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How Taco Bell is Helping India

Taco Bell is Helping India
Taco Bell Corp. has made India its largest international market. Yum! Brands, Inc., is a U.S.-based quick service restaurant (QSR) corporation that owns and operates the widely recognized Taco Bell brand. Few QSRs have attempted to infiltrate the market of the most vegetarian country in the world, but India’s young and growing middle-class make it the perfect untapped market for this Mexican-style cuisine. Taco Bell hopes to further drive forward India’s already rapidly growing economy with the promise to open 600 restaurants in the next 10 years. Here is some information about how Taco Bell is helping India by increasing employment opportunities.

An American-Born Brand Hands India the Reins

Taco Bell has named Burman Hospitality Private Limited (BHPL) of India as its exclusive Master Franchise Partner, giving it control of the entire Indian territory. While Taco Bell is already a successful and recognizable brand, it needed the help of an Indian company to get the concept ready to launch. Imagine a trendy, industrial-looking space, where the walls are decorated in graffiti that reads, “Nachos” and “Quesadillas” but written in the Hindi language.

There is the option for table service, a menu for alcoholic drinks and possibly even a DJ playing music; this is an example of the marriage of the Western and Indian brand and the evolution of the Taco Bell brand itself. The menu is now entirely free of beef. It includes a variety of vegetarian options and is affordable to its target market of young, up-and-coming adults. Menu items start at 18 Indian rupees or approximately $0.40. Former president and CEO of Yum! Restaurants International, Graham Allen said, “You have a young population with improving standards of living and an enthusiasm to embrace Western brands.”

Employment Opportunities and Training

India’s economy will gain more than 20,000 jobs over the course of the 600 new restaurant openings. Through partnerships with vendors and supply chains, Taco Bell is helping India through the creation of additional job opportunities. Taco Bell refers to front-of-house and back-of-house employees as “team members” and “champions.” The staff complete intensive training to hone their people skills and learn excellent customer service. Employees looking to climb the ranks and further their careers can opt to take part in paid training programs. Paid time off, health care benefits and aid with financial planning are also options.

Developing Business Pushes Economic Growth

Taco Bell India sets its sights on rapid expansion, on track to open a new restaurant every 10 days until 2029. It is already in several major cities, often in areas like malls that draw India’s booming young population. The extent to which the growth of the Taco Bell chain will help India’s economy is promising but depends on how the impoverished are able to share in the growth process. Once hired, Taco Bell is helping India by allowing new recruits to learn better communication skills along with receiving a uniform and one complimentary meal per shift. These are major perks for an impoverished individual. The low price point coupled with the adventure of trying something new and “exotic” is appealing to all patrons.

– Sarah Ottosen
Photo: Flickr

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World Food Program USA: What it Does

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In the ever-evolving global fight against hunger, the World Food Program USA, an ally of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP,) is leading the charge against the humanitarian issue.

With its headquarters in Washington D.C., WFP USA is thought of as the American arm of WFP. While WFP is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger throughout the world, World Food Program USA “builds support for WFP through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States.”

Through its work to connect American businesses, organizations and philanthropists, WFP USA seeks to “transform the lives of hungry people across the planet.” The organization views its relationship with American citizens as key to solving world hunger.  

WFP USA releases an annual report each year detailing the state of hunger throughout the world. Its most recent report noted how the effects of conflicts in certain countries, including Syria, the Philippines, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, destabilize the ability for each nation to combat hunger and food security.

WFP has recently collaborated with such organizations as Yum! Brands, India Charitable Foundation and a bracelet line called The Brave Connection. These collaborations are sought to strengthen ties with different organizations.

Moreover, WFP seeks to alleviate the hardships caused by natural disasters or other emergencies, including a lack of adequate school meals and inadequate food security. The organization also strives to make a difference for women throughout the world.

A non-governmental agency, WFP received over $20 million last year through a combination of grants and fundraising. Both WFP and WFP USA rely upon contributions made by everyday individuals in order to continue to fight against global hunger and its related issues.

Through its relationship with WFP, WFP USA is one of the foremost leaders in the fight against world hunger. By working with businesses large and small and Americans of all socioeconomic classes, WFP USA is able to make an impact worldwide.

— Ethan Safran

Sources: World Food Program 1, World Food Program 2, Franchising, Huff Post
Photo: WFP USA

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World Hunger Relief and Christina Aguilera

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In 2007, Yum! Brands Inc., the world’s largest fast food restaurant, created the World Hunger Relief program. Using its nearly 40,000 stores and 1.5 million employees, Yum! Brands Inc. leads the most expansive private sector hunger relief effort. The World Hunger Relief and international superstar Christina Aguilera are teaming up to help save the nearly 1 billion people around the world who are hungry.

