Bikanervala experiments, rolls out fresh expansion plans

From entering into the chips business to opening 15 branches to experimenting with Turkish and Arabian sweets - after treating its patrons for 64 years with sweets and snacks, Bikanervala, which has 40 outlets in the country and 14 offshore, is now gearing up to expand and experiment.

"We will launch our chips by January 2015. This will complete our snacks segment," Deepta Gupta, executive vice president, Bikanervala Foods Pvt Ltd, told IANS.

With an emphasis on northern India, it has outlets in places like Delhi/NCR, Agra, Lucknow and Meerut.

Since 1950, it has offered people with a sweet tooth varied options when it comes to traditional sweets like Kaju Barfi, Rose Laddoo and Badam Barfi.

In recent times, the brand has branched out and ventured into fine dining vegetarian restaurant.

Apart from chips, the brand also plans to offer new sweets to their customers.

"We are working on Middle East sweets. Our consumers are global. We serve sweets from north India, Gujarat and also West Bengal, so we don't want to leave out Turkish delights or Arabian sweets," he said.

That's not all, in terms of new ventures, they also recently forayed into e-commerce with the launch of their portal www.bikanervalaonline.com to offer delivery-at-doorstep service.

Being a trusted brand, they have a long list of supporters in the home country as well as abroad.

"We have six outlets in Nepal, four in UAE, one in Singapore and three in New Zealand. We have received overwhelming response from the Indian community living abroad. Indian cuisine and sweets are very popular among local residents as well," he said.

And they do plan to expand further.

"'We are adding 15 more locations in our ambit by next year," he added.

Though it is a well known brand and has a huge fan following, it doesn't enjoy a monopoly. There are many players in the market.

"We believe in serving our customers with good quality and service. This is a growing industry and there is room for everyone as eating out culture is growing rapidly in India," he said.