Future Group to diversify into cloud kitchen business
In a cloud kitchen concept, operators prepare, package and deliver food without providing any dine-in facility to end-consumers.
SHAMBHU KALAN: Future Group will soon venture into the delivery of cooked foods from its kitchens as part of consolidation of food business, according to its Chief Executive Officer Kishore Biyani
The group is looking to leverage its digital wallet FuturePay to deliver affordable meals at the doorsteps of consumers under the cloud kitchen concept.
“Now, we are talking about cloud kitchen and ready-to-eat food at customers’ home at Rs 40. That is another project on which we are working upon,” said Biyani on the sidelines of an event here.
He further said: “You would see a lot of action on that project. This would be fresh food and supplied from the kitchens, which we are creating in every cities.”
In a cloud kitchen concept, operators prepare, package and deliver food without providing any dine-in facility to end-consumers.
Biyani said Future Group would “very soon” start its cloud kitchens but declined to reveal further details such as the number and network reach.
“We are creating rice-based meals,” he said, adding “you can get two samosas at Rs 10 because we are managing end-to-end operations”.
He said the group plans to use services of FuturePay app under its digital project Tathasthu for getting food delivered at the doorsteps of consumers.
Bullish on the venture, he said: “We have huge ambitions…Whichever way food would be consumed in India, we would be there.”
The group will leverage on its enterprise strength to overcome low margin hurdle in the food delivery business chain by handling end-to-end operations, he said.
“We will manage the entire value chain. We have our own rice and floor mills. We have our factories and own supply chain companies, we have own brands. If anyone can give margins, we can get,” Biyani said.
When asked whether Future Group’s cloud kitchen would compete with food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, Biyani replied in negative.
Future Group, which currently gets around 50 per cent of its sales from its food business, is also expanding its network through its chains of Aadhaar, Easyday and Future stores and aims to cross around 60 per cent in the next five years.
“Till now, we were focused on fashion business,” he said, adding that “food business in the long run would touch 55 to 60 per cent of total sales”.
As part of the strategy, the group will have Aadhaar stores for the towns below 50,000 population and Easyday in the cities with 50,000 and above population and Big Bazaarstores in the towns with population of above two lakh, Biyani said.
The company is creating a India Food Grid, where it is creating 38 big warehouses across the country. It now has five operational warehouses with the opening of a new one here and expects rest to be completed in the next two to three years.
[“source=economictimes.indiatimes”]
