies engaged in poultry breeding, poultry feed manufacturing, real estate and hospitality services. Srinivasa Hatcheries Ltd., which is the flagship company of SH Group, was incorporated in 1978 for the business of poultry breeding and production of layer chicks to cater mainly to the needs of the poultry farms located in eight coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The company had a modest beginning of 6,000 layer chickens in 1979 and has grown to 300,000 layer chickens and 200,000 broiler chickens.