Q&A: G S Bhalla, Founder & CEO, Cocoberry

'Innovation in food will remain the prime area of focus'

Founded in February 2009 after a detailed market aptitude survey, Cocoberry launched a range of frozen yogurts, recognising substantial potential in the Indian health and wellness foods segment. G S Bhalla, founder and CEO of Cocoberry, spoke to Pravda Godbole about the company’s future plans. Edited excerpts:

What kind of investments have you made in this venture?
We have invested over Rs 10 crore in this project so far.

Why has Cocoberry, primarily offering low-fat frozen yogurts, diversified into offering sandwiches and beverages?
Our products’ main category is health food. We intend to serve our customers the healthiest food options blended with taste, flavour and variety. Hence, innovation in food has and will always remain the prime area of focus. Cocoberry entered the market with low-fat, low-sugar and low-calorie yogurts. But, as the chain expanded, we introduced other products too. We now also serve a selection of hot and cold beverages like coffee, tea and smoothies, and a variety of freshly-made sandwiches.

 

How many chains does Cocoberry run currently?
We have 25 outlets across New Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), Chandigarh, Goa and Mumbai. We are planning to increase the number of outlets to 100 by the end of 2011 and expand in Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore and Jaipur. We are also exploring options to expand our operations in the international market and will soon finalise locations in some South East Asian countries as well as in West Asia.

How do you plan to achieve this target?
We will be opening new outlets in more cities across the country. We have also entered into strategic tie-ups with multiplexes (DT Cinemas), hospitals (Fortis) and IT parks (in Hyderabad and Bangalore).

What is your investment budget like?
We are going to be investing over Rs 100 crore in the next three to four years.

Would all these new outlets open through the franchise route?
About 20-30 per cent of the outlets would operate under franchise.

What is your current market share and what is your target, and by when do you expect to achieve it?
With a 95 per cent market share in the frozen yogurt chain segment, we are India’s first and largest premium frozen yogurt chain today, with the widest network of stores. Cocoberry is all set to experience triple-digit growth in the years to come, as we are expanding our presence to other cities in India, as well as abroad. We also intend to become one of the world’s largest yogurt retail chains by the end of next year.

What is the current growth rate of the company?
We’ve witnessed 300 per cent growth this year.

What is your annual turnover?
Since we are a privately-held company we will not be able to share the figures.