Tata Starbucks eyes launching 10 more stores this fiscal

Wat-a-Burger is looking at launching 40 outlets by end of the current fiscal to increase its footprint across India.

As a part of its FY21-22 plan, the burger chain aims to accelerate its expansion in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Most of the new outlets will be targeted for Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Farman Beig, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wat-a-Burger, said, “The pandemic has hit the restaurant industry. Amidst this the states that had the maximum number of restaurants and cafes also saw most of them shutting down, Karnataka and Maharashtra being two of them. Hence, post-pandemic we see a huge scope in these states.”

Currently, Wat-a-Burger has 60 outlets across 16 cities and 9 states in the country. It has a presence in all the major locations including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Vadodara, Surat, Panchkula, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Gorakhpur, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, and Jhansi.

Wat-a-Burger targets to create new entrepreneurs in tier 2 and tier 3 cities through the franchisee model.

Chaayos is aiming at expanding its presence to 300 stores from 80 currently over the next three years. The tea cafe chain further targets to have 100 stores by the end of the current fiscal year.

The brand is looking to go deeper into Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where it is present now, rather than spreading itself thin by entering new markets.

At present, Chaayos has 8 stores in Bengaluru, and 72 in Delhi and Mumbai combined.

Nitin Saluja, Founder of Chaayos, said, “Every store we open becomes profitable in 3-5 months, with no store taking more than 6 months to become profitable. The focus on stores making money is linked to Chaayos becoming profitable by the time it hits the 300-store mark.”

In the current financial year, the New Delhi-based company aims to grow revenue by 60%, without disclosing the revenue number.

“The company has been able to boost its bottom line by 5% due to use of technology, which has helped reduce wastage, improve consistency and improve stock keeping,” Saluja added.

The company has served more than 1.7 million customers, with the average repeat rate of ordering tea standing at 3.5 times a month.

Chaayos Recent Fundraise

Chaayos has recently secured $21.5 million in a mix of equity and debt funding led by Silicon Valley-based Think Investments. The round has also seen participation from existing investors SAIF Partners, Tiger Global and others. It further includes a $3 million debt investment from Innoven Capital.

Prior to its latest funding round, the company had raised $20 million.

Saluja stated, “We will use the capital to do three things, open new stores, building technology and hiring. We’ve also picked up some debt, as a business like ours where stores make a profit, servicing debt makes sense.”

Indian tea café market

Chai is more than just a cup of tea to start the day in India. It is a drink that Indians can’t live without. Indians have been obsessed with tea for almost forever. The obsession can be seen by the fact that Indians drink around 30 cups of tea for every cup of coffee. The country consumes 837,000 tonnes of Tea every year. With such high consumption of the drink, Chai QSR franchises are emerging as a huge business opportunity.

Tea Franchise: A lucrative business model

A tea franchise is a lucrative business model because of the fewer requirements it needs to start it as a business. For instance, a tea stall requires tea leaves, water, sugar, and other kitchen equipment as their basic requirement. And, in a franchise model, you just have to add up the costs of decor, seating inventory, and employees’ salaries, which also do not require much of an investment.

As per sources, a small tea franchise can be started in an average investment of Rs 9-15 lakhs (investment amount increases with the size of the outlet) for the area of about 100-500 sq ft. All of this together makes tea franchise everyone's cup of tea. 

BrightStar, a franchise partner of the Californian-based burger chain Carl's Jr, is looking at tripling its footprint and seeking investment in India. With this expansion plan, the company is riding on the growth wave of the Indian food and beverage industry.

BrightStar has been granted exclusive Master Franchise rights of Carl's Jr in North India. The hospitality giant has been winning the Indian market with its customised consulting strategies which focus primarily on customer experience & product for matured and underpenetrated markets.

Presently, the brand is in expansion mode primarily in the Punjab-Chandigarh region, owing to its consumer demography and diverse range of products.

