Brand Monginis set to return to city on Good Friday

Popular bakery brand Monginis, which just vanished one fine morning of 2015 from Kolkata and its suburbs to be replaced by a new brand, is set to make a comeback on this Good Friday.

A dispute between the local franchisee and the brand owners had led to the development in that year and all Monginis shops turned Mio Amore.

Now, city-based Ganguram chain of confectionery have taken West Bengal's master franchisee for manufacturing and retailing Monginis bakery products in the state, Kolkata Partner Anand Chaurasia told PTI.

He said, nine Monginis stores will be opened on April 19 and by May end, a total 60 brand shops will be in place in Kolkata and suburbs.

The century-old brand Monginis is owned by Mumbai based Khorakiwalas and was introduced to Kolkata in 1992 by a local partner. But, owing to disputes, all of the 155 odd Monginis shops were rebranded as Mio Amore in 2015.

It was then decided that Monginis cannot be launched in Kolkata at least for three years.

A top Monginis official said now there was no hurdle for the brand to be relaunched and a strong partner had been roped in for the comeback.

The Chaurasias' is believed to have pumped in around Rs 20 crore for the brand excluding real-estate investment. Monginis boasts to have 650 stores and 16 manufacturing facilities across the country.

Chaurasia said though competition will be intense with Mio Amore being the largest competitors with a chain of 200 plus shops.

However, it will not be difficult to create demand as people will recall the strong brand Monginis.

"We will be very competitive in pricing with the best quality. Our average price for products would be between Rs 10 and Rs 25," Chaurasia said.

He said, "We are thinking about re-introducing the catchline 'Moner Jinish Monginis'. But it is not final.