Westlife Foodworld , the operator of McDonald's restaurants in West and South India, has announced a strategic partnership with the Indian Padel Academy to promote padel sports across the country. This collaboration aims to strengthen padel infrastructure, coaching programs, and tournaments nationwide.

Key Aspects of the Partnership

• Focus Areas:

  • Strengthening padel infrastructure
  • Enhancing coaching programs
  • Organizing tournaments nationwide

• Accessibility Initiatives:

  • Introducing school programs
  • Providing certified training
  • Organizing city leagues

McDonald's Tradition in Sports Support

Akshay Jatia, CEO of Westlife Foodworld, highlighted that this partnership extends McDonald's global tradition of supporting sports. The company hopes to inspire young athletes who could potentially represent India on the international stage.

About the Partners

Market Response

Following the announcement, Westlife Foodworld's shares were trading at ₹562.55 on the BSE, showing an increase of ₹2.05 or 0.37%.

This partnership demonstrates Westlife Foodworld's commitment to community engagement and sports development, potentially enhancing its brand image beyond the food service industry.

Westlife Foodworld Limited , the operator of McDonald's restaurants in West and South India, reported a 3.8% year-on-year revenue growth for Q2 FY26, despite facing headwinds in the consumer discretionary spending environment.

Key Financial Highlights

Operational Performance

• On-premise channel delivered 5% year-on-year growth
• Off-premise sales remained stable
• Digital sales contributed around 75% of revenue, growing over 300 bps year-on-year
• 8 new restaurants opened, reaching a total of 450 across 72 cities

Market Challenges and Company Response

Westlife Foodworld faced a challenging quarter, with a 4-6% decline in outside home food consumption frequency observed in August and September in their operating regions. Despite this industry-wide slowdown, the company managed to gain market share with approximately 4% brand growth.

Akshay Jatia, President and CEO, commented on the company's strategic initiatives: "We are setting an ambitious target to double McDelivery sales in the next 2 years. This project has the potential to unlock an incremental 3% to 5% contribution to system-wide same-store-sales growth over the next 2 years."

Innovation and Menu Expansion

The company continues to focus on menu innovation and customer engagement:

1. Launched Protein Plus Slice, developed in collaboration with the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)
2. Introduced Big Yummy Burgers to address customer feedback
3. Reinforced value proposition with McSaver's Combo at Rs. 69

Expansion and Future Outlook

Westlife Foodworld remains committed to its expansion plans:

• On track to achieve the Vision 2027 target of 580-630 restaurants
• Deployed a new AI-powered location intelligence platform for more accurate store performance prediction
• Majority of stores opened in the last 6 months are exceeding expectations

Saurabh Kalra, Managing Director, expressed optimism about future growth: "We remain steadfast in our optimism about McDonald's' brand strength and India's long-term consumption growth story."

Leadership Changes

The company announced that CFO Hrushit Shah will be stepping down to be with his family abroad. The management expressed appreciation for his contributions over the past two years.

As Westlife Foodworld navigates through the current challenging environment, it continues to focus on operational excellence, menu innovation, and strategic expansion to drive long-term growth in the Indian QSR market.