BrightStar is targeting to launch four more outlets by March 2020, with an aim to touch 20 store marks by the end of this year. The company’s present expansion strategy is aimed towards achieving higher ROI by utilization of economics of scale.

Presence of Carl's Jr

Currently, Carl's Jr India is operating four outlets at premium locations of Delhi-NCR with an estimated revenue of Rs 10.5 crore for the FY 2019-20 and with a positive EBITDA margins at the store level.

Beginning from a humble hot dog cart in 1941, Carl's Jr has become a global giant serving the best quality burgers across the world. The fast food chain has been a pioneer of the quick service restaurants (QSR) industry for the past 75 plus years.

With more than 3800 restaurants in 43 countries, Carl's Jr and sister brand Hardee's focus on fresh food made with only premium quality ingredients to offer big-juicy burgers, hand-scooped ice-cream milkshakes and hand-breaded chicken.

The burger chain features a superior dining experience, which includes innovative menu items made-to-order and served hot and fresh at your table, all in a modern, upscale and spacious environment, while also having options of take away, drive-thru and home delivery for its guests.

Carl's Jr India

Carl's Jr India is known for its high-quality products made from a variety of fresh and healthy ingredients. The burger chain offers great taste at a great value to its guests and leads the industry in class and innovation.

In India, Carl's Jr has invested more than $1.5 million for substantial consumer research, product development & tasting trials, which has helped it to create a full line of fresh and flavourful premium vegetarian & non-vegetarian options.

The brand provides guests a wide range of products designed to meet the Indian palate, in addition to several signatures Carl's Jr menu items available globally.

The Date House, a new premium healthy food product line, will soon launch its first outlet in Chandigarh at Elante Mall. The new store will be catering to the new varieties of premium and best dates from across the world.

The healthy food store’s product category consists of premium pitted dates, filled dates, chocolate dates, Azwa and Mejdool dates.

Besides dates, The Date House will also launch date oats cookies, honey oats cookies, coconut cookies and honey almond cookies during the launch of the store in Chandigarh.

Date is the healthiest sweet alternative, satisfying sweet cravings and people’s health needs. Being a great source of energy, vitamin A, calcium and iron, these dates are filled with health benefits. Dates have zero fat, zero cholesterol, and a high percentage of dietary fibre.

The Date House’ product portfolio includes the imported dates from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, almonds and walnuts from the USA and pistachios from Iran.

Ashish Dang, Director, The Date House, said, “The world is moving towards healthy food and natural sweetener. There is a greater emphasis on natural food products than ever, and the market size is growing exponentially.”

“These natural products have a global taste palette, which makes it appealing all across. We are seeing greater demand from Indian customers in this segment, towards a holistic healthy lifestyle. Keeping this in mind, we have bought the best products from all over the world to satisfy our Indian customers’ needs,” he added.

Surging Demand for Healthy Food Segment

We have seen different concepts and trends coming to India over the last two years. With burgers becoming the QSR favorites and pizza capturing the party scenes, the health food segment has also grown eventually in the Indian market.

Nowadays, people do not only want to eat food, but they are much more focused on getting healthy food at a reasonable price with taste in it. With the growing awareness of healthy foods and healthy diets on the menu, the young office goers and the students are more attracted to the healthy food being offered in the market.

Experts say that consumption of healthy food is a part of a broader ‘lifestyle’, and with growing prosperity, the demand prospects do look bright in the years to come. 

In India, the health-conscious segment is catering to around 50 lakh people in the top six cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. It is growing at 10-15% annually with market size of Rs 12,500 crore at present.

Jollibee is eyeing at expanding its store network in North America to 250 by 2023.

The announcement comes after the inauguration of Jollibee’s new North American headquarters in West Covina, California. The new 28,000 sq ft headquarters will be serving as a center of operations for Jollibee and its sister brands Chowking and Red Ribbon.

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), the parent company of the brand, is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant companies. It has identified North America as a key growth market in its pursuit to be among the top five restaurant companies in the world.

