Burger singh to expand its domestic and global presence

 

Burger Singh (A unit of Tipping Mr Pink Pvt Ltd) is a Gurgaon based Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain that specialises in Indian flavoured fusion burgers. Burger Singh is one of the highest selling burger brands in the country now, with 50 outlets in 10 Indian cities and 3 in the United Kingdom & 20+ Franchise outlets currently in the pipeline. It is one of the rare brands that has continued to show phenomenal growth even through the pandemic period. 

TMP also runs another brand called Bowl Hub which spans 17 outlets and is in the process of launching two more brands in the next quarter. 

 

The spread across various cities in India, tier 1 and tier 2 has been fueled by the fact that Burger Singh targets a wide audience with its good quality product, familiar Indianised palette and affordable menu prices. 

Tipping Mr Pink Pvt Ltd (TMP), the parent company of Burger Singh, prides itself on creating delivery focused brands, which can operate out of cloud kitchens, smart stores and dine in outlets. The outlets focus on business models with low rentals, low Capital Investment, low operational expenses and an early Return on Investment.

 TMP makes heavy use of technology to integrate a strong supply chain with the front end marketplace. Using the delivery aggregators (Zomato and Swiggy) and research partners like Nielson, they identify opportunity areas in the delivery business that can be fulfilled through an efficient supply chain and distributed through a large network of cloud kitchens, smart stores and dine in outlets. 

 

Taco Bell is embarking on an Expansion drive in India

Mexican Fast food chain Taco Bell Owned by the US-based Yum! Brands Inc., is embarking on an expansion drive in India and plans to open more outlets in 12 cities in the next four years.

At present it operates nine stores in three cities and plans to add three more outlets taking the number to 12 by the year-end.

The company has partnered with the promoter family of Dabur, the Burmans whose firm Burman Hospitality has taken the franchise for north and some southern markets such as Karnataka and Telangana.

“Our initial focus will be the top metros and their neighbouring cities. We are already present in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. These three are important markets,” Taco Bell India managing director Ankush Tuli said.

Taco Bell plans to enter cities such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad, The company plans to have multiples stores in big citie,s he said. “We are looking to 10-12 cities between now and 2020.”

Taco Bell is also tweaking and adapting some local flavours in its menu to suit the Indian palate. “We have now tikka masala burrito. We are among the few global markets of Taco Bell which has an R&D facility. The entire vegetarian range is made for India as we do not have vegetarian outside much of India,” said Tuli.

He said by the end of this year, Taco Bell would completely source raw material and equipment locally.

Marrybrown looks to break 'Southern brand' tag

After 15 years of focussing on the Southern markets, fast food chain Marrybrown is turning its eyes elsewhere. The chain now plans to expand to the Northern and Western markets to chart its growth story.

Marrybrown, which introduced the concept of burgers and fried chicken to Chennai way back in 1999, is also planning to rope in a brand ambassador likely from the sports arena to engage with the youth.

Stating that the brand's USP was its localised flavour, S Ajith, director, Marrybrown India says that its 'hot touch spicy version' of fried chicken has helped the brand.

Of Marrybrown's total menu mix, 65% is fried chicken, while the balance is rice varieties like biryani and burgers. Initally, fried chicken constituted 40% but as the brand starting expanding to tier-II and III towns, demand for fried chicken grew, adds Ajith. The demand for biryani has also pulled th share of burger down, he says.

The brand plans to offer more local products and add vegetarian dishes as part of its expansion plans.

Ajith, who worked with KFC earlier, plans to take the number of Marrybrown outlets to 100 in the next three years.

Admitting that the target was ambitious for a largely conservative company, Ajith said that even a brand like KFC took 12 years to enter the Chennai market. KFC started operations in Bengaluru way back in 1995.
He says that Marrybrown was waiting for the market to pick up and sort out supply chain, human resource and equipments issues before expanding to other regions.
Marrybrown has largely been a conservative brand and has a footprint of only 48 outlets so far.

"Southern market, especially Tamil Nadu, is a conservative market. We have succeeded here, and now on the backdrop of this learning we will expand to other markets in India," said Ajith, who targets to double the turnover to Rs 70 crore in three years.

Speaking about investments, he said that around Rs 60-80 lakh will be needed to set up a standalone 1,500 sq ft outlet, while for a food court model (about 200 sq ft) the investment will be in the range of around Rs 40-50 lakh. The high cost was mainly due to the equipments, he added.

As far as the target audience goes, the brand is targetting the youth, planning to take the brand to schools and colleges by participating in the cultural, music festivals, carnivals and other activities.

The company spends around 3-4% of its revenue on the brand building.

Marrybrown, one of the major players in the franchising system, works on a 82% franchisee model. The brand is also betting big on e-commerce, which has been increasing for the last six months, says Ajith. At present, online platform contributes around 600-1,000 orders, he added.

Marrybrown India entered India after signing an exclusive franchise agreement with Chennai-based MGM Group. The MGM Group has business interest in Logistics, Hospitality, International trading, Housing and Distillery and IMFS businesses.