In such a competitive foodies’ hub comes this latest ice cream joint that will win your heart! Experimental more than you can think of and quality conscious beyond measures, the ice creams at Hawte are made in slow churned process right in front of you and have some of the most unique flavours. Options like Bloody Berry, Chocolate Bourbon, Nougat Praline, Snickers are just very common here and you are definitely going to be spoil for choices. “A definite choice for those long drives and midnight ice cream stops” says the Founder’s of the Brand Mr. Bhargav and Mrs. Gayatri.
Start by telling us why have you picked this sector, and how has your journey been so far?
My wife and I are qualified and experienced chef’s. We are based in New Zealand and wanted to have a restaurant set up with an amazing bar here in Mumbai. We had saved quite a bit of money however the same wasn’t enough to make that happen. As we had the experience of restaurants, hotels etc. making desserts was no challenge thus we started off with the slow churned ice-cream boutique concept in India for the first time. Well, we did not choose be to in this sector but have been encouraged by our customers to get into scaling the number of units that we run. So, when we started off in the year 2016 we were a small 300 sq. ft outlet in Powai- Mumbai, for us the pride was in the product and the quality of ice-creams that we were offering. It was our wish to give India and the inhabitants a taste or creativity along with quality. Thus, we practiced doing the same through our little outlet in Powai. Purely through word of mouth and the support from our loyal customers we were able to make good numbers and keep growing, out the blue we were featured in Buzzfeed and our concept got over 2.9 million likes, we started getting more famous and our loyal customer base literally tripled. Now catering to all the people was a challenge from on small unit, and the demands of our customers were ever increasing, to cope up with the same a few of our loyal customers requested us to franchise in locations that they came from, respecting the same we got into franchising and here we are now.
What is the USP of your brand? Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?
There are several USP’s that we work with.
• Slow churned fresh gourmet ice-creams that are made in small batches every day in store with absolutely no preservatives, additives or artificial coloring. Our ice-creams are made of only three ingredients that is milk, sugar and flavor which are all manufactured by us and not out sourced.
• We work on a cyclic menu that changes every season and we hold an inventory of over 300+ flavors that are offered to our customers throughout the year in different seasons. At anytime we hold 30 flavors in stores that can be enjoyed by our customers
• We are the only brand in the market that do alcohol flavored ice-creams with NOT an ounce of alcohol in it. We have developed a secretive process that enables us to not only mix the flavor with milk without spoiling or curdling the milk but also convert that into a mouthwatering ice-cream. So, it’s all about the flavor and None about the hang-over.
• All our products are hand-made with minimal usage of machines. Ingredients are locally sourced, naturally grown and guess what we don’t add any oils or fats to our ice-creams.
• We are a one stop solution for all dessert guzzlers, we not only make ice-creams but also make the finest quality of Belgian waffles, Dutch Pikelets, gourmet iced shakes, Sundaes etc. So, if you crave dessert head to Hawte.
All our products are priced between 65 and 100 inclusive of taxes and we offer top notch food products for pocket friendly rates. Why? Because we make them all and we don’t buy it from anyone else.
In the next five years we look forward to have over 100 operational outlets in India and abroad and also have our presence in the retail and FMCG sector. We aim to provide the same quality products that we are offering in our outlets to a bigger audience by supplying the same to super markets, malls etc. Developing a strong hold in exports is epitome to the success of growing India financially. We wish to manufacture products and export them to countries that have limited options of the same. The key is not grow alone, the key is to grow with the country and its inhabitants by spreading affordable food. Because we believe that there is No other commodity that exist in this world other than Food that can connect people. So, our mission is to spread Hawteness and Sweetness to people at affordable process.
How long was the business operating before it became a franchise network and how long has the business been franchised?
This business has been operating for 3 years now (from 2015), and we offered our first franchise in 2018. The Franchised outlets have been operational for over 6 months now.
What are your expansion plans in the near future?
We aim to have over 100 operational outlets by the end of 2023. We wish to expand globally as we have strong connections in Australia and New Zealand. We also wish to have our presence throughout India prior to going overseas. Along with the same we aim to manufacture our products and export them in the retail sector as per their respective standards, that shall accelerate the inflow of foreign currency in India and help us make larger provisions for employment in India. We believe that in the business front globalization plays a significant role and being actively involved in the same shall help us reach great heights.
What are the criteria for choosing a franchise and what are your expectations out of it?
The very first criteria are to join hands of Trust and Honesty. For us franchises are not a source of expansion they are a source of investment. We take investments from the Franchise and operate the franchised outlets to maintain quality and standardization. We understand that franchise owners wish to operate the business that they invest in however the fact is that they lack experience in the field. Optimism is valued only to a limited extent and over optimism creates heavy losses. Thus, to have our franchisees secure their investment and to maintain a strong brand worth we created the Franchise Invested Company Operated model (FICO) where in we guarantee the returns to our franchise investors in the form of monthly royalty payouts. The royalty payouts also escalate by 5% every year and there is minimal risk borne by the franchisee. Thus, the second criteria is that the franchise accepts to let us do what we do and we ensure that the interest and the investment of the franchise is secured in return. The third criteria is the most simple one where in we want our franchise to be relaxed. Thus, to ensure that the franchise is not stressed out with the business and to double the investment we help them achieve the same. We ensure that the franchise earns double the amount of the investment in just 5 years.
How many franchise locations did you open at first and what is the current number of outlets you have?
We opened only 2 franchise outlets in the Franchise Owned Franchise operated model (FOFO) after several learnings and experiences that we went through we launched the FICO model and have successfully sold 4 units in the last 2 months. The same outlets shall be operational in the next month. We look forward to expanding to over 100 outlets franchised or owned by the end of 2023.
Please conclude your success story?
So, we would like to conclude by saying that we strive to work as per the mission that we have outlined which is – “To create a legacy by joining hands with our investors to create the most exquisite kind of sweetness, Hawteness and novelty in the global markets. Impeccable customer service and satisfaction is the epitome for the success of our brand. And in everything we do- we enterprise Transparency, Positive Results and Fairness in trade.”
Share your franchise facts with us?
The factual data is as follows:
• We practice ethical business and ensure that we reach the optimum sales in all our outlets to pay our investors their royalty on time and ensure that the promised returns are delivered to them within the time frame created.
• We shall join hands with only those who trust us and accept the hand shake of honesty. We believe that Honesty is a very expensive gift and it cannot be shared with cheap people.
• We want our franchise investors to believe in what we do and to have the same business ethics that we share.
• For us numbers matter a lot and we take money seriously, there is no doubt in delivering the same
• We do appreciate a benefit of doubt but don’t accept silly thoughts
• Our franchisees are our stores- the investor only has to invest and we do the rest while our investor can actually rest.
• We help investors make money out of their money with no additional costs or responsibilities
• We sell ice-creams so we expect you to Chill
• Our marketing is strong and we have proved it before thus don’t doubt it
• Lastly, in good faith we are into business don’t make it personal, because at Haute Artisan Creations we mean Business!