Jollibee, the largest fast food chain brand in the Philippines, is operating a Philippine network of over 1,400 stores.

In North America, Filipino fast food joint launched its first store in 1998 in Daly City, California. Jollibee now operates 46 stores across the region, including locations in California, New York, and Texas, and in Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta in Canada.

The company said, “The new Jollibee headquarters will ably support operations around North America in its quest to become a major fast food player in the region.”

The fast food chain has a restaurant network of more than 1400 at home and over 230 elsewhere abroad. Its parent company JFC has more than 5800 restaurants in 35 countries globally.

Fast Food Market in India

Almost the entire urban population starting from kids to the college-going students, from vegetarians to non-vegetarians, everyone is fond of fast foods. One just looks out for occasions to make an excuse and bump into fast food restaurants.

Indian fast food segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% by 2020 due to changing consumer behavior and demography, says a report produced by Research and Markets.

In India, the fast food market is likely to be worth $ 27.57 billion by 2020.

About 10% of the fast food market in the country is organized. NOVONOUS expects that the organized fast food market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27% by 2020.

Vegetarian fast food constitutes of around 45% of the whole fast food market in India and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% by 2020.

As per a report, the global fast food market was valued at more than $539.63 billion in 2016. It is expected to reach above $690.80 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of slightly above 4.20% between 2017 and 2022.

Continuing with its global growth momentum, Domino's Pizza has launched its first store in the Czech Republic. The new outlet has been opened by Domino's, through a partnership with master franchisee Daufood Czech Republic S.R.O.

Jose Marti, Chief Executive Officer of Daufood, said, “I am so proud of the team that helped bring the global Domino's brand to the Czech Republic. We look forward to sharing our delicious products, excellent customer service and prompt delivery with the citizens of Brno.”

Domino's first store in Czech Republic is unveiled at Vinohrady area of Brno. The new store features the new pizza theater design, a refreshing and inviting interior, stylish seating, as well as a front-row seat to watch all the action of pizza-making.

The pizza chain will launch the second location in Brno's city center, with additional locations planned for next year.

Joe Jordan, Executive Vice President of international, Domino's, stated, “Establishing ourselves in the Czech Republic provides an excellent opportunity for our brand to continue its global momentum. With a terrific, proven master franchisee like Daufood, we are confident that Domino's will be able to establish itself as the pizza delivery brand of choice in Brno.”

Also Read: Indian Pizza Market Offers A Mouth Watering Opportunity For Investors

Domino's is now operating in over 85 markets worldwide, with more than half of its global retail sales coming from international stores. It is the largest pizza company in the world based on global retail sales.

Growth in Pizza Market

The Italian food format stood third in preference after Indian and Chinese five to six years ago. However, recent studies show that pizza is the biggest and the most profitable segment in the Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) format.

The Indian pizza market is dominated by Jubilant Food Works and Yum Brands, who own the widely recognisable brands Domino’s and Pizza Hut, respectively. However, other brands such as Sbarro, Papa John’s and Marco’s Pizza are also competing to spread their base in the country. Thus, with the increase in the number of players, the market is ripe for investors.

Also Read: Top 8 QSR Segments That Are Steaming Hot Franchise Opportunities

Prospects in smaller cities

In the pizza segment, competition is getting intense as franchisors are significantly ramping up their presence across tier-II and tier-III cities of India. There exists a tremendous growth opportunity for franchisors in these areas as an educated middle-class population is becoming more sophisticated with respect to standardised food consumption.

Tata Cha from the house of Tata Global Beverages is strengthening its presence in Bangalore with the launch of its anchor store at Cunningham Road.
 
With its state of the art outlet with plush interiors, Tata Cha acts as a destination for its visitors to relax, unwind and connect over a cup of tea. The new store is spread across a 1000 sq ft area with a lavish façade, and design language synonymous with chai warmth.
 
