Native QSR brand Rolls Mania to Roll Out Overseas Operations & 200 Stores Pan-India by End-FY18

WHAT KICK-started as a concept of a small kiosk selling Indian-style Roti Rolls, Rolls Mania has been a name synonymous to many to relate to the nostalgic flavours of their childhood, ever since it first started operating from Magarpatta, Pune, reminisces Puneet Kansal, Director of Rolls Mania. “The first thought that popped up was to believe in basics. No matter how many fancy and new options of food kept entering the market, a roti roll connected just right with the consumers,” says Kansal about the commencement of Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand in the year 2009.

“The kiosk prospered day-by-day, even though at that time I had only one chef to work with and a small place with flocking hungry patrons all-day long. However, hurdles did turn up when I was asked to vacate the space soon. But in 2010, patrons turned partners, where with Gagan Sial and Sukhpreet Singh Sial joined as Directors, post which the Rolls Mania was relished by our loyal customers only in stores and there was no looking back after that,” recalls Kansal.

Analysing the pattern of increase in outside food consumption by the Indian market, Kansal who hails from Mathura soon learned that Indian consumers appreciate and savour innovative food concepts. Hence taking a path away from the erstwhile entrepreneurial fan-following to serve western and fusion dishes, Kansal decided to serve something that he had grown up eating and relishing, and also something which is a native recipe of this country – the roti roll.

“We are serving a wide range of variety of our signature rolls which also includes different variants of vegetarian fillings, as we learned vegetarian consumers often have too less of an option while eating out,” said Sukhpreet Singh Sial while talking about the USP posed by Rolls Mania.

As per the directors of Rolls Mania, the QSR brand is now having a total of 102 outlets spread across India. In the initial years between 2010-2014, the Pune-based QSR brand opened a total of four stores in the vicinity of the city. 2014 onwards, Kansal says, the Franchise model of expansion turned to be really fruitful, where in that single year they opened 7-8 outlets. “We are having a sustainable presence in both metros and tier-II, III cities like that of Indore, Belgaum, Bhopal, Nagpur, Kochi, Guwahati, Goa, etc.,” added Sial.

“We have been a healthy brand with a good franchise-dealer recall, where we are associated with people maintaining our franchise dealership since the past seven years. Our ROI module is simple and the break-even point gestation period is really short, following which the profits earned by them are something which keeps them motivated to be associated with us,” said a positive Sial about their strong equation with the franchisee dealers.

To cater to such large portfolio of stores and maintain the quality and taste in different locations of the country, when asked about their central processing unit for materials, Sial and Kansal simultaneously said, “For all ingredients which include the fillings – we rely and support local supplies, but we have a centralised masala manufacturing unit to make sachets of the same which are then distributed to all the Rolls Mania stores in calculated portion sizes. The details and instructions of usage of these masala sachets are then handed over to the franchisee dealers to maintain the standard flavours and quality that Rolls Mania offers.”

The homegrown QSR brand is planning to penetrate into global markets soon where their first overseas stint as per the directors is said to be in the Middle East market. The recipe and menu there will be subject to get revised as per local likings. When asked about their roadmap ahead, Kansal said they are planning to have a total of 200 outlets in India by end of FY2018.