NEWS SCAN
Khandani Rajdhani to Have More Outlets
Bangs to Expand Across the Country
Khandani Rajdhani—the fine dining vegetarian thali restaurant chain—is all set for a nationwide expansion. After launching its outlet at the newly built Phoenix Mall in Pune, Mirah Hospitality and Food Solutions Pvt. Ltd. will see the sights of other cities also. Especially Southern India is the prime focus for the company. The cities which are going to witness the presence of Rajdhani includes Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Chennai and Coimbatore. At least six outlets have been planned for Mumbai and five for Bangalore. Aji Nair, Assistant Vice-president, F&B Division, Mirah Hospitality and Food Solutions Pvt. Ltd., informed that the plan was to set up around 65 outlets by the end of this year, but due to the location unavailability, the number of restaurants had to be restricted to 24. Three of them have already been launched. Nair also pointed out that the investment in a metro city would be around Rs. 1.2 crore and that in the other cities it would vary between Rs. 75-90 lakh each.
Bangs, India’s first domestic fried chicken quick service restaurant (QSR) brand, plans to launch about 50 outlets across India within the next one year. Out of these, the Chennai-based company envisages to launch 15 outlets across the states like Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. Overseas expansion, especially in the Gulf countries, will also be a major focus of the company. India’s first domestic fried chicken QSR brand came into existence in Chennai, in the year 2009. Bangs operates on a franchising model and currently has a strong presence in more than 10 states through 20 plus outlets. These outlets are a mix of three types of formats – restaurant, kiosk and express. Other than fried chicken, Bangs also offers a variety of fast food options including burgers, wraps and pasta, along with a large number of sidekicks, tempting desserts and drinks. The young 26-year-old Asvin Simon, the Director of Bangs, believes that “There is a lot of craze in India for international brands. I boldly accepted the challenge of stepping in the QSR industry to make the fast food lovers understand that an Indian brand like Bangs can also give customers the same quality and quantity of products with a better pricing option for their pockets.”
Starbucks Coffee and Tata group on a JV Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Company is all set to enter into a joint venture with Tata Group to set up coffee shops in India. Valued at 11billion USD, Starbucks is settling an exclusive equity joint venture with Tata Coffee, which would also be backed up by other bigger firms within the Tata Group. The country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations allow Starbucks to hold up to 51 percent share. Starbucks’ Vice-president for emerging business, Arun Bharadwaj and the Tatas are looking into locations for the cafe parlours. Taj Sats, a flight catering service of IHCL, is assisting in designing the Starbucks’ food menu. With other international coffee chains, Starbucks has showed its interest in budding markets, including India, to foster growth. Starbucks has 17,000 outlets worldwide, with nearly 12,000 of them in North America.
26
Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review
Oct-Nov ’11