The $13-billion branded quick service restaurant (QSR) market in India, which has attracted international brands such as McDonald’s, Subway, Nandos, Domino’s and KFC, is still a a big draw.

Starting August, popular American brands such as Atlanta-based Great American Cookies, Chicago-based Forever Yogurt and Denver’s Quiznos will open their doors to Indian consumers with stores in Kolkata and Delhi, followed by Bangalore later this year.

While Great American Cookies will offer fresh-baked cookies, brownies, the original cookie cake and other treats, Forever Yogurt will offer 60 flavours of yogurt with a range of 60 different toppings in a self-serve, pay-per-weight option that consumers can customise to match their taste. Chef-inspired sandwiches and toasted (not baked) thin-crust pizzas will be on Quiznos’ menu.

Brought to India by master franchisee Polo Foods, a subsidiary of eastern hospitality company Polo Towers Group, the three brands will be spread across 100 stores by 2018. “We will be opening both full and express store formats. The former will cost ₹40-60 lakh to set up depending on the location and the latter will cost between ₹15-20 lakh, again depending on the location,” said Deval Tibrewalla, CEO of Polo Towers Group.

Majority of the stores will be company-owned while the remaining will be franchisee-run. Deval says the Indian QSR market is estimated to grow to $29 billion by 2018.

The three brands will have to contend with stiff competition from Australian cookie brand Cookie Man, American sandwich brand Subway and international yogurt brands such as Yogurberry, Kiwi Kiss and Berrylite, which are already well-entrenched in the Indian market.

“There is always consumer excitement around new brands. However, for those brands to be able to sustain consumer interest and growth in the market, they have to localise in taste to suit the Indian palate, much like Domino’s, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut have done,” says Rachna Nath, Leader-Retail & Consumer practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Metro footprint

Meanwhile, premium Japanese chocolate brand Royce is on course to establish a pan-India presence. Royce, which opened two stores in Mumbai last year, is ready to set up shop in Bangalore this month. It plans to have 20 stores across major metros by 2018.

Priced upwards of ₹400 for a bar weighing 125 g and ₹1,000 for a box of 20 pieces of chocolate weighing 125 g, the Japanese chocolate brand is introduced to India by Burgundy Hospitality. “We sold out three month’s stock in one month when we launched in Mumbai and that speaks volumes for the high quality and taste of Royce chocolates,” said Samir Gadhok, Director, Burgundy Hospitality.

Will Royce make an impact in a market inundated with local and global chocolate brands? “In India, per capita consumption is so low in categories such as chocolate that niche brands like Royce can only see growth. There is a market for premium chocolates in India. India will remain a consumption story for the next few years,” says Gaurav Gupta, Senior Director, Consumer Business at Deloitte.

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