Indians have always been fond of fast food. From pizzas, burgers to pasta, the variety is so much. And with international brands like McDonald’s and Burger King, this market is ever-growing. But it seems there is going to be one Indian brand that might rule the market soon.
Mumbai-based quick-service restaurant chain Jumboking is soon to roll-out its outlets in 13 cities. According to Dheeraj Gupta, Founder and MD of Jumboking, the company’s plan is to substantially scale up the Rs-100-crore brand in the next few years.
The company had launched its vada pav quick-service restaurant chain back in 2001. The vision behind the venture was to compete with international brands like McDonald’s or Burger King with a desi twist making Mumbai’s Vada Pav famous across the nation.
Just like the leading brands, Jumboking offers a variety of options such as a Schezwan vada pav and Achari vada pav amongst many others. The format was a huge hit amongst the Mumbaikars which encouraged Jumboking to roll out a nationwide vada pav QSR in 2008.
With shops set up in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, Jumboking was unable to maintain the hype around the vada pav which did excite Delhiites initially. The brand spent crores on advertisement but still could not attract customers. Due to lack of funds and flaws in the concept, Jumboking discontinued from the market in 2011.
The pricing factor was also significant in marking its failure as the company realized that an average Mumbaikar would not be willing to spend more than Rs 20 on Vada Pav since it is common street food and the food chain was unable to bring it down from Rs 25.
In 2015, the brand repositioned itself as an Indian burger brand. It launched a range of burgers that had an international appeal, such as corn and spinach, crispy veggie, and mac and cheese. Hence the brand decided to relaunch its products with an international appeal yet with Desi flavors.
