Neeraj Gupta, founder of Meru Cabs, has joined hands with K Radhakrishnan, former chief executive officer of KB Fair Price and president of Future Freshfoods Ltd, to float a new fruits & vegetables neighbourhood chain through a franchisee model.
Christened Freshkins Foods India Pvt Ltd, the venture would operate under the brand Freshkins and is eyeing Rs 50 crore turnover in the first year, as per a Business Standard report.
Former Future Freshfoods executive Anjaney Bhutada is leading the venture as its CEO.
The retail format is smaller and different from the supermarket chains run by Future Group or Reliance Retail. It has started operations in Mumbai and will expand to Pune, Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in the near future.
The venture has collection centres at Nasik and Manchar, near Pune and a warehouse in Goregaon at Mumbai.
It is aiming at 50 stores in the first year generating a Rs 50 crore top-line. “In 18 months we propose to have 300 stores, a combination of exclusive outlets, mobile stores and shop-in-shops. The total investment will be Rs 20 crore since it is a franchise model. The back end is where much of our investment will go," Gupta, chairman of Freshkins, told the newspaper.
Gupta had earlier brought in India Value Fund to back his radio cab venture Meru Cabs.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