Sushant Dash, President (India and the Middle East), Tata Global Beverages, said, “Our existing six outlets are doing very well and have received an excellent customer response. They have also provided us with key insights which we will incorporate going forward. We are delighted to now expand into an upmarket and vibrant area with the launch of the Cunningham road store. This will make us even more accessible to consumers in Bangalore and we look forward to making it a great experience.”
 
Keeping the major part of the menu intact, the food and beverage list will range from a wide variety of hot teas like Ginger Tea, Masala tea along with innovative teas like Chatpata Churan & Gulkand tea. Dilliwali Kanji and Masala Shikanji are some of the local favorites along with Rasmalai Milk Shake, Peach Iced Tea and Chili Guava Ice Slush in the icy cold offerings.
 
The food menu includes dishes inspired by Punjab like Butter Chicken Khichdi to Cafreal Pocket Parathas from Goa. Indigenous recipes such as Chatpata Matar Kulcha and forgotten delicacies like Dal Pakwaan also form a part of the menu, introducing them to the new-age millennials. Many of the offerings from the food & beverage menu aim to revive lost Indian recipes and evoke nostalgia in the minds of customers.

Burger King is planning to double the number of stores in India by the end of next year with the funds from IPO. Recently, the US-based fast food chain has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the Indian market.

A Marketing Executive of Burger King said, “We are looking for aggressive expansion. The brand has received a good response, and with the IPO, we are looking to double our stores by the end of next year.”

Burger King India has filed for an IPO to raise at least Rs 400 crore. Of these, the brand is looking to use Rs 290 crore to launch new restaurants.

Burger King’s first restaurant in India was opened in 2014. It competes with market leaders like McDonald’s and KFC. Currently, the burger chain has 216 company-owned and eight sub-franchised restaurants across 47 cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Kochi.

The company targets to introduce restaurants in new areas, but has ruled out the regional franchise model.

Burger King said in its draft prospectus, “We also intend to open restaurants in new areas and markets where we believe there is a strong potential for growth, in addition to taking advantage of the growing online delivery market, including through engagement with delivery aggregators.”

Tablez has launched a new outlet of the iconic American ice cream brand ‘Cold Stone Creamery’ at Eros City Square in Gurugram. With this launch, Cold Stone Creamery now has 24 outlets in India.

Cold Stone Creamery is a pioneer in hand-crafted ice cream with delicious ingredients.

Spread across 2,200 sq ft, the store will launch two newly-added flavours, viz. Rasmalai and Paan, along with Rasmalai and Gulab Jamun cake this season.

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Tablez, said, “We expand with great pleasure in NCR, where the audience has a high level of awareness and an evolving taste for ice cream.”

“Thanks to the brand’s unique range of flavours and offerings, we are confident our new outlet will enjoy the same popularity that Cold Stone locations enjoy globally. The brand has expanded in India steadily, and the reception is overwhelming. We are excited to be a part of Gurugram’s cosmopolitan setting, and look forward to serving our amazing new range to the customers,” he further added.

Cold Stone Creamery provides a perfect blend of Indian elegance and international standards with its amazing in-store experience. The ice cream brand helps customers indulge in a wide spectrum of innovative flavours of ice cream.

Chai Garam is seeking franchise partners to further expand its presence across India. Chai Garam chain of pocket cafes was established in 2008. With a presence in pan India, the brand is currently serving customers through 60 retail and kiosks outlets. 

Chai Garam claims to have served more than 3 million cups of tea. The company serves 20 types of freshly brewed handmade teas, 30 flavours of Milkshakes, Coolers and Iced Teas. It further offers a vast assortment of snacks ranging from Pastas, Sandwiches and Omelettes to Parathas & Samosas.

The tea chain is operating in several modular formats, including indoor kiosk, outdoor kiosk, cart, retail outlets, shop in shop, and food truck. The Tea Cafe is an 1800 crore industry in India.

