Domino’s, the largest foreign fastfood chain in India, is all set to take on rival McDonald’s head on in the kids meals space by launching a product which is modelled on the latter’s global property Happy Meals.

To drive incremental sales in a subdued economic environment, Domino’s will roll out kids-only meals in boxes with a toy at Rs 99 starting this week. This price is marginally lower than McDonald’s Happy Meals which is very popular.

Harneet Singh, VP, Domino’s India, said that the kids’ meal sub-brand, ‘Juniors Joybox’, will help the company in tapping a new segment while having the potential to drive frequency of consumption.

Singh said research data indicated that around 45per cent occasions of consumption for Domino’s are within families and kids form the core of such families.

“Getting into the kids-specific segment opens a new segment to drive consumption occasions since kids influence family purchase decision to a large extent.

It would directly drive consumption from parents who may be otherwise hesitating to buy pizzas frequently for their kids,” said Harminder Sahni, founder and MD at Wazir Advisors. He added, “If they (Domino’s) position the product along with a health connotation, it’s a smart move.”

This Juniors Joybox has been positioned in the market as a ‘complete meal’ including vegetable toppings on pizza slices, garlic bread sticks, custard dessert, juice and a toy. It not using fries and aerated drinks for which McDonald’s Happy Meal has been criticized by health activists globally.

According to a company official, Happy Meals accounts for about 10 per cent to McDonald’s sales. It is one of the most successful sub-brands of the company whose Hollywood and cartoon characters-based toys have become a big hit among children.

According to Domino’s India officials, the Juniors Joybox is entirely an innovation specifically for India. Richard Allison, executive VP at Domino’s International, recently said that India is expected to become the largest market for the pizza giant outside of the US by the end of 2014.

Currently, Domino’s has about 700 outlets in India as compared to 770 in the UK. Domino’s has a major share of 20 per cent among all MNC fast-food chain outlets in India which is almost double that of Subway and McDonald’s, according to latest research reports.