The recent US recession is taking its toll on many business houses including the food chain.

Yum! Brands Inc., the owner of the Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut brands, is eying for a major expansion drive in China in hope to make the country the largest source of the revenue within a decade.

To capture the market, the KFC is customizing its offers that will be tantalising for the Chinese palate. The products lines are not meant for fine dining but something similar in the line of street-side joints which offers millions of Chinese tasty foods at pocket-friendly budget. This approach has already started to produce result with 12% hike in sales in the first quarter compared with 5 percent in other international destinations and 3 percent in the United States.

Yum`s KFC was the first foreign fast food company to move into China, opening its first outlet in 1987. Since then, Yum has become China`s biggest restaurant chain with some $2 billion of annual sales and over 2,500 KFC and Pizza Hut stores. It is far ahead of McDonald’s Corp with roughly 900 outlets in the country. However, USP of the products in China is not its fried stuff but fish, porridge and egg tarts since people here now more keen to remain fit rather than gratifying their gastronomical urge.

Yum intends to increase its lead and plans to add 425 restaurants in China this year. McDonald`s has said it aims to open at least 125 stores in the country during 2008.

David Novak, chief executive officer of Yum, has said that he envisages eventually having over 20,000 restaurants in China.