Blue Food charts Rs 25cr plan for Bangalore

Blue Foods Hospitality, the Mumbai-based restaurant chain which owns nine brands and 12 sub-brands of restaurants, plans to expand in Bangalore with more of its restaurants. The company has so far invested Rs 20 crore and is planning a further Rs 5 crore expansion in the coming year.

A central kitchen in Bangalore presently serves six units of the firm today, including Bombay Blues, Spaghetti Kitchen, Noodle Bar, Food Talk, Copper Chimney and Spoon.

The centralised kitchen, which caters to all its restaurants in Bangalore helps the firm work on a hub-and-spoke model. The firm is also considering entering the banqueting business in Bangalore and it now owns seven banqueting halls in Mumbai.

The firm, which saw revenues of around Rs 120 crore last fiscal year, hopes to see revenues of Rs 180 crore this year. The addition of malls in the city has given the group a chance to expand faster in the major commercial centres. On an average the firm spends Rs 1.5 crore on the interiors and kitchen in one restaurant.

Over the next 24 months the firm will raise Rs 200 crore. "The amount will be raised from promoters, as debt and there is a possibility of the firm roping in an equity partner," according to Sunil Kapur, Managing Director, Blue Foods Pvt Ltd.

The family has been into the food and beverages business for 35 years. They claims that they work with margins of 10-15 per cent.

In Bangalore the firm has charted out aggressive expansion plans. It aims to grow at 15-20 per cent per annum.

To meet its target it will consider appointing franchisees. The franchisee restaurants will be supplied from the same kitchen. Blue Foods has opened coffee shops launched in tie-up with Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf company, the US-based rival of Starbucks Corporation.