Petite formats and bigger appetite

Are you looking for low investment F&B franchise brands that require less area to operate? Well, kiosks and carts are apparently the small business format that offers on the go food business to the franchisees. Let’s take a sneak peek into the smaller world of bigger returns which is proving to be hot selling business concepts for both the franchisee and the franchisor.

The kiosks and carts are one of the widely accepted business formats that have gained popularity in the organised F&B industry. Enter any shopping mall, airport, railway station or bus stand and one can easily find kiosks and carts serving food to the moving customers. Not only this, these small F&B formats have set up their existence in schools, colleges, Govt and private offices and in hospitals too as they require lesser space with no fixed kitchen and seating area.

Market insights

According to the report, “Eating Out- A Bite of F&B Food Service in India” conducted by athenainfonomics website, the proliferation of malls and better retail infrastructure has presented an opportunity for players to share costs associated with operations. The number of food courts has increased from 39 in 2007 to 270 in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate of 27.36%. This number was expected to go up to 1,200 in 2015, showing a compound annual growth rate of 34.76%.

Small arrangements for long way to go

While the big shots have dominated the F&B industry, the small size business formats has renewed the business aspirations of many budding entrepreneurs. Dhaval Udeshi, Brand Head, Lebanese food brand Falafel says: “In the first two years, we are focusing on Mumbai and Bangalore for expansion and then we will look at Hyderabad, Pune and other tier-I and II cities. Some of these outlets will be company-owned and some will be franchise-owned. All the outlets will be of 400-500 sq. ft with the investment of Rs 20 to 30 lakh per outlet. We have mall model and stand alone model of outlets with central kitchen in suburban part of Mumbai. Couple of our outlets is standalone.” The brand is looking forward to open about 10 to 15 more outlets in Mumbai and Bangalore by the end of 2016.

Small but important facts

A kiosk model is a win-win situation as it is user-friendly, easy to set up, low maintenance, less manpower and less investment format with high-footfall area. Kiosks and carts can turn out to be great piloting idea for any new indigenous brand or any international player to test the market before actually venturing into the arena.

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