Rebel Foods, which operates a network of cloud-kitchens and digital brands, and joined the unicorn club in 2021, is expanding its flagship brand Oven Story Pizza in the offline space through the franchise route. This is a strategic move to garner higher market share in the fast-growing pizza segment and compete with global pizza chains in the country.

Ankit Jindal, Business Head, Rebel Foods, told businessline, “Franchising is an important initiative that we will focus on this year. Our aim is to make Oven Story Pizza one of the market leaders in the category.

“We aim to open 250-300 outlets over the next 2-3 years.” It is known for brands including Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Mandarin Oak and Firangi Bake among others.

He added that the franchising model fits well for the brand at this stage and will also enable the company to tap into a network of like-minded individual entrepreneurs.

“Our focus will be on opening these stores in the tier-2 and tier-3 markets. We believe there are huge untapped opportunities in these markets. There is also shift towards national brands in the food space. We also believe that from a real estate costs perspective, our franchise partners will be able to have profitable ventures in these markets,” Jindal added. In 2024, the company aims to open 40-50 offline outlets for the brand.

The company is bullish on the pizza category. Jindal pointed out that over the years, the category has gained traction in tier-2, -3 and -4 markets and has seen the emergence of several local-level brands.