Exploring The Interesting Synergy Between Haldiram Bhujiawala and Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf

At the outset, there seems to be no connection or similarity whatsoever between a mug of coffee and some ‘Namkeen’ (or savoury snacks). Right? But guess what, where there is Haldiram Bhujiawala, anything’s possible. Now, it appears, there’s a lot more common between Haldiram Bhujiawala and famous Coffee chain- Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Wondering how? In a recent exciting business takeover, Haldiram Bhujiawala has bought The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf India franchise from a noted Private Equity fund Everstone Capital.

The deal, it appears, cost Haldiram Bhujiawala a whopping INR 100 crore. But it seems that’s not the only acquisition in the domain of the famous Indian sweets and snacks manufacturer, with a base in Kolkata.

As part of the deal in which Haldiram bought the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf India franchise, it apparently also acquired Gilato Italiano, a brand that’s risen to become the choicest Ice-cream