GFA plans doughnut kiosks

Global Franchise Architects India Pvt Ltd (GFA), the Indian subsidiary of the Geneva-based Global Franchise Architects will be introducing doughnut kiosks in the country in the near future.

The company, which specialises in building, operating and franchising specialty retail brands, will first open three to four such kiosks in Bangalore and test the success of the product.

On doughnut market in India, Kaushik Roy, chief executive officer, GFA India said, "There is no organised dealer of doughnuts and pretzels in India. We will try out the market by opening few kiosks in Bangalore first where the crowd believes in trying out new things and is quite cosmopolitan."

Spread around an area of 300-400 sq.ft., the doughnut kiosks will be mostly opened in malls or multiplexes because of their "impulsive buying behaviour" these places offer. Unlike its other products, GFA will not look for franchisees. The kiosks will be mainly company-owned stores.

The portfolio of GFA India consists of four brands viz. Pizza Corner, Coffee World, New York Deli and The Cream & Fudge Factory.

The company recently launched its first ever vegetarian Pizza Corner restaurant in Ahmedabad. Set up at an investment of Rs 1.5 crore, the restaurant is also first in Gujarat, to be followed by more such restaurants in Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat.

After the launch of Pizza Corner in Ahmedabad, Roy hopes to open 3-4 more restaurants in the city in the current fiscal, and also in Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot in the coming 2-3 months.

The company, which presently has 58 Pizza Corner restaurants in 11 cities, plans to take the number to 100 by December 2007. GFA India also plans to open Golden Pretzel, its chain of fine-dining restaurants, after due research of the market in India.