With an aim to cater to vegetarian Indians, the 76 year old American chain Krispy Kreme has crafted a special egg-less doughnuts. “We found that a large number of the Indian population preferred vegetarian options, so we have a special eggless recipe for Indian market,” Krispy Kreme President Jeff Welch told The Pioneer through an e-mailed interview.
The doughnut maker opened its first franchised outlet in Delhi last weekend. It already has eight franchised stores in Bangalore. “We have a steady expansion plan for the Indian market. We plan to open 7 stores in the north India in addition to entering in new cities in India.” Jeff replied when asked about the expansion plan.
“The brand plans to add five to six countries to the portfolio each year in the foreseeable future. We are planning on launching in countries like South America, latin America and Europe by next year in 2014,” he added. However, he refused to divulge the investment size and said: “We invest in every country that we go to after in-depth research about the market scenario. In the north Indian market we will invest in marketing plans with social media as the focus, since it is an excellent tool to reach out to the consumers directly.”
Priced in the range of Rs 50-65 for a pair, the store in south Delhi will sell 16 varieties of it including its signature ‘Original Glazed Doughnut’, and also coffee, tea and iced beverages. The store also features Krispy Kreme’s “Doughnut Theater” viewing area where customers can watch the doughnuts being cooked, filled and topped. The company will source 60 per cent of the raw material from the domestic market and the rest of the ingredients would be imported from the US.
According to India Food Services Report 2013, the food services market in the India which is currently valued at Rs 247,680 cr ($48 bn) is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11 percent over the next five years to reach Rs 408,040 cr ($ 78 bn). At the same time, the growth in the organised segment in the country over the next five years would be much higher compared to any other formats – be it casual dining, fine dining, cafe.