GO69 Pizza is Tapping Tier-III and Tier-IV Cities For Expansion In a conversation with Franchise India, Dr. Amit Srivastava, CEO, GO69 Pizza, shares his vision and expansion plans

Go69 Pizza is an Indian pizza brand by Rudra Enterprises, which started its operations in 2014 and is now in the expansion mode. The very first outlet was started in Rajajipuram, Lucknow, UP. The brand started franchising in2016 and till now it has 40 outlets in 9 different states of India including UP, Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to name a few.

In a conversation with Franchise India, Dr. Amit Srivastava, CEO, GO69 Pizza, shares his vision and expansion plans.

The specialty of GO69 Pizza

When asked about the unusual selection of the name, Dr. Amit says that "Indians are concerned about only two things when they go out to eat: a familiar taste and the cost should fit in their budget. Hence, at GO69 pizza, the starting price of maximum products is Rs.69 and our products have a special blend of Indian spices according to the taste of North India."

He adds, "As far as the franchise is concerned GO69 Pizza works on "No Royalty Franchise Model', where the franchisee does not have to pay the regular profit percentage with the franchisor."

Targeting Tier-III and Tier-IV cities

According to Dr. Amit: "The tier-III and tier-IV is the most neglected market, where the customer is aware of the brands like Pizza Hut and Dominos but the brand has not yet penetrated. We are trying to make our brand reach out to those markets and have a taste of GO69 Pizza."

He added, "We have opened 12 outlets in 2018; we are now eyeing to reach a number of 70 outlets by the end of March 2019. We have been recognized by the government of Karnataka for providing entrepreneurship opportunities to the economically backward people. The government of Karnataka is giving 100% subsidy to them. It has also selected GO69 for the flagship program under which we are encouraged to open 50 outlets in Karnataka."

Tackling Competition

Dr. Amit says that "In India, the taste of Indians changes according to the region. There are a lot of international brands, which are coming into the Indian market but some fail miserably because they are unable to deliver products according to the taste of consumers. We, as a home-grown brand, try to customize our products according to the taste of the customer and region, for example, in north India we have different flavors and in the South, we have other flavors."

He adds, "Other than that we bake our own bread for garlic bread, burger, and sandwiches rather than depending on external sources. Looking at the health-conscious population in various cities, we are also planning to come up with multigrain pizza crust and chicken pizza crust."

Success Mantra

Dr. Amit believes that understanding the customer's choice and knowing the pulse of the people and demands of the market is important, which is what makes GO69 Pizza one of the most successful pizza chains in the country.

He says, "If we talk about the franchise business we felt that the "No royalty model' of franchise business will help the tier-III and tier-IV's aspiring entrepreneurs to have a taste of success. Our aim is to show the youth how lucrative a home-grown pizza brand can be."

This article was originally published in Franchise India by Nibedita Mohanta .