How This Waffle Chain is Capitalizing on Franchise Network

Started in 2015, The Belgian Waffle has disrupted the waffle market in India in last three years. Started off with a small outlet in Mumbai at INOX cinema in 2015, today, the group is running 170+ stores across 40+ cities in India. The Belgian Waffles sells around 20,000+ waffles everyday and has also expanded its presence to neighbouring country Nepal.

“We’ve spent a lot of time getting our product and proprietary eggless batter right, which was really appreciated in terms of quality and consistency,” shares Shrey Aggarwal, Founder, The Belgian Waffle Co that has created a warm, fun and approachable brand identity that resonated with all ages from 8 to 80.

Franchise Network

“The largest QSR player in India is Dominos with ~1300 outlets. We currently have 170+ outlets so it is a long road ahead,” adds Aggarwal who believes that India itself promises to be a very fertile and interesting landscape for the brand and product.  

Further, although the brand is amongst the largest home grown QSR chains in India, they harbour aspiration of taking India to the world. “We have established our presence in Nepal and are actively looking at neighbouring countries. We have a product of global standards and this category is well received across international borders. With that in mind we are not aggressively looking at international expansion,” adds Aggarwal.

The brand is also looking at expanding into newer verticals which will help them in leveraging on their pan India brand presence. The idea is to delight the end consumers in categories where there are gaps. “We are also looking some interesting brand partnerships and alliances where we can capitalize on our product and process expertise coupled with the technology expertise of some players to come up with products which will delight the end consumer,” concludes Aggarwal.

FRANCHISE FACTS

Year of establishment: 2015

Year to start franchising: 2015

Total No. of stores:170

Investment required:Rs. 25 – 27 lacs

Area required (in sqft):200 – 300 sqft

Expected RoI:6 to 18 months

Preferred cities &location: Tier II, III cities