Taco Bell Comes To India

From The Associated Press:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Yum Brands Inc. opened its first Taco Bell restaurant in India on Tuesday in Bangalore.

The company's KFC and Pizza Hut brands are already in India. It said in a news release Tuesday it is tailoring its foods such as tacos and burritos for the Indian market by making them spicier and making half the menu vegetarian. The restaurants also won't serve beef, which many Indians don't eat for religious reasons.

The menu offers prices as low as 35 cents.

Yum Brands wants to make Taco Bell its next big global brand, following growth of KFC and Pizza Hut.

The company has taken the Mexican-inspired fast-food chain to countries like Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Dubai, Spain and others in recent years.

At the end of last year, the company had 250 Taco Bell restaurants outside of the U.S.

Yum considers India a key emerging market and plans to have at least 1,000 restaurants there by 2015. At the end of last year it had 230 restaurants.