Karak Chaii is looking to accelerate its franchise expansion with 30 locations the target by the end of next year, with seven in the pipeline to open in early 2023.
Currently operating 11 sites – its most recent opened in Peterborough last week – the chai focused café has sites lined up in Bolton, Coventry, Hodgehill, Kingsbury, Leamington Spa, Southall and Tooting.
Its first site opened in Birmingham, in late 2020, with the founders taking the franchise route from its third site onwards, with the majority of future growth likely to come from franchisees, newly appointed strategic advisor Paolo Peretti told MCA.
Peretti has been brought on bought to help Karak Chaii refine its franchise model, and to find franchisees, in order to drive further growth.
“They are quite ambitious,” he said. “They are looking to be at 30 by the end of next year and then grow it by between 20 and 30 sites a year after that.”
The business has signed up a franchise partner in the North West, who has committed to 10 sites, with another partner on the South Coast. The rest of the growth is likely to come in London and the Midlands, he said, with the brand looking to open on suburban high streets, such as with its locations on Ealing Broadway and Action high street.
While the appeal of the business is very much to South Asian customers currently, Peretti explained, with its halal Indian street food and chai offering, its upcoming venue in Leamington Spa will be the first to offer a small standard coffee menu.
“They will try and widen the appeal a little bit, broaden the menu out and have some more recognisable dishes that you might have in an Indian restaurant, like rice bowls, for example.”
