Budding franchise opportunity

Charting a course for rapid expansion across India, Café Buddy’s, an organised fast food chain, is taking lead in offering wide range of food and beverages at affordable prices to all age groups. In an interview, PK Gupta, Founder, Café Buddy’s, shares the future plans of his company.

Ramanjit Kaur (RK): Shed some light on the origin, growth and success of Café Buddy’s?

PK Gupta (PKG): I had conceptualised Café Buddy’s with a vision to build an organised fast food chain that would cater to the mass market with good food and quality services. With 30 years of experience in the food industry in India and abroad, I wanted to start a business that would offer wide range of food to all age groups.

RK: What inspired Café Buddy’s to take up the franchise route for expansion in India?

PKG: I was convinced that franchising is the only mode that makes it possible for a brand to expand rapidly and cost-effectively. Café Buddy’s as a brand serves the masses. It would not have been possible to mark our presence across the nation without franchising.

RK: What are the eligibility criteria for selecting the franchisees?

PKG: We are looking for entrepreneurs, who can invest between Rs two to five lakh, have a passion to succeed and want to diversify their portfolio.

RK: What are your future plans?

PKG: To begin our franchise operations, we would be targetting north India. We aim to have 200 outlets by the end of our second year of operation and 500 by third year.

RK: What kind of training and support does a franchisee gets while partnering with your company?

PKG: We help our franchisees in every possible way. We provide them one-week training and share the know-how of the business.

RK: What challenges did you face while establishing your business? How did you overcome them?

PKG: We faced many challenges in the early years of our business establishment regarding operational issues, logistics, permissions from local authorities and lack of skilled manpower. But with time, we placed our system well and are now all set to expand through franchising.

RK: Any advice for young entrepreneurs?

PKG: There are a lot of opportunities in India, one has to keep his eyes open to grab the best before the rest.