By Praveen Paramasivam (Reuters) -Papa John's International is placing India among its priority markets globally and tailoring its offerings to local tastes with its maiden majority-vegetarian menu, executives said, in a move the U.S. pizza chain expects will fuel long-term growth. The world's third-largest pizza delivery company, which exited India in 2017 citing underperformance, has relaunched with four stores in Bengaluru, it said on Friday, and plans to open 650 stores nationwide over the next decade. The pizza chain's return comes at a time when executives and analysts tip discretionary spending in India to recover on the back the recent tax cuts, after several quarters of sluggish demand across the fast-food sector. "India is one of our priority markets," CFO Ravi Thanawala told Reuters. India, alongside other focus regions such as China and the United Arab Emirates, receives "the greatest amount of management focus," Thanawala said. The company, which has nearly 6,000 outlets in around 50 countries and territories, is putting in most of its time and focus in such priority markets for technology strategy development and consumer research to drive long-term growth. Indian investment firm Pulsar Capital and UAE-based PJP Investments Group are Papa John's joint master franchisees in the country. India is set to become PJP's largest market within six years, surpassing its combined store count in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the investment firm's CEO Tapan Vaidya said. The franchisee currently operates about 150 Papa John's restaurants in these Middle Eastern countries. To attract footfalls, Papa John's is offering more vegetarian pizzas than non-vegetarian ones for the first time in its history, Vaidya said. India has the world's highest number of vegetarians. Papa John's is pricing its entry-level margherita pizza at 149 rupees ($1.68), Vaidya said. In comparison, market leader Domino's Pizza's margherita pizza starts at 109 rupees. ($1 = 88.6910 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
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