Sbarro has expanded its partnership agreement with White Planet Restaurants (WPR), led by Sriram Rajagopal and Gopal Rajagopalan, to deepen the company’s presence in South India.

WPR, which currently operates five Sbarro outlets in India, was named the brand’s South Indian master franchisee with plans to open 35 new outlets throughout the region.

The first location under the new agreement opened in Chennai in May, joining four existing Bangalore locations.

Three additional outlets are slated to open in South India before year’s end for a total of eight operational restaurants in the region by the close of 2013.

“White Planet Restaurants has been a valuable partner in helping us to successfully launch Sbarro to the India marketplace,” said Randy Jones, COO of Global Franchise, Sbarro.

Over the past year, Sbarro has significantly expanded its international presence forging franchise agreements across the globe including Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, UAE, and the Philippines.

The company currently operates more than 1000 outlets across 40 countries with more than 400 of those outlets located outside the US.

White Planet Restaurants joined Sbarro in 2010.

New York-based Sbarro features a menu of Italian food including pizza, pasta dishes and other hot and cold Italian entrees, salads, drinks and desserts.