Henry Ford Health Systems inking franchise partnership with KWalls Hospitality

Health and wellness group Henry Ford Health Systems (HFHS) is inking a franchise partnership with Chandigarh-based hospitality and food services firm KWalls Hospitality , as the $5-billion American entity looks to gain a foothold in the high-potential wellness food space in India. 

Under the partnership deal, KWalls will set up stores branded 'Culinary Wellness' in the country, starting with the northern region. The company typically sells sandwiches, burgers, juices and shakes, and even Indian snacks. "India is the first country outside of the US where we are venturing into. We see this as a high-potential market which offers access to expertise and potential to scale up our intellectual property," HFHS vice-president Mark Coticchia said. 

Coticchia said the venture was differentiated from the quick-service restaurant (QSR) space. "We are not a fast-food chain. The focus is predominantly on scientific nutrition, health and wellness and preventive healthcare," he said. 

Growth in the Rs 6,000-crore eating out space has slowed down to low single digits over the past two years as consumers cut down on discretionary spends, and face intense competition from app-based home-delivery providers and hyper local start-ups. 

In the US, Detroit-based HFHS operates stores only within the premises of medical centres and hospitals. However in India, HFHS will set up its business under three verticals clubbed under the Culinary Wellness brand. KWalls Hospitality managing director Sameer Lamba said these will include Culinary Wellness stores, food courts, tie ups with corporates and subsequently, subscription and app-based home delivery services. 

KWalls Hospitality operates close to 25 food courts across Delhi-NCR, Punjab, UP and Hyderabad . 

Copper Chimney to expand internationally

Indian restaurant Copper Chimney, part of K Hospitality Corp, has announced a new course of international expansion. Building on its domestic strategy, where K Hospitality Corp, operates a mix of company owned and its franchising of select stores/regions to Pan India Food Solutions (owned by Everstone Capital) and CC Fine Foods, K Hospitality Corp has expanded its reach internationally with a prime focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

With operations starting in FY 2016-17, K Hospitality Corp, through its international subsidiary, has signed up a five store development deal for the UAE with Emirates International Group (Emirates Business Group). The stores will open over a period of four years, with two stores expected to launch in this fiscal.

Copper Chimney’s franchise partner in Kuwait has already launched two branches of Copper Chimney, and aims to have another two stores launched by next year in the Kuwait market.

Karan Kapur, executive director, K Hospitality Corp, said, “We are in an aggressive expansion mode and are on-course to extend the Copper Chimney brand to global shores. Over 43 years of its existence, Copper Chimney has created unmatched brand equity which we are now further developing to cater to our brand’s loyal customers as well as new customers outside of the India.”

“This initiative is a key part of our two-pronged expansion strategy which focuses on company owned as well as franchised stores. K Hospitality Corp has been steadily ramping up its presence overseas, and we believe this will present a greenfield opportunity for us as we look at more countries globally. We have been aligning the group’s strengths to further develop a more powerful and distinctive position as a market leader within the F&B industry in this new phase of growth for the brand and group,” he added.

Founded in 1972, with a single Indian restaurant in Mumbai, K Hospitality Corp has over 400 outlets and 5,000 employees in the region. The group operates across two main business divisions – hospitality and food services and travel retail.