Tablez unveils 24th outlet of ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery in India

Tablez has launched two outlets of Cold Stone Creamery, the iconic American ice cream brand, in Hyderabad. These outlets are located at HSR Eden Building, Banjara Hills, and SP Road, Begumpet, respectively.

With the launch, Cold Stone Creamery ventures into Hyderabad. These new outlets are the 26th and 27th outlets of Cold Stone Creamery in India.

Tablez holds franchise rights for Cold Stone Creamery.

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Tablez, said, “Hyderabad is known for its rich gastronomic traditions, and we are glad to bring the popular American ice-cream brand to the city. Cold Stone’s range of ice-creams is made fresh and is expected to add flavour to the taste-buds of all age-segments.”

“The new stores strengthen our growing presence across the cities in South India. Hyderabad is developing at a rapid pace, and the discerning local crowd will definitely enjoy Cold Stone’s Ultimate Ice Cream Experience. We plan to launch 3 more stores in Hyderabad by May 2020,” he further added.

Ice cream market in India

In India, the ice cream industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the dairy or food processing industry. The country has a low per capita ice cream consumption of ice cream at 400 ml as compared with per capita consumption of ice cream of 22,000 ml in the United States and 3,000 ml in China.

The ice cream sector in India has great potential for growth with the improving cold chain infrastructure in the country coupled with increasing disposable income and the changing lifestyle.

In India, the ice cream industry generated revenue of over $1.5 billion in 2016 and is projected to generate revenue of approximately $3.4 billion by 2021.

Ice cream franchise

In modern times when franchising has become the best option to start a business, the ice-cream franchise provides a great opportunity to establish oneself as a capable entrepreneur and earn handsomely.

The organised ice-cream industry constitutes just 4-6% of the total industry, therefore, there is a large scope of growth in the coming years.

For those aspiring franchisees that feared that the diet conscious people would no longer care for this lip-smacking dessert, there is good news! With the growing popularity of ice-creams among health-conscious consumers, one can find an array of frozen desserts fitting various dietary regimes like reduced-fat, fat-free, low-carb, no sugar added or lactose-free ice creams. So, with this development, there is an increased need for more franchise owners in the ever-growing ice-cream franchise segment.

The growth in this sector can be envisaged by the ever-increasing players and their expansion pan India through the franchise route. The brands like Kwality Walls, Vadilals, Amul, Mini Melts, Baskin Robbins, Gelato Vinto, etc, are some national and international players that have prospered from one outlet to hundreds and thousands within a span of a few years, showing the popularity of franchising in this sector.

Leading organized retail group Tablez has launched a new outlet of Cold Stone Creamery, the iconic American ice cream brand, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Spread across 1,255 sq ft, this is the brand’s 5th outlet in Chennai and 21st in India.

Cold Stone Creamery’s other four outlets in Chennai are present at Phoenix Market City, Velachery Road; Nungambakkam, KNK Road; VR Chennai, Anna Nagar; and Injambakkam, ECR, in Chennai.

Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director of Tablez, said, “We are thrilled to open our latest store in Marina Mall and showcase our unique hand-crafted ice creams, along with the classics, for all to indulge year-round. Chennaiites appreciate great quality ice cream and the city is an important market for us. We intend to open more stores in Chennai over the coming months.”

Cold Stone Creamery is a pioneer in hand-crafted ice-cream, having a presence in more than 30 countries. It is well known for its innovations, especially in crafting the creamiest and 100% vegetarian ice-cream products.

US based Kahala Brands is planning to enter Indian market by opening its Cold Stone Creamery outlet in the country.

The group has signed a master franchisee agreement with the food and beverage arm of Lulu International Group, Tablez Food Company to bring its frozen dessert brand to India and Sri Lanka.

Tablez is also planning to invest around Rs 75-85 crore in opening 40 outlets in the country by next five years.

"When we look for brands to tie up with, we always look for those that are high in quality, have great value and are passionate about what they do; and Cold Stone Creamery ticks all the boxes for us," Shafeena Yusuff Ali, CEO, Tablez Food Company (TFC) told a national daily.

The first outlet will be opened at the Lulu Mall, Kochi in November, followed by outlets in Bengaluru and other tier one cities in India and Sri Lanka in the coming years.

"With over 1 billion population in India, it is a very exciting market and we have been very impressed that the consumer spending on ice cream here is significant and has outpaced the growth in other categories by 15-20 per cent increase year on year," said Eddy Jimenez, senior vice president, international operations and development, Kahala Brands adding that the Indian market is high on the company's radar for future growth.

TFC, under the agreement would also open five Cold Stone outlets in Sri Lanka by 2019.

At present, TFC has brands like Peppermill Indian Restaurant, Bloomsbury's, Galito's and London Dairy operating under it across India, Sri Lanka and the UAE, with Peppermill and Bloomsbury's being home-grown names, whereas the latter ones are franchises.

Bloomsbury's cafe and bakery is already present at the Lulu mall in Kochi and in next five years it will expand to ten outlets in the country.

Lately, the company also signed franchise agreements with Famous Dave's, a barbecue concept in the US and Genghis Grill, an Asian grill house also based in the US.

The South African flame-grilled chicken brand Galito's will be added in India by TFC by next month. Ali further said that the company would open 20 outlets under the brand in India over the next five years.

Ali founded TFC in 2010 as a subsidiary of Lulu Group International, LLC which is owned by NRI billionaire MA Yusuff Ali and has presence in sectors such as retail, imports & exports, trading, shipping, IT, travel & tourism and education.