Hot profits with tasty food franchise

Around 30 years of Quiznos' worldwide success and loyal clientele can be attributed to Chef inspired delicious and healthy menu. In an interview, Mohit Mathur, CEO, Quiznos India talks about the brand’s expansion into India via franchising.

Namita Bhagat (NB): Tell us about the concept and origin of Quiznos.

Mohit Mathur (MM): Headquartered in Denver, USA, Quiznos, is one of the nation’s premier quick-service restaurant chains and pioneer of the toasted sandwich. The little sub shop that began its journey in 1981 in Denver, the company still has the same bold ideas that we had in the beginning. We boldly believe that food should taste great and that we should use only the highest quality ingredients to create our customer’s perfect lunch. We dare to be different and we have been sandwich-toasting fanatics since the first day we opened our doors. The brand is currently present in 35 countries through more than 4,000 restaurants.

NB: What is the USP of the brand? Why did it opt for the franchise growth model?

MM: Quiznos is all about taste and freshness and we only offer premium ingredients to our guest, for example we only use 100 per cent natural cheese and chicken and all our vegetarian items are preservative free. Taste and hot toasted subs are our differentiators. Our USP is Chef inspired menu and we serve food that is hot and tasty and also healthy. We adopted franchise model because that is how Quiznos has grown around world. We have developed a model that provides complete support to franchise for growth and profitability.

NB: How does the brand plan to exploit the potential of the Indian market?

MM: Quiznos entered India last year with the launch of its first outlet in Hyderabad. We have been present in India for only a short time and we have already got eight restaurants and we are in process of opening many more. We are looking at opening over 200 stores in next five years.

NB: Did the brand customise its concept for the Indian market? If yes, then how?

MM: Yes. We have both international and local flavors. We have things like vegetarian manchurian, mutton shikampuri and other traditional Indian flavours.

NB: What kind of business opportunity in terms profitability and lucrative proposition it is for the interested franchisee?

MM: Our model is based on low cost for starting a business, Quiznos complete set-up cost between Rs 35 to 50 lakh based on location and size. In addition, we have controlled our food cost under 35 per cent providing high return on investment for our franchises. We already have current franchises looking for multiple units after only being with us for four months. This is the best testimony for our success.

NB: What are the operational and market challenges for the franchisees and how can they overcome them? 

MM: The challenges we see is around supply chain infrastructure, we have invested in acquiring and partnering with a third party logistics and supply chain company that has extensive presence in our territory to make sure that we can keep the cost down and improve the product availability.

NB: How will the brand handle the issue of competition in the business?

MM: Good thing is we do not have much competition except one other brand, we have invested in sourcing best ingredients that helps improve our taste over our competitor. Our investment in Supply Chain Company helps us keep our cost down therefore making our product offerings and profitability higher than competition.