r/IndianFranchise

Hello Everyone I’m founder of a Salon chain. I saw lot of people confused about lot of things . I’m here to answer any questions you have in beauty and wellness industry.Ask me anything . I’m open to taking questions

Note : Not a promotional post .That’s the reason I didn’t mentioned brand name . Genuinely wanted to answer few questions of this community from founders and investors perspective,that might help them to take informed decision in choosing right franchise

What business idea could work in a tier-3 city with 3 lakhs initial capital

I have a 800sqft shop in main road in the best place of my city for shopping it is near the banks and finance offices, fast food shops, big outlets of clothes and food

it has high footfall

What do u think can work?

Little bit about myself, Software Engineer, Tier 1 college, I live in Bengaluru but come from a Tier 3 city, I came across Icy Popps reel on Instagram, their bright, orangish cart with tons of people surrounding it and giving brighter than orange reviews about how it brought back their nostalgia blah blah.

For those whose don't know icy pops is basically ice + flavours (the chuski which you used to get in flimsy polythenes back in your childhoods) they built a brand around it and started offering franchisee.

Cost Breakdown:

Icy Pops Cart : 2 lakh

Initial Stock : 50k

And basically that's it.

The pops come in 2 variants small and big.

Small one will cost you 8 rs and sells at 15 (87.5% margin)

Big one costs you 15 and sells at 25 (67% margin)

Remove staff cost + electricity, your profit comes around 50% easily and on paper that is great, more than great for a 2.5 lakh investment plan.

But here the truth, the Bachpan ka nostalgia which the brand is trying to buy into is not working, the product is not something which people will crave again and again. The sales are entirely dependent on impulsive buying and the pricing is absurd, if you look at the 15 rs pack, it's so small and ultimately customers started to complain, comments like 'this should be priced at 5 rs or 10 rs max'.

And think ice cream space is so competitive I mean you can have a chocobar for 10 to a small cornetto for 15 why would anyone one want to buy ice and flavour for 15 rs.

I fell for this purely looking at the margins, thinking if I can see even sell 200 piece per day then my side income is around 30k (considering 2rs per piece is spent in staff and electricity).

Forget the maths, it's even hard to sell 50 of these because people are not ready to spend 15, 25 on it.

I took the franchise in my hometown and didn't factor in the price sensitive market but it's the same story here in banglore 560037 (aecs layout), I mean I am noticing it daily, hardly any sales, the guy stands there with his cart, there are loads and loads of people standing next to him, eating momos or Pani Puri but hardly anyone is interested in it.

I spent a total of 2.77 lakhs on this and 15 days in I am sure this is going to be an expensive lesson for me, to always do market research, understand the price tag, see alternatives and most importantly question unrealistic profit margins.

They are banking on Instagram reels and a lot of folks are jumping in on the wagon, but please stay away, spread the word, sales are there for 4-5 days but then they drastically drop.

Save your 3 lakhs and invest in something better.

Calling this out because I don't want people to fall into it thinking this side hustle is easy money and 2-3 lakhs is not a lot.

You might see good initial sales in tier 1 cities but sustained sales is still a big question mark.

Happy to answer any questions !!

Can anyone suggest?

Have any of you personally dealt with Franchise India company? They seem to be very popular platform connecting franchises with unit owners. However, I would like to know how they operate as master franchise.

Looks like they are master franchise for bunch of F&B brands in India.

I’d really like to hear from people who are a unit franchise owner under Franchise India (as master franchise), how was the experience?

Did they provide real operational support, value or just initial setup help? Are they transperant and helpful?

I would also like to hear from any Area developers under them. Please share your experience.

I am thinking of opening it in my city Whom to contact and revenue model Requirement and do let me know pros and cons

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to start a Zepto dark store/franchise in a Tier-3 city and I’m getting mixed information about the investment cost.

Some sources say it requires around ₹80 lakh, while others say it can start from ₹20 lakh. Which one is realistic?

I’d like to know:

Does Zepto actually offer franchises?

What is the real investment needed in a Tier-3 city?

Is it profitable in smaller cities?

What is the expected ROI or break-even time?

Would appreciate insights from anyone with experience in quick commerce or dark stores.

I want to start a Giani/Nirulas/Waffle.Co/Belgian Waffle in a street where there are 5 gyms back to back and student footfall during school time end

It can be eaten for cheat days, pre workout energy boost, temptation etc.

Good plan?

Nearest Nirulas is in a mall..

NO CAFE near the gyms and all, but posh area in Delhi NCR

Hi people of reddit,

I have a small duplex shop in Laxmi Nagar, Delhi (~300 sq ft each floor). I had been trying to rent it out earlier but no luck, since it is in a gali, so footfall is pretty low compared to main road.

My dad used to run a business from here, so basic setup/utilities are already sorted. ( Willing to get work done there if needed)

Now I’m thinking of using it myself through a franchise. Ideally something low headache. Cloud kitchen or delivery-first brands seem more practical since footfall is an issue.

I’m not locked into anything yet; open to ideas. Can put in time and money if the model makes sense. ( Would prefer high investment, high return)

Anyone here running something similar in a low-footfall area? What’s worked for you? Any brands I should check out (or stay away from)?

Thanks in advance!

I’m exploring the business model of becoming a partner/franchise for stock market account opening and brokerage services.

For those already in this field:

How profitable is this business in the long run?

What are the biggest challenges in getting clients?

Is offline local marketing better than online lead generation?

Which methods bring the highest-quality Demat account leads?

Any tips for someone starting in this industry?

Would love to hear honest experiences from people already working in finance, broking, or franchise businesses in India.