Burger House has introduced fresh franchise offers, aiming to expedite its nationwide expansion.
As per a press release from ANI, the restaurant brand will be responsible for covering the store rent for the first two years.
Burger House seeks to empower entrepreneurs and alleviate the initial challenges associated with launching a new business.
Burger House’s franchise model operates on a franchisee-owned, franchisee-operated arrangement, offering a comprehensive turnkey solution for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The restaurant brand will provide the franchise owner with a fully operational store, complete with infrastructure, machinery, furniture, branding, signage, marketing collateral, and a trained workforce.
Burger House’s corporate teams will offer support to franchise owners by overseeing supply chains, merchandise, and marketing efforts.
This assistance will enable franchise owners to concentrate on delivering an exceptional culinary experience to their customers.
Burger House provides a menu that includes burgers, pastas, wraps, sandwiches, beverages, and a variety of other options.
The brand has expanded its footprint in various Indian cities, encompassing Bharatpur, Chittorgarh, Dimapur, Gwalior, Noida, Patna, Rampur, Ropar, and Saharsa.
Iris Ventures, a venture capital firm, has injected £5.5 million ($6.9 million) into Biomel, a UK-based brand specializing in gut-health beverages, with the aim of supporting an “unprecedented scale-up.”
The investment will be utilized to increase production capacity at Biomel’s “innovation and manufacturing facility” located in west London.
Established in 2017 by the husband-and-wife duo Steven Hegarty and Janett Lozano, Biomel specializes in crafting plant-based beverages, snack bars, and powders, with a dedicated emphasis on enhancing gut health.
The probiotic shots, available in 125ml and 510ml single-serve bottles, feature enticing flavors such as coconut, chocolate, and strawberry. Additionally, Biomel offers dairy-free, lactose-free, and gluten-free prebiotic cereal bars in both chocolate and chocolate hazelnut variants.
The company said “soaring demand… has driven its impressive sales trajectory and operating profitability since its second year”.
It added, “Biomel’s omnichannel route-to-market has driven extraordinary organic growth, averaging over 80% per annum since launch.”
Biomel’s offerings can be found in major UK retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, and Waitrose. Additionally, the brand operates a direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription service through its website.
The startup also noted an expanding presence in independent retailers and global markets.
Hegarty, Biomel co-founder and CEO, said, “Biomel was born out of our own desire to live healthier and more fulfilling lives and is based on the premise that your gut is at the heart of your health.
“We have developed proprietary IP to bring differentiated and better solutions for consumers looking to improve their health and well-being through next-generation probiotic and prebiotic solutions that support digestive and immune health.
“Biomel is the market leader in the category and we are partnering with a global investor powerhouse to fulfil our mission to make good gut health delicious and easy through products modern consumers enjoy and love.
“We are excited to leverage Iris’s sector expertise and know-how to further drive total category growth and market expansion through our unique products and innovation pipeline.”
Iris Ventures said Hegarty and Lozano were “clear trailblazers in the plant-based gut health category”.
The venture capital firm serves as the advisor to Iris Fund I FCRE, a €100 million ($109.19 million) growth-equity fund focusing on European and U.S. brands. Among its portfolio, the firm has invested in Olistic, a vitamin-drink brand based in Spain, and Mammaly, a pet-health startup headquartered in Germany.
Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) has announced that its CEO, Henrik Andersen, will be stepping down from the position.
After nearly three decades with AFI, Andersen is leaving to pursue a different career path, aiming to work on diverse projects and explore opportunities to serve as a board member. Serving as CEO since 2010, Andersen joined AFI in 1994, initially overseeing applications and R&D, and has maintained a strong focus on the whey business over the years.
Luis Cubel, a member of AFI since 2002 and presently holding the position of VP for commercial, is set to take over from Andersen starting February 1, 2024. He previously held the role of general manager for AFI in Germany for three years, overseeing the transition to an independent business entity when AFI separated from Arla Foods and became established as a subsidiary. Since 2015, Cubel has been responsible for overseeing the commercial aspects of AFI in his role as vice president.
Arla Foods CEO Peder Tuborgh said, “Henrik has shown dedication throughout his career with Arla and latest as the CEO of AFI. I understand and support that Henrik would like to define the next chapter, focusing on different projects and board positions after his many years in Arla Foods and AFI. AFI is in great shape, and I would like to thank Henrik for an outstanding effort.”
“He will continue to support AFI on its future journey of growth by taking on the role as board member of the AFI business board, and I look forward to continuing our cooperation.”