Chai Garam seeks to partner with enterprising, motivated individuals and offer them an opportunity to become entrepreneurs and grow with them. 

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, a quick service chicken restaurant (QSR), is planning to develop and launch more than 1500 Popeyes restaurants in Mainland China over the next 10 years.

Popeyes China is the last of Restaurant Brands International’s three major brands to foray into the Chinese market. Burger King is operative in the country since 2005, and it now has over 1000 locations in China.

Josh Kobza, COO of Restaurant Brands International, said, “We’re very excited to grow the Popeyes brand in the Chinese market. We look forward to bringing our great tasting chicken, biscuits, sides, and beautiful new restaurants to our guests in China with our partner, TFI TAB Food Investments.”

Popeyes is operating more than 3100 locations in over 25 countries worldwide, which includes the United States and Canada.

Beard Papa's, an international chain of cream puff stores, is eyeing the United States market for expansion. The Japan-based brand plans to launch 300 stores by 2024 across the US.

At present, the company has just more than 30 stores in the US, including California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Of these 30 stores, 27 of them are franchised.

Initially, Beard Papa's is aiming to expand in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Texas.

Pamela Fazio, President and CEO of US operations, Beard Papa's, said, "The product is completely unique. There's nothing really out there to compare to it."

Founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1999, Beard Papa's sells cream puffs and eclairs with unique flavors, as well as fondants and dessert and custard cream drinks. The company has more than 250 stores in Japan and 300 worldwide.

American QSR chain Subway is planning to cross the 700 restaurants-mark by this year-end or by early next year in India. At present, Subway has about 660 restaurants in the country.

Subway is the second largest QSR chain in the country by the number of outlets. India is the eighth largest market for the QSR chain in terms of the number of restaurants globally.

Ranjit Talwar, Country Director, South Asia, Subway, said, “Since Q4 of 2015, Subway India has been witnessing a double-digit growth rate. Our same-store sales growth has been on an average at 12-13 per cent annually, which is higher than the industry average.”

In India, all Subway restaurants are owned and operated by its network of over 400 franchise partners. The restaurant chain adds about 60+ restaurants annually through its franchisees in the country.

“2020 will be a significant year for the brand in India as it plans to get into new geographies such as Jammu & Kashmir,” Talwar stated.

Subway had launched its “Fresh Forward” redesign in 2017 in the US, which is now being expanded globally.

He further added, “Currently, 14 restaurants in India sport the “Fresh Forward” décor. We will remodel all Indian restaurants in a phased manner in the coming years."

Charlotte-headquartered Clean Juice has launched its 75th store in just three years of franchising. It is the first and only USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise.

Located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the new “store of the future” will be the franchise’s first ever stand-alone building with a full drive-thru and digital in-store experience. This is also Clean Juice’s first store to feature all of their new digital technologies, including indoor and outdoor digital menu boards and self-ordering kiosks.

The new store is owned and operated by franchisee partners Gerard Mack and Doug Gehrig. They both had previously owned and operated eight high-performing McDonald’s restaurant locations in the same area.

Landon Eckles, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Clean Juice, said, “This is a monumental achievement for our Clean Juice family. As we celebrate our company’s fourth anniversary and our 75th location, we are even more thrilled to celebrate Clean Juice’s first free-standing location, equipped with a full drive-thru and digital experience to offer even more ease and convenience to our guests. We couldn’t have found better partners than Mack and Doug to be at its helm.”

Gerard Mack added, “We’re excited to introduce the Clean Juice we know and love to the Lake Charles community and offer guests new healthy and delicious quick meal options. As locals, Doug and I will be fully involved in the day-to-day operations, making sure that together with our team members we provide excellent customer service and create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all guests, following the Clean Juice pillars of Smile, Speed and Service.”

Upsouth Hospitality, a renowned Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain, has opened its first outlet in Navrangpura, Ahmedabad. With this launch, the QSR chain has forayed into the Gujarat market.

