NEW DELHI: Malaysian yogurt brand MooCow will be available in India starting March, offering ice-creams, frozen yogurt and yogurt drinks.
MooCow is entering India in partnership with FranGlobal, the overseas arm of franchise solutions company Franchise India Holdings Ltd. FranGlobal will be the master franchise of MooCow in India and will initially invest $200,000 in marketing and advertising the brand in the country.
With a plan to open 100 stores each (some of which will be franchised) in the top 10 cities over the next five years, MooCow will explore three retail formats—700-1,000 sq. ft flagship outlets, smaller 500 sq. ft outlets and kiosks.
“These will be dairy-heavy products. We will be setting up production units in mega metro and metro cities. Overall, Rs100-200 crore will be invested in the store openings,” said Venus Barak, chief executive officer of FranGlobal.
Launched in 2010, MooCow has operations in Malaysia and China. The company also plans to enter Indonesia and Vietnam and expand its presence in China.
“We haven’t expanded overseas till now. After eight years, we believe that the brand is mature enough to be taken outside Malaysia. Our unique selling point is our healthy fresh products that people want,” said Sandra Too, director at MooCow.
In the year ended December 2016, MooCow earned 5 million Malaysian ringgit in revenue. The company expects the India launch to drive up revenue by 25%.
MooCow will primarily compete with independent yogurt brands like Cocoberry, Red Mango and YogurtBay.
Retail experts believe that it makes sense for MooCow to enter India, given that the country is the largest dairy producer in the world and that yogurt space is an emerging segment.
“Several brands are expanding their dairy portfolios with new products like yogurts and flavoured milk. It makes sense for the brand to set up production facilities in India. However, the success of the brand will depend on how well it is marketed and what the value proposition is,” said Aashish Kasad, partner and consumer products and retail sector tax leader at consulting firm EY India.
The food services market in India is projected to touch Rs4.98 trillion by 2021 from Rs3.09 trillion in 2016, growing at an annual average rate of 10%, according to a joint report by National Restaurants Association of India and consulting firm Technopak Advisors.
