New Delhi, June 15: Domino’s and Pizza Hut will soon have competition from the US-based Italian restaurant chain Sbarro, which is set to take a big slice of the Indian pizza market.

Sbarro is entering into a 50:50 joint venture with the Hotz group as part of its expansion plans in India. Hotz Group managing director Gaurav Jain said, “Both parties will have equal say in the management and equal contribution towards investment in the venture.”

The companies will set up 100 Sbarro restaurants in the country for about $25,000,000 over 10 years.

In the first year, the restaurants will be launched in New Delhi and its surrounding regions. In the second leg of expansion, they will be set up in Calcutta, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. Eventually, The restaurants will come up in Tier II cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur and Agra. The size of the Indian branded pizza market is estimated at Rs 300-400 crore. Domino’s has a 40 per cent share of the market, while Pizza Hut has a 50 per cent share. Analysts said the market is growing at a rate of 45 per cent.

Sbarro will offer the unique option of buying just a slice of a pizza. The products, however, will be costlier than those available now in India.