Andersen commented, “I have been part of a fantastic development in AFI for many years, and feel proud of what we have achieved working together. It has been a journey of discovering and delivering powerful nutrition, and I continue to see great potential for sustainable growth.”
“We have come a long way with our Strategy26 implementation, and soon we will begin work to craft our next strategy – therefore, I think it is a good time for me to move on and let a new leadership take charge of this process.”
Cubel added, “I am honoured to have been appointed as the next CEO of AFI, an organisation I have been proud to serve during the last 20 years. Henrik leaves AFI in a very strong position to continue our growth ambitions, and I have truly enjoyed working with Henrik over the years. I am looking forward, together with the AFI team, to building on these strong foundations and taking AFI to the next level.”
7-Eleven Canada has announced its acquisition of “certain assets” from the Calgary-based food distributor Wallace & Carey.
The assets encompassed in the deal are situated in British Columbia and Alberta.
In addition, 7-Eleven has committed to obtaining lease facilities and offering a transition service agreement, exclusively procuring from Wallace & Carey. Furthermore, 7-Eleven has provided financial support to Wallace & Carey to facilitate its recovery and return to a stable operational state throughout Canada. This comes after both Wallace & Carey and its parent company, Carey Management, filed for creditor protection under CCAA in June 2023.
The transaction, which closed on 21 November, solidifies the preservation of a vital supply link for businesses and communities across the region.
Marc Goodman, vice president and general manager of 7-Eleven Canada, said, “This transaction positions 7-Eleven well for continued growth in Canada, strengthening our already robust business in the country and bringing with it a range of long-term benefits for our stores by stabilising our supply chain. We feel confident that this acquisition will bring the maximum quality of service to our stores so that we can continue to serve our customers at the highest level.”
Pat Carey, chair and venture architect for Carey Management, added, “7-Eleven is a long-standing customer of Wallace & Carey and we’re excited to further strengthen our partnership. Wallace & Carey will continue its day-to-day operations as usual, and we expect to emerge from this process better positioned for the future.”
Délifrance, with a century of expertise in French bakery, is poised to make its debut in India through a partnership with Bahri Hospitality and Cuisines Pvt Ltd, a division of the Bahri Group.
The first store is scheduled to open in Defence Colony, South Delhi. Bahri Hospitality has secured the exclusive master franchise rights for Délifrance across the country, with potential sub-franchising plans in the pipeline.
Délifrance is strategizing its presence across three distinctive formats: Bistro, Bakery & Coffee Shop, and Express Delivery outlets.
The Bistro will present a specialized menu comprising viennoiseries, patisseries, hot dishes, and beverages, while the remaining formats will primarily emphasize bakeries and patisseries.
“We are very excited to launch Délifrance in India. There is a huge potential in the bakery segment and this alliance with Délifrance will allow us to contribute in bringing the authentic taste of French bakery delicacies to the Indian subcontinent across many different channels,” said Hemant Bahri, Founder and Managing Director of the Bahri Group.
Bahri Hospitality aims to enhance the brand’s footprint among Indian consumers through various channels. This involves offering specially curated hampers and presenting a blend of French bakery classics infused with local flavors. To complement the importation of traditional French bakery goods from Délifrance, the group has established a central production unit in Delhi. This unit is dedicated to crafting additional local baked goods using French bakery techniques and premium-quality ingredients.
Fabrice Herlax, International Marketing and Concept Strategy Director for Franchise and Branded Solutions, Délifrance, said, “Entering the Indian subcontinent is a fantastic challenge for our brand, in its ability to connect and adapt to the local taste and flavors, based on our 100 years legacy in milling and French bakery.”
By the end of FY 23-24, Délifrance plans to launch five additional outlets in Delhi-NCR.
In the next five years, the brand envisions expanding its presence by opening 25 to 30 Délifrance outlets in various formats across India.
On Thursday, the government provided clarification that onion shipments, which have been submitted to customs authorities and recorded in their systems prior to October 29, are eligible for export until November 30. This decision comes in the wake of the government’s imposition, on October 28, of a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports until December 31. The aim is to enhance the availability of onions in the domestic market and control prices.
“Where onion consignment has been handed over to the customs before October 29, 2023… and is registered in their system/ where onions consignment has entered the customs station for exportation before this notification and is registered in the electronic systems of the concerned custodian of the customs station with verifiable evidence of date and time stamping of these commodities having entered the station prior to October 29.
“The period of export shall be up to November 30 this year,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said.
It emphasized that export duties paid prior to the issuance of this notification will not be subject to refund.
Amazon and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim of boosting exports from West Bengal. This collaboration will enable a multitude of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region to showcase and sell their ‘Made in India’ products to customers across more than 200 countries through the Amazon platform.
