CavinKare enters sweets-and-snacks retailing with first outlet in Chennai

Firm plans to expand to 500 stores mostly in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra; pilot store set up in Thane

FMCG major CavinKare is entering the exclusive sweets and snacks retail market under its brand Garden Stores by setting up its first commercial outlet in Chennai. The venture will be headed by CavinKare founder C K Ranganathan's son Manu Ranjith.

The firm plans to expand to 500 stores across five or six cities, including Mumbai and Chennai over next five years. While there are many local competitors in this space across geographies, at the national level the main competitors include the likes of Haldirams.

The company is looking at a franchise model for expansion and plans to set up most of the shops in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. It has launched a store in Thane as a pilot project and has set up its first commercial store in Chennai.

While the investment in each store would be about Rs 15 lakh, the company is looking at expansion through franchisee model, said Manu Ranjith, MD of CK Foods, the entity behind Garden Stores.

The products would be from Garden Namkeens, a food-and-snacks firm that CavinKare acquired in August 2009. This segment makes up 15-20 per cent of CavinKare's revenues, he added. 

Ranjith, who also runs a bakery business under the brand CK Bakery, said the bakery business currently has around 98 stores and plans are to expand to 500 stores as well, in next five years.