How This Global Food Brand Has Marked its Entry in India Bfood has signed a partnership with India's World Iconic Brands Hospitality Pte Ltd (WIB) to cater to the Indian market
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If there's one thing about Indians that everyone knows, it's that they love food. Walk into the bylanes of any city and it's flanked by restaurants that one can almost say have survived the test of time. At the same time, there are new up and coming restaurants that don't just serve delicious food but are also in line with the "hep" culture of millennials.
The growth opportunity too is immense in the sector. Over the years, several global food brands have made their foray into India because of the several business opportunities that lie in the country. In fact, brands look at India as one of their major markets and are also often open to changing their menu to bring in the desi flavor of India.
Now, another major brand is set to mark its foray into India. The food giant Berjaya Food Bhd (Bfood) is marking its India entry with the opening of the famous Kenny Rogers Roasters (KRR) restaurants and 75 Jollibean kiosks in India. This will be the company's first expansion after its foray into Singapore.
The Perfect Market
The Indian restaurant industry has seen an amazing growth journey and today is one of the biggest sectors that clocks in the big moolah. According to a report by the National Restaurant Association of India, the food services industry was projected to grow at a CAGR of 10 per cent from FY16 to FY21 to reach USD 77 billion by 2021.
Bfood has signed a partnership with India's World Iconic Brands Hospitality Pte Ltd (WIB) to cater to the Indian market. The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understand to expand their businesses together.
Sydney Quays, CEO, BFood group, has said that the company will focus more on growing Jollibean. Quays further stated, "India is a stepping stone for us to go into many countries. We have a lot of interest from Southeast Asian countries. Out of Singapore, the potential for Jollibean is strong in the franchise environment. In the future, we're looking at our FMCG business, which we're trying to get soy into the market. This augurs well for people who take up our franchise. They have the first right of refusal to distribute (soy) in the retail business".
Meanwhile WIB will be responsible for the commercial development of Jollibean and KKR in India and is also pumpin in USD 50 million. Owned by Franchise India Holdings Ltd., WIB is an integrated franchise solutions company that manages 400 brands in India. Gaurav Marya, Managing Director, WIB, said, "We'll spend the next six to eight months to get the model right, understand the preference of consumers and we will scale up the business".
