
Mumbai based World Of Waffles, a startup restaurant, is on the expansion spree through franchising. The brand is planning to increase its number of outlets from 17 to 31 across metros to tier II cities by March 2019. It is supporting franchisees with marketing, staffing, and initial training. While growing with the CAGR of 15-18 %, the brand is expecting to have revenue in tune of Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore by the end of current fiscal. Thus, talking about the brand's future course of action, Dhimant Gandhi, Founder & CEO, World Of Waffles spoke to The Franchise media.
Currently how many franchisee stores do you have?
Presently we have 17 operational stores out of which 16 are franchisee-run. These stores are operated by FOFO model. These stores are spread across metros to tier II cities namely Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Surat, Baroda among others. We also have one store in Nepal. The tier II towns do better business than metros as they have high spending power.
What kind of support do you offer to the franchisees?
We support franchisees with marketing, staffing, and initial training.With a centralized procuring system, our franchisees get the advantage of buying products at a cheaper cost and at a lesser quantity.
If you want to grow, you have to nurture each and every store. We look at time dedication and the passion of the franchisee partner to run the store and take it to a new level.
What is your expansion plan through franchising?
We have 14 more franchisees signed to reach the number of 31-32 stores by March 2019. We are also looking at Dubai and Singapore market.
We have more than 30 varieties of waffles. Additional waffles will come on board soon. We have a signature dish called sizzling brownie waffles. Our premix is our USP.
What is the investment from franchisees?
The investment is in the range of Rs 15-16 lakh for 250 sqft of store -depending on the location and store condition. The franchise fee is Rs 4 lakh. For franchisees to reach breakeven it takes 18-20 months. Our agreement with the franchisee is for six years. `
According to you how can a marriage between franchisor and franchisee last long?
A franchisor has to make his thought process clear to the franchisees. He needs to get accurate data from franchisees about what they are wishing about the brand's performance. A franchisor cannot over commit or under commit to getting the things done. Franchising is a hand-in-hand process.
What is your CAGR and revenue projection?
We are a profitable company. Our CAGR is 15-18 percent and we are looking at tripling our revenue to Rs 2.5cr to Rs 3cr by March 2019. Around 20-25 percent of our sales come from Swiggy, Uber Eats, and Zomato. In the next two months, we are planning to launch our own e-commerce portal.