Cookie selectivity

A placement firm vets franchisees and counts the luxury cars at each mall!

So you thought recruitment firms only screen candidates for employment? Time to stand corrected, as ABC Consultants have been taken on by Cookie Man India to vet franchisee applications.

"Earlier, we worked with Ma Foi, but now have ABC Consultants to screen applicants. We do not want people who only have money, but want those who are passionate about cookies to partner with us," says Pattabhi Rama Rao, president, Australian Foods India.

But that's not the only quirky way of doing business. Rao is full of marketing insights. For instance, he has already tested the theory about how he always wants a Cookie Man store near a Landmark store. But more of that later.

Coming back to new franchisees, the exercise begins with a cup of coffee. A rejection of sugar is the first step towards getting disqualified.

"I cannot have people who cannot eat the cookies they bake due to sugar content. It's a different thing that we are planning a cookie with low glycemic index for people who cannot afford to have sugar," he says, and adds that this new sugar-free cookie is pending official clearance.

Cookie Man started its innings here in 2000. Australian Foods, that owns the brand, has 28 per cent stake and the balance is equally split between Rao's family and Paracor India Investments, a private equity firm.

It has put in considerable effort to tweak products to suit the Indian palate and has introduced savouries such as onion-based cookies, lemon-chilli and cheesies.

"We have extended cheesies to all markets, the rest are being experimented with. It takes considerable trial to figure out what will click. However, we constantly have something new on offer. We will be the first in India to introduce hazelnut and macadamia cookies at a mass level," says Rao.

The other difference about Cookie Man's growth agenda is its resolution to track mall space in terms of its presence. "We will be in all the major mall locations, as these are high traffic points. I try and be near all Landmark stores, as I find that our stores do brisk sale attracting the right kind of consumers," he says.

Interestingly enough, its store at Spencers Plaza in Chennai is now the largest-selling counter for the company worldwide, clocking 50 tonnes per annum. The honors for second largest store worldwide is shared by its stores at the Garuda and Forum Malls in Bangalore with 45 tonnes per annum each.

The company recruits young people whose only job is to stand and count footfalls at a location where they intend to open shop. It also has people who look at the mix of cars a certain mall attracts. Big cars equal big sales.

Additionally, the company is eagerly looking at gifting, and institutional sales as its other avenue for revenues. It's already armed with a heart-shaped box for Valentine's next year and has tied up with Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Sahara.

The company has presence in 10 cities, with domestic sales of Rs 15 crore. The target: Rs 300 crore in five years, from 75 franchisees across the country. So while Britannia and Parle need not be worried yet, a different sort of cookie is skimming off the market's top.