The hospitality brand brings traditional South Indian vegetarian cuisine in a modern quick service format. Upsouth is successfully operating over 12 outlets across Bangalore and Pune.

Kumar Gaurav, Vice President of Upsouth Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said, “After the huge success in Bangalore and Pune, we see Ahmedabad as a potential target market for Upsouth. A major portion of the population in Ahmedabad is vegetarian. However, the real taste of South Indian food is not being served here which is why we planned to launch Upsouth. Navrangpura is a perfect target location for us due to the mixture of commercialization, working professionals and students.”

“We are planning to launch 4 to 5 more outlets by the year-end and are looking forward to create an impactful presence in cosmopolitan areas in Gujarat through franchising options. Beyond these locations, we are also planning to launch operations in Mumbai and Hyderabad,” he added.

Manu R Nair, Corporate Executive Chef, Upsouth Hospitality Pvt Ltd, stated, “We bring healthy, delicious, fresh and wholesome Indian and South Indian vegetarian food in a modern format. South Indian cuisine is recognized as one of the most popular cuisines, and as a product is also suitable for all day dining.”

Leading organized retail group Tablez has launched a new outlet of Cold Stone Creamery, the iconic American ice cream brand, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Spread across 1,255 sq ft, this is the brand’s 5th outlet in Chennai and 21st in India.

Cold Stone Creamery’s other four outlets in Chennai are present at Phoenix Market City, Velachery Road; Nungambakkam, KNK Road; VR Chennai, Anna Nagar; and Injambakkam, ECR, in Chennai.

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Tablez, said, “We are thrilled to open our latest store in Marina Mall and showcase our unique hand-crafted ice creams, along with the classics, for all to indulge year-round. Chennaiites appreciate great quality ice cream and the city is an important market for us. We intend to open more stores in Chennai over the coming months.”

Cold Stone Creamery is a pioneer in hand-crafted ice-cream, having a presence in more than 30 countries. It is well known for its innovations, especially in crafting the creamiest and 100% vegetarian ice-cream products.

In this digital age, the Indian market has become extremely receptive to new concepts and healthier choices. Because of this, the ‘Wok’ concept is gaining popularity in the country. Wok boasts of a fresh and healthy meal that’s cooked in a live kitchen right in front of the customer.

With this gaining popularity, Wok Boys, Dubai’s famous Asian street food QSR franchise, is planning to expand pan India. Wok Boyz picks the freshest, tastiest ingredient and the irresistible flavors of Asian Street Food to offer you a freestyle menu where you design your wok in easy steps.

A Dubai-born restaurant brings the authentic flavors of Asian Street Food infused with all that is urban. Foodies and work fanatics alike can take charge and create their own experience from the base, freshly sourced vegetables, protein, sauces and toppings.

Wok Boyz has sold over 100,00 wok boxes in the last 12 months. It has completed average of 200 deliveries per day within the last 6 months. The brand has further achieved the top three positions in food deliveries brand (local & international).

Chaiiwala is planning to open 150-200 outlets in India over the next five years.

Mohamed Sohail Alimohamed, Director of Chaiiwala, said, “India is going to be our strongest markets in terms of expansion, as the population is expected to reach 1.30 billion by 2025. Moreover, India is a chai loving country, hence the country is important as a strategic market for our expansion plans.”

“We've been analyzing this market over the last 12 months and we'll be executing our expansion plans over the coming 12 months. We feel the potential here is 10-20 times over what it is in the UK,” he added.

Chaiiwala is UK’s iconic café chain brand of Indian traditional street food with a modern twist, having a balanced tradition with a growing consumer need for aspirational fresh food with a story. It is officially British Franchise Association approved brand.

Chaiiwala is now synonymous as being the number one food brand of choice for thousands celebrating today’s fast lifestyle diversity and aspirational choices.

Krispy Kreme will launch the first-of-its-kind flagship in Times Square, New York in early 2020. Within the shop’s 4,500-square-foot retail space, it will be serving more guests annually than any other Krispy Kreme location in the world.

