US fast-food giant McDonald's, famed for its beef-based Big Mac burgers, said it will open its first vegetarian-only restaurant anywhere in the world in India next year.
The world's second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway tailors its menus to suit local tastes, which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements.
The first vegetarian outlet will open its doors mid-next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India where religious authorities forbid consumption of meat at the shrine.
"It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant," a spokesman for McDonald's in northern India, said Rajesh Kumar Maini.
"There is a big opportunity for vegetarian restaurants (in India) as many Indians are vegetarian."
A 2006 poll found that about 40 percent of Indians do not eat meat, and McDonald's is eager to tap that 500-million-strong market
After the opening in Amritsar, the US chain has plans to open another vegetarian outlet near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in northwestern Indian Kashmir - a revered Hindu pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers a year.
McDonald's in India has a menu that is 50-percent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger - which uses a spiced potato-based patty - is the top seller, accounting for a quarter of total sales.
Among the chicken-only meat offerings, the Maharaja Mac is also a favourite.
"At the moment, India is still a very small market - we just have 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000," Mr Maini said.
The chain serves half a million customers a day in India, out of 50 million people it serves daily in over 100 countries.
"When you look at the potential of the country, it's one of the top priority countries and we're laying the groundwork for capturing the market," said Mr Maini.
"We plan to nearly double the number of outlets to 500 plus within the next three years," he said.