The WBIDC is slated to create e-commerce export hubs and institute an e-commerce export facilitation cell in strategic districts of West Bengal, such as Kolkata, North 24 Paraganas, South 24 Paraganas, Howrah, Hooghly, among others. In tandem, Amazon will arrange awareness sessions and lead capacity-building workshops for MSMEs within these designated e-commerce export hubs.
Currently, over 3000 exporters based in West Bengal have collaborated with Amazon to present their products to customers spanning over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Raju Mishra, Joint Secretary, WBIDC said, “With the new logistics policy and the exports policy, we aim to establish West Bengal as the Global Trading Hub and double the State’s exports over the next decade. The West Bengal Government has invested a lot in setting up dedicated export promotion committees in key districts and exports facilitation cells to boost exports from the state.”
He added, “We are now furthering our vision and WBIDC will set up dedicated e-commerce export hubs in key districts. Our partnership with Amazon will help exporters across the state become more aware and equipped to tap into the global export opportunity.”
FMCG brand Rage Coffee is gearing up to extend its reach in international markets while also enhancing its presence in modern trade outlets across the country. The company is set to open kiosks as part of its strategy to increase out-of-home consumption, according to Bharat Sethi, the founder of Rage Coffee.
Over the past six months, the brand has extended its operations to five international countries, including the UK, GCC, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
“We have forayed into these 5 markets with different partners. In the UK, we only have an online presence whereas in Sri Lanka, we have partnered with offline brands that also have an online presence. We are running a distribution-led business in Dubai and in Nepal and Bhutan, as the online market is relatively small, so offline penetration is the key,” he said.
In order to solidify its presence in these nations, the coffee brand intends to allocate INR 2.5-3 crore towards marketing efforts.
Moving forward, the brand intends to broaden its business to encompass regions such as Africa, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and North America.
“By this fiscal end, we expect 10 per cent of our revenue to be coming from the international business,” he stated.
To address the growing demand, the brand, featuring 15 SKUs, does not intend to establish additional manufacturing units. The recently inaugurated manufacturing facility in Manesar, spanning 30,000 sq. ft., is currently utilized at only 40-50 percent capacity.
“We can do 3x to 4x of production of what we are doing right now with an additional packaging line, however, additional investments won’t be required,” he asserted.
In the brick-and-mortar sector, the brand has collaborated with key modern trade entities such as Metro Cash and Carry, Walmart, More, DMart, and Reliance. Presently, it has a presence in 1,500 modern trade outlets and aims to extend to an additional 1,000 MT stores by the end of this fiscal year.
“Additionally, we have tied up with 200 distributors and have a presence across 20,000 general trade stores. In GT, we are expanding with small packs worth INR 2 and INR 5. Currently, small sachets comprise 30 per cent of our business. By value, it is very low but volume-wise, it will overtake the overall business in the next 18 months,” he stated.
Currently, 30 percent of the brand’s business originates from marketplaces, 20 percent from direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, with the remaining 50 percent evenly split between general trade (GT) and modern trade (MT).
“Currently, our CAC (customer acquisition cost) stands at INR 30-40 for AOV (average order value) of INR 600. For online, we are focusing on retention marketing and our online customer loyalty stands at 60 per cent,” he said.
In the brick-and-mortar domain, Rage Coffee records a monthly throughput of INR 2,500 per outlet and a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of INR 4,500.
Moving forward, the brand also intends to increase its out-of-home consumption by launching 2,000 kiosks within the next 36 months.
“In India, we have earmarked about 90 non-metro cities to expand this model. We will be opening these kiosks at institutions, colleges, universities, hospitals, corporate offices, and shop-in-shops,” he said.
The brand is set to launch kiosks in two sizes: 180 sq.ft (offering exclusively coffee) and 400 sq.ft (providing both coffee and food). Approximately 70 percent of these outlets will be managed by franchise partners.
“The CAPEX involved in opening 180 sq.ft kiosk stands at INR 5 lakh and we are expecting the payback in seven months,” he asserted.
Having achieved EBITDA profitability in the last quarter, the brand is actively seeking strategic partners, patient capital, investors with a long-term outlook, and family offices to secure its next round of funding for expanding its distribution.
“By expanding our distribution, we aim to become a INR 500 crore brand in the 3 years,” he stated.
To date, the brand has secured INR 50 crore in equity, INR 5 crore in venture debt, and INR 5 crore in unsecured loans from NBFCs. Noteworthy investors supporting the brand include Virat Kohli and Sixth Sense Ventures.
