Squeezing juicy profits

Synonymous with vigour and fitness, Juice lounge is a concept that offers delightful assortment of power juices and energy boosters to its clientele. In an interview with Ekta Verma, Manav Shital, Founder & CEO, Juice Lounge, Vertigo India Food & Beverages, shares the brand’s expansion in India via franchising.

Tell us about Juice Lounge

Juice Lounge is a juice bar and health cafe. The USP is the unique juices, power juices, energy boosters and super boosters. These are blends of real fruits very essential for our bodies. Juice Lounge was started on May 2005 by the Founders Manav Shital and Niti Agrawal. The idea was evaluated and planned initially for a year which included feasibility, tasting and business plans. Vertigo India Food and Beverages started with a Juice Lounge outlet to see the viability and liking for the products and the brand by our customers. Juice Lounge is a juice bar and health cafe. Within three years from its inception and with a workforce of no more than five people, purely through word of mouth regarding our unique juices and quality, Juice Lounge expanded overseas as well as to most of the cities in India. We are now operational in 50+ cities in India and abroad.

What kind of challenges have you faced till now?

Our organisation has faced challenges in finding skilled staff at entry levels. We have overcome this issue with onsite training. We also faced challenges about the product’s quality. But now we have standardised all our products according to customer’s needs.

Share the number of locations targeted for franchising in India

The future plans related to India expansion are to penetrate the Tier I, II & III cities which have loads of potential. The investment is also comparatively low for a kiosk or an OTC.

Have you customized the concept for Indian market? What is the brand's franchise model in the country?

We have customized the concept as per the taste of Indian Consumers. We have Kiosk, OTC and Lounge Model. They cater to different needs as per the location.

What are your expansion plans?

After seeing the success of Juice Lounge in Doha and Maldives and with 50+ stores operational, we have plans to venture into other Asian countries as well. Vertigo India Food & Beverages’ future plans in regards to India expansion is to penetrate tier II and III cities in India, which has loads of potential. Our other brand Rollacosta has opened QSR outlets in Mumbai, Rudrapur and Gurgaon. We are planning to open about 10 more stores in the next six months.

What are the opportunities, training and support your brand offers to the franchisee?

We provide manuals which give them every minute details of our business. We also have onsite training of the entire staff with our exclusive chefs and manager for the initial opening period. So, we nearly eliminate most of the challenges which are faced by a franchisee in the F & B industry. Support is provided right from finalising a place to its designing, fabrication, installation and training and even on everyday ongoing business.

Could you also share the franchise facts such as area and investment requirement for aspiring franchisees?

The Initial Investment required for a Juice Lounge unit in India is estimated at around Rs 8-10 Lakh for a Kiosk with an area of 80-150 sq.ft. Around Rs 9-12 Lakh for an OTC with an area of 300 sq.ft and around Rs 12-18 Lakh for a Lounge Model with 400-800 sq.ft area. The break-even is usually 18-24 months.