America’s Pinkberry is set to enter India by the end of this year. The Los Angeles-based frozen yogurt chain’s first outlet is likely to be opened either in Bangalore or Mumbai.
Jay Singh, co-founder and executive director, JSM Corporation, the master franchisee for Hard Rock Café and now Pinkberry, said the start would be slow and cautious. Expansion plans would be chalked out eventually, he told Business Standard.
The group is looking at a combination of strategy — to have Pinkberry outlets both inside malls and standalone restaurants in high streets. While these are early days in India for the frozen dessert category, it’s a rapidly growing format globally. At over 180 outlets globally, the 2005-founded upscale restaurant chain is present across 17 countries. India will be 18th in the list.
Singh refused to elaborate on the planned number of Pinkberry outlets in India, but named Cocoberry as the most prominent player in India in the frozen dessert format — and therefore the biggest competition in India. Cocoberry is a homegrown brand, with international expansion plans.
Pinkberry outlets in India are likely to be of 400 to 1,500 sq ft space. US-based Hard Rock Café, the other major venture of JSM, is much larger. Its outlets occupy 7,000 to 9,000 sq ft of space. While a Hard Rock Café outlet needs an investment of Rs 4 crore to Rs 6 crore, that for Pinkberry would be much lower at about Rs 1 crore.
With five Hard Rock Café outlets already in India, it’s planning two more this year — one in Chandigarh and another either in Kolkata or Chennai. It is already present in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad.
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In December 2010, the JSM group, a partnership between Singh and Sanjay Mehtani (a Mumbai-based restaurateurs) introduced a gourmet pizza chain, California Pizza Kitchen.
JSM has its own brand too, Shiro Restaurants, which is operated at the high end of the price spectrum.