The brand, which concluded the previous fiscal year with INR 34 crore, aims to reach INR 55 crore in revenue by the end of the current fiscal year.
A report from the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) indicates that merely 24% of sales for major packaged food companies in India come from products classified as “healthier.” The analysis, covering 1,901 products from the country’s top 20 food companies, discloses that a substantial 76% of sales originate from products categorized as “less healthy.”
“Nineteen of the 20 companies derive most of their sales revenues from less healthy products,” it added.
The 2023 edition of the India Index, released by ATNI in collaboration with Consumer Voice and CII, assessed the performance of the 20 largest F&B manufacturers in India. Collectively, these companies account for 36% of the total sales of processed foods in the country. The evaluated companies include Adani Wilmar, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia Industries, Coca-Cola India, Nestle India, Dabur India, PepsiCo India, Amul (GCMMF), Mondelez India, Parle Products, Marico, Haldiram’s, Mother Dairy, Patanjali, Agro Tech Foods, Hatsun Agro Products, Heritage Foods, KMF Nandini, and Lactalis India.
According to the 2023 India Index from ATNI, the average healthiness rating of companies’ products is reported as “1.9 stars out of 5.0.” More than half (55.6%) of all products in the market received a score of 1.5 out of 5 stars or lower.
In the overall score of the Index, ITC led with a score of 6.2, followed by Hindustan Unilever at 4.9 and Nestle India at 3.7. The evaluation encompassed diverse parameters such as product portfolio, accessibility, responsible marketing, nutrition governance, labeling, and workforce nutrition among others, analyzing the performance of the top 20 players.
“Seven out of 20 indexed companies report having at least one (re)formulation target in place to reduce nutrients of concern (e.g., sodium, saturated fat, sugar) in their portfolio and half of the companies have a nutrition strategy in place,” the report added.
The report noted that seven out of the 20 companies had publicly available policies on responsible marketing to children. Simultaneously, six of these companies present nutritional information on the front of the pack (FOP) in a numerical format for key nutrients.
Greg S Garrett, Executive Director, ATNI, said, “The third edition of the Index puts a lot more emphasis on the product portfolio in terms of how healthy are the food products sold by these companies. All the 20 companies have made some progress in some way. But the F&B industry has a huge opportunity to improve their product offerings making them healthier and more affordable for Indian consumers.”
“One of the key takeaways has been that the consumption of processed food products has gone up significantly over the years. The food and beverage (F&B) industry plays an increasingly pivotal role in determining what consumers in India eat, the quality of their diets, and resulting health impacts. So the industry has a responsibility to make their food products healthier,” he added.
The ATNI report highlighted the absence of a universally agreed-upon definition for healthy food, leading companies to rely on their own interpretations that may not align with recognized national or international standards. ATNI has called upon the government to collaborate with stakeholders in defining a clear and transparent classification for processed foods, including setting thresholds for salt, sugar, and fat, along with the establishment of a nutrient profiling system.
The international non-profit organization has also urged all companies to guarantee that a minimum of 50% of their product portfolios align with healthy standards by the year 2030.
Robin Gupta, CEO & Prakher Mathur, COO & Co-Founders, Conscious Chemist
Conscious Chemist, a beauty brand, announced on Thursday that it has secured an undisclosed sum in Bridge round funding from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), as stated in a press release.
Utilizing this capital, the company intends to diversify its product offerings, enhance the brand’s marketing efforts, and establish physical retail outlets.
“This partnership with IPV will allow us to execute our business plan and grow more than 50% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) at healthy EBITDA levels. The capital acquired will help us to amplify our brand voice. We will double down on our digital footprint with deeper penetration into online marketplaces while optimizing our offline channels,” said Robin Gupta, CEO and co-founder of the company.
Ivy Chin, Partner, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “In the last 3–5 years, there has been a clear change in the consumer behaviour wrt to beauty and skincare. The emergence of influencers and celebrities sharing their beauty regimen has only propelled the narrative around clean and sustainable beauty products, and rightfully so. Legacy and new-age brands entering this segment will only help grow this market faster, and we believe that Conscious Chemist has carved out the right niche with its purpose-driven philosophy of building the brand. At IPV, it has always been important to back businesses that are not only building profitable growth trajectories but also conscious about the planet.”
Founded in 2019 by Robin Gupta and Prakher Mathur, Conscious Chemist, a science-based beauty brand, caters to about 350,000 users in its customer base.
At present, the company moves around 25,000 units monthly throughout India, distributing its products in retail outlets such as Health & Glow and Shoppers Stop.
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