Cold Stone Creamery to enter India, partners with Tablez Food
Cold Stone Creamery to enter India, partners with Tablez Food

US based Kahala Brands is planning to enter Indian market by opening its Cold Stone Creamery outlet in the country.

The group has signed a master franchisee agreement with the food and beverage arm of Lulu International Group, Tablez Food Company to bring its frozen dessert brand to India and Sri Lanka.

Tablez is also planning to invest around Rs 75-85 crore in opening 40 outlets in the country by next five years.

"When we look for brands to tie up with, we always look for those that are high in quality, have great value and are passionate about what they do; and Cold Stone Creamery ticks all the boxes for us," Shafeena Yusuff Ali, CEO, Tablez Food Company (TFC) told a national daily.

The first outlet will be opened at the Lulu Mall, Kochi in November, followed by outlets in Bengaluru and other tier one cities in India and Sri Lanka in the coming years.

"With over 1 billion population in India, it is a very exciting market and we have been very impressed that the consumer spending on ice cream here is significant and has outpaced the growth in other categories by 15-20 per cent increase year on year," said Eddy Jimenez, senior vice president, international operations and development, Kahala Brands adding that the Indian market is high on the company's radar for future growth.

TFC, under the agreement would also open five Cold Stone outlets in Sri Lanka by 2019.

At present, TFC has brands like Peppermill Indian Restaurant, Bloomsbury's, Galito's and London Dairy operating under it across India, Sri Lanka and the UAE, with Peppermill and Bloomsbury's being home-grown names, whereas the latter ones are franchises.

Bloomsbury's cafe and bakery is already present at the Lulu mall in Kochi and in next five years it will expand to ten outlets in the country.

Lately, the company also signed franchise agreements with Famous Dave's, a barbecue concept in the US and Genghis Grill, an Asian grill house also based in the US.

The South African flame-grilled chicken brand Galito's will be added in India by TFC by next month. Ali further said that the company would open 20 outlets under the brand in India over the next five years.

Ali founded TFC in 2010 as a subsidiary of Lulu Group International, LLC which is owned by NRI billionaire MA Yusuff Ali and has presence in sectors such as retail, imports & exports, trading, shipping, IT, travel & tourism and education.

 
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