Yellow Tie plans 22 GBC outlets in India

Restaurant franchise management firm Yellow Tie Hospitality plans to open 22 Genuine Broaster Chicken (GBC) outlets across India in 2017-18, of which five will be in Bengaluru.

The Mumbai-based firm — which operates also restaurant brands Dhadoom!, wrapchic, Just falafel, Twist of Tadka and BB Jaan — currently operates 18 GBC restaurants across Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Surat, Gangtok, Guwahati, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Patna, with Bengaluru seeing its first restaurant on Monday.

“As an affordable American restaurant brand, with desi elements, our strategy is to grow GBC equitably across Tier-I and Tier-II cities. Our larger goal remains to open 200 outlets in India by 2020, with 22 of them in Bengaluru,” Yellow Tie Hospitality Founder and CEO Karan Tanna told DH.

Over a year ago, Yellow Tie Hospitality invested around $2 million in acquiring GBC’s rights, building infrastructuure, logistics, supply chain, branding and marketing. This year, it will further invest $1 million from internal accrual towards expansion.

“Our franchisees invest between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1 crore for a restaurant, depending on its location and format. Each restaurant occupies an area between 900 and 1,500 sq feet. We charge a royalty of 6% from each franchisee,” Tanna added.

GBC is a proprietary concept and recipe programme of American food equipment manufacturer Broaster Company. Specialising in pressure fried chicken, the company sells the programme for use in restaurants (over 12,000 operators in 36 countries), providing its own equipment and condiments.

Interestingly, India is the only country where GBC operates through two restaurant formats — More (without alcohol) and Pint (with alcohol). And Tanna’s firm, holding an exclusive licence with GBC’s parent company, manages the brand through a complete franchise model in India.