Berjaya Food to expand Kenny Rogers ops in India

Berjaya Food Bhd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand its Kenny Rogers Roasters (KRR) and Jollibean franchises in India.

The food and beverage company said it planned to open at least 30 KRR outlets and 75 Jollibean kiosks costing about US$50mil (RM205mil) in India over the next five years.

The MoU with World Iconic Brands (WIB) Hospitality Pvt Ltd India will also mark the opening of Jollibean’s first kiosk outside Singapore.

As for KRR, there is currently only one outlet in India, which was opened in October 2016 in the city of Chandigarh.

Berjaya Food group chief executive officer Sydney Quays said the company was looking to enter as many cities in India as possible.

“We will keep opening more stores as we identify more locations – we have the capability to do a lot more than the 30 KRR and 75 Jollibean outlets,” he told reporters after the signing of the MoU.

With the new partnership and the expansion in India, he said it expected to see more interested parties looking to purchase the franchise.

“This is a positive expansion for both brands and like any other business, there will be a gestation period.

“We are hopeful that it will contribute very positively to the group in the future,” he said.

Berjaya Food, in November 2017, completed the disposal of its loss-making KRR operation in Indonesia, while it has put in place several strategies to turn around the KRR business in Malaysia.

The major contributor to its revenue is its Starbucks business.

In the fourth quarter ended April 30, 2018, Berjaya Food posted a net profit of RM837,000, returning to the black after recording losses of RM3.37mil a year earlier.

For the full year, the group saw net profit fall 88% to RM1.4mil, while revenue grew 5.6% or RM34.2mil to RM639.6mil.

WIB Hospitality managing director Gaurav Marya said the company expected to open the first KRR store under the partnership in the next three to four months.

“There is great potential for the business in India, which has 970 shopping malls and another 400 currently being developed.

“We will open a few stores over the next six to eight months to study the preferences of Indian consumers and then we will scale up the business,” he said.

Source: The Star