Morning Fresh looks to expand operations pan-India by end of current fiscal

Kolkata-based Tea Junction is planning to have a pan-India presence. Currently, the company has 50 outlets across Kolkata and Siliguri.

Tea Junction was started as a single tea-and-snacks outlet in June 2004.

Parthiv Neotia, Co-Founder of Tea Junction, said, “Tea Junction is a convenience-format outlet and not a destination. It was important for us to be in a smaller format, which could fit in various locations and grow aggressively in number. Location is the key asset for us in this business, as we want to be the go-to place for comfort snacks with tea.”

The concept of Tea Junction originated from the concept of the Bengali ‘adda’, where intellectuals and common folk would gather at local teashops to discuss politics and the state of the economy over a cup of tea.

“Tea Junction hopes to imbibe the culture of ‘adda’, where our cup of tea becomes a reason to engage anyone in a conversation,” Parthiv stated.

Tea Junction sources all its tea from Assam. Its stores are available in multiple formats, including kiosk, lounge, shop-in-shop, and cafe.

The company has worked on strengthening its footprint in Eastern India and will expand across other geographies this year. Before expanding to other regions, Tea Junction wants to add 50 more stores in the North East.

The company is eyeing to have 100 outlets or more, in five or more states of India by 2020.

Parthiv added, “We plan to be better priced, simpler in our offering, emphasise on freshness, and customise for the local palate. Lately, we have been exploring options like bubble tea to attract a different segment of customers and also increase our value proposition through our current 50 distribution centres.”

Panwaadi looks forward at expanding its presence in Delhi NCR, other metros on PAN India scale with the help of franchising. The area required for Panwaadi’s franchise is 250-300 sq ft, with the total investment of Rs 19 lakh.

Panwaadi is a leading organized Paan brand in the area of operations. It uses 100% authentic paan ingredients, with a wide variety of flavorful and unique paans.

Panwaadi is famous for authentic paan preparations and is a leading retailer and caterer of paans and allied products. The brand offers one of the largest varieties of flavorful paans under a single roof for a paan aficionado and gives ample choices to relish from.

Some of the varieties available at Panwaadi include chocolate paan, choco chip paan, black current paan, mango paan, kiwi paan, special meetha paan, choco ball paan, ghundi paan, strawberry paan, shashi pista paan and many more.

Cinste Tandoori planning to expand its footprint on PAN India scale with the help of franchising. Tandoori is a quick service restaurant with presence across India having a unique approach towards providing better alternatives than typical fast food options available.

The company brings Tandoori dishes from all over the world and twist it into Indian taste buds. It is the pioneer of “Healthy Fast Food”, offering the ease and convenience of fast food with a focus on healthier and better quality of food.

Backed by Cinste Ventures Pvt Ltd, Tandoori is a successful, affordable and a proven business model. The vision behind starting the brand is to provide a healthy alternative to fast food restaurants without diluting the flavours. The company also provide different formats to be chosen by the franchisee according to their vision and investment they want to put in.

Currently, the QSR outlet serves Traditional Tandoori, Mexican and Mediterranean-blend with Indian flavor mix. It is also serving International Mocktail range which h compliments Tandoori dishes.

Cinste Fresho is looking forward at expanding its presence on PAN India scale with the help of franchising. The company is operating through the FOCO model (Franchise Owned-Company Operated).

Fresho is all about fresh, simple & hygienic food with comforting ambience. The brand was launched with an aim to offer fresh and hygiene food to all without budget constraint.

Amit Nigam, Founder & MD, Cinste Ventures, said, “Our brand Fresho was started with the notion of serving quality and affordable food. We had our office in an industrial area, where there was no proper food joint. Working class people were eating from road-side carts, where the foods were prepared in unhygienic condition and in cheap oil. So, that’s how the Fresho was conceptualized, that can provide good food in a hygienic environment at almost the same price.”

“The products in our menu range around Rs 50-60. So, that’s how we differentiate ourselves from the competition. We provide quality food at the price of food available at road-side carts,” he added.

The brand’s exclusive menu range includes Thali, Chinese, Meal, Combos, Appetizers, Breads, Snacks and Chillers. Experienced Chef, Kitchen staff an excellent vendor helped Fresho achieve the highest quality standards in food and service industry without affecting menu prices.

Kolkata-based Tea Junction is looking to venture out of West Bengal by launching at least 20 stores outside the state.

Parthiv Neotia, Director of the Ambuja Neotia group, which owns Tea Junction, said, “We plan to open 50 new outlets this fiscal. Of these, 10-15 will be in Delhi, 10-15 in Kolkata and the rest in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. We shall invest around Rs 10 crore for the expansion.”

At present, the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand has 49 stores in operation, with around units 45 in Kolkata. The company aims to open 80-100 stores across India after the first phase of expansion outside Bengal.

In order to fuel a pan-India growth, Tea Junction is planning to raise external capital in the next financial year.

“We first want to consolidate our position as the dominant players in the northern and eastern states, including those in the northeast. The current expansion is aimed at that objective,” Neotia stated.

“The first store outside Bengal will be opened in Delhi in July. This will be our 50th store and will be different from the existing ones. The theme will be based on ‘Calcutta’ and the British era,” he added.

Mother’s Recipe is eyeing to expand its food service division (HoReCa) nationally. The company, which is one of India’s leading Indian food brands, aims to double the growth in the current fiscal.

Under its flagship brand ‘Mother’s Recipe Food Service’, the firm offers various products like Indian gravies, pickles, spices, papads, condiments, ginger garlic paste, etc.

Presently, Mother’s Recipe has operations across Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. The company is catering to various segments of food service such as star hotels, restaurants and caterers, fine dining to QSRs (quick service restaurants) as well as railways and airlines.

Sanjana Desai, Chief Strategy Officer, Mother’s Recipe, said, “As a brand, we have been focussing on building the appropriate infrastructure to ensure timely delivery and consistency in taste and superior quality of products which are essential for this segment. Our products offer solutions for food service – great-tasting products that save time, costs and ensure consistency in the end offerings. We also innovate products together with our clients to meet their requirements.”

“Currently, the food service division contributes only around 5-6 per cent of our overall India business. However, we have witnessed a rapid 50 per cent growth in FY18-19. Going forward, we plan to double our business in FY19-20, and in the next five years, we are targeting to contribute to over 20 per cent of our overall Indian business,” she added.