Barcelos is Bringing in South African Flavors to India via Franchising
Barcelos, the South African food brand, started franchising in 1998 and it now has a global presence across 22 different countries including India. The specialty of Barcelos is its grilled chicken and sauces that have traveled from history going back to about 100 years, mastered by the Portuguese chefs. It has also introduced healthy options for both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian population.
In conversation with Franchise India, Rohit Malhotra, Business Head, Barcelos India, tells us how the recipe has crossed oceans and reached onto our plates to become popular flavors in India. He also shares views on how global brands are coming to India and changing the eating habits.
Rohit shares the expansion plans of Barcelos, “We are planning to open two restaurants in Mumbai and one in Thane by end of December 2018. We also signed up a lot of franchises and we look forward to opening 10-12 outlets by end of 2019.”
What Barcelos Offers?
Barcelos brings in its authentic sauces, which are sent to all the franchisees from South Africa, the secret recipe is preserved and they do not believe in changing the flavors according to a country’s taste.
Rohit says, “We have seen many brands that change or mould the tastes according to country’s taste, but in Barcelos we serve what we are best at and we cannot compromise with the taste and quality. Hence, we take our franchises to those countries where the taste matches and people should value the authenticity of the brand’s offerings.”
Eating Habits
Rohit says, “The F&B industry in India caters to only two types of customers: one who wants value for money ordeals and the other one who wants experience. The latter wants to feel the vibe, music and spend his/her time qualitatively in a restaurant, whereas the former wants the value for money he/she has spent. A brand can work on either one.”
He adds, “We do not see any global brands that are coming to India are our competition. Moreover, we see them as our partners and together we are changing the eating habits in India. No one can eat the same food every day, which is why the global brands are offering different tastes so that Indians can have more options when they think of eating out. We are trying to bring in the eating out culture in India.”
Ideal Franchise Business
Rohit mentions the following points a franchisee should decide from when he/she is planning to take up a franchise business:
- a well-known or recognized brand name and trademark
- a history of proven performance and success
- a good reputation among past and present franchisees
- a period of training for you and initial on-site support
- ongoing support and mentoring in all areas of the business
- training of your staff/laborers
- efforts to ensure low staff turn-over
- a manual of operations to help you run the business successfully
- successful marketing campaigns for the franchise
- concrete plans for the growth of the franchise