Krispy Kreme Times Square Flagship will be showcasing the end-to-end doughnut-making process, from the mixing of raw ingredients to the iconic glaze waterfall.

Michael Tattersfield, CEO and President, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation, said, “Our direction is to be the most loved sweet treat brand in the world. In the most iconic city in the world, the Krispy Kreme Times Square Flagship will showcase our brand on the global stage and inspire customer wonder. We love making awesome doughnuts – and New Yorkers deserve hot and fresh doughnuts.”

Upsouth is planning to foray into the Gujarat market with its first outlet in Ahmedabad. After creating its presence in Bengaluru and Pune, the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain eyes to launch 4-5 more outlets in Ahmedabad by the end of the year.

The brand is further looking forward to set footprints in new markets of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Upsouth offers traditional South Indian vegetarian fare in a modern quick service format.

Kumar Gaurav, Vice-President of Billionsmiles Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said, “After the huge success in Bengaluru and Pune, we see Ahmedabad as a potential target market for Upsouth. A major portion of the population in Ahmedabad is vegetarian. Since Upsouth is a traditional and fusion restaurant combined with great offers, value pricing, dynamic interiors and a live kitchen atmosphere, it will be a great value proposition for the Ahmedabad and Gujarat market. We plan to see quick business growth and hope to expand exponentially within the coming months.”

Manu R Nair, Corporate Executive Chef, Upsouth, added, “Keeping pace with the modern world, Upsouth redefines the experience of South Indian cuisine for you with an upbeat and contemporary touch. We offer healthy, delicious, fresh and wholesome South Indian vegetarian food in a modern format.”

Brewhouse Ice Tea, the maker of bottled ice tea, is targeting to have 10,000 stores by 2020. Currently, the brand is available in more than 4500 locations across 15 cities in India.

Brewhouse has raised $2.6 million from Food Empire Holdings, Singapore, in two rounds of funding.

Siddharth Jain, Founder of Brewhouse Ice Tea, said, "Future funding requirement depends on our growth curve. We’re coming with some new products and the response to that will determine the amount of funding we will need in the coming years."

Besides traditional and modern retail, the brand is available across leading 5-star hotels, cafes, quick-service restaurants and leading corporate spaces and educational institutions.

"Online, we are available on Big Basket and Amazon and soon launching on Flipkart as well. We want to reach 10,000 points of sale by 2020," Jain stated.

The company has achieved 5x growth in the first quarter of this calendar year as compared to the first quarter of the previous calendar year.

Jain added, "This was also due to the base effect as we were quite small early last year, having started operations in May 2017. We expect to grow 3x this year as well as next year as we bring new products and some innovation to market."

Barista Coffee Company, which owns Barista Café brand, is planning to reach 500-outlet mark in the next three years, embarking on a massive expansion through franchisee model. Currently, Barista has 220 outlets with an equal mix of company-owned and franchisee outlets. 

Puneet Gulati, CEO of Barista, said, "The focus is to grow the brand through franchise partners across India and going forward the ratio of company-owned against the franchisee outlets will be 30:70."

"We want to spread the love for brand Barista through interested entrepreneurs who have F&B background and also people who aspire to enter into F&B business. We have a 4-point strategy to make Barista brand stronger.  The franchisee expansion is one of the strategic pillars," he added.

Recently, Barista has started two new formats of Barista, one is Barista Diner, an all-day diner format, and Barista Express, a QSR format. The two outlets of Barista Diner have been opened in Noida in Delhi NCR and Kapurthala in Punjab. The company is in the process of launching Barista Diner in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad and Jaipur soon.

Gulati Further stated, "We will have 2 to 3 signature dishes from Mexican, Italian, Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisines at these Barista Diner formats with live counters and all-day dining facilities. The company will also explore tapping the cinema halls, Mall atriums, food courts, corporate offices, etc. for their Express format."