Unify Foodworks to invest Rs 40 crore to open 100 outlets of American soft serve brand Carvel
, one of America's legacy brands known for soft serve, has tied up with
Unify Foodworks
to enter the
Indian market
in August with its first store opening in New Delhi, Sumer Sethi, founder, Unify Foodworks told ETRetail.
Unify Foodworks, which holds exclusive master
franchise
rights for Carvel in India, plans to launch 100 stores over the next 5 years with an
investment
of Rs 40 crore.
"We are eying to capture 7-8 per cent market share of soft serve ice creams over the next 5 years," he asserted.
"In my experience, what works in India is when a brand owns a category. It's very difficult to dislodge that kind of loyal consumer recall. That's why we decided to bring a soft serve brand to India. Carvel has its patented recipe that can produce the freshest form of ice cream in-store," he further explained.
The brand, which plans to open 50 stores in phase 1 concentrated in and around North India, will be offering 32 SKUs.
"The average size of the store will span across 300 sq.ft, and all the offerings have been competitively priced as we are targeting the masses," he stated.
The brand is expecting stores to reach the breakeven point in the 18-24 months of operation.
"From our second year of operations, we plan to enter online as well," he said.
The brand is eyeing to open 5 stores by this fiscal year's end.
Currently, Carvel has a presence in over five countries with more than 400 stores.
Going ahead, Unify Foodworks also plans to introduce Rubio's Coastal Grill in India by this fiscal year's end. It will be renamed as Moe's Casa Mexicana.
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