Consisting of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurant chains, the company uses its network to raise awareness and funds in order to benefit the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) that reaches more than 90 million people worldwide. Since its inception, the World Hunger Relief program has raised over $150 million for the WFP and other hunger relief organizations, breaking their annual donation record every year. Every one-dollar that’s donated provides four meals for hungry children at school.

In 2012, the World Hunger Relief provided 132 million meals in more than 45 countries. This was attributed to the record-breaking $33 million raised by the program.
The World Hunger Relief takes advantage of Yum! Brands Inc.’s huge employee base that enlists friends and family to volunteer for hunger relief efforts. Together, they have logged millions of volunteer hours in communities around the world.

The aid provided to emergency operations conducted by the WFP has helped thousands of men, women, and children. Other achievements of the World Hunger Relief include:

• Directed $1.5 million to relief funds in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan

• Providing assistance so that a school feeding program in Ethiopia, reaching 438,000 primary school age children, can continue for one year

• Those affected by floods in Bolivia were given fortified meals for one month

• Those affected by civil conflict in Somalia were provided fortified meals for one month

• Provided 132,000 people affected by floods with fortified meals for one month

• After a major earthquake in Peru, 80,000 survivors were provided with rice for one month

• Following Cyclone Sidr, victims in Bangladesh were provided with fortified meals for one month

– Sunny Bhatt

Sources: Hunger to Hope, Business Wire, World Food Programme
Photo: BGR

Christina Aguilera Raises $37 million for World Hunger

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Christina Aguilera is a pop singer that has remained popular since the 1990’s. She is best known for her powerhouse voice, acting roles and position as a Judge on NBC’s “The Voice.” Aguilera has been given the title of “Princess of Pop,” “The Voive of Her Generation,” “One of the Best Vocalists in the World” and “Queen of Reinvention.”

However, Christina Aguilera is not as well known for her role as a humanitarian.

In the past, Aguilera has supported many charities, including the Red Cross, Refuge, World Food Programme (WFP,) World Hunger Relief and more. She has recorded a John Lennon song in order to raise funds for Amnesty International. She has also raised awareness and funds for Haiti following the nation’s tragic earthquake in 2010.

Recently, she worked as an ambassador for the Yum! Brand to help raise over $37 million to fight world hunger.

The funding goes toward Yum!’s WFP disaster relief and school meal programs. David Novak, Chairman and CEO of Yum!, stated that with the help of Christina Aguilera, the brand was “able to raise more awareness than ever about this critical issue.”

Yum! Brand is a company that owns the Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell franchises. The organization’s World Hunger Relief is the world’s largest private sector hunger relief effort and includes over 130 countries and over 1 million employees and associates.

Novak believes that “it is unacceptable that nearly one billion people around the world are going to bed hungry every night. We believe that it is our privilege and responsibility to do everything we can to make a difference in fighting world hunger to save lives.”

Since 2007, the WFP has raised over $185 million to help combat world hunger.

– Lienna Feleke- Eshete

Sources: MusicTimes, Look to the Stars
Photo: ME News Wire

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300,000 Students Mobilize Against Hunger

300,000 Students Mobilize Against Hunger

The Lift-a-Life Foundation’s creation, Lead2Feed, recently announced the winner of its nationwide “World Hunger Leadership Challenge,” in which students from all over the country worked on projects that focused on solving world hunger. The middle and high school students who participated had the chance to receive $25,000 from the Yum! Brands Foundation for their local hunger relief charity. The winners, St. Francis Day School, partnered with a school in Meerut, India, in order to discuss and discover ways to fight hunger in its community. St. Francis students collected canned food and packed sack lunches while the school in India volunteered at a local orphanage.

The Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc, David Novak, spoke with hope about the program. “I am inspired by the leadership and creativity that students from around the country used in their projects to fight hunger. Lead2Feed challenges students to think and act like leaders, work with others and set big goals to solve a real problem in our community and world. It is exciting to watch the program develop the next generation of leaders who are passionate about solving hunger.” These students have learned valuable problem-solving skills while being educated about critical global issues like world hunger. Thanks to the program, students will be better equipped to advance local solutions and apply them to a larger global context in the future.

Lead2Feed itself consists of a ten-lesson curriculum on the topic of leadership with the challenge of solving world hunger via service. Goals include working with others, creating a plan to solve local or global hunger issues, and self-awareness. Any middle or high school classroom in the United States can participate, and various projects have been attempted which range from building a race car out of canned food, fundraising, creating cookbooks, to collecting food for local food pantries. By getting youth involved in the issue of global hunger, we are creating a more educated and knowledgeable group of people who can use the skills which can later be utilized to advance the cause of defeating hunger and poverty.

– Sarah Rybak

Source: EON,Lead2Feed
Photo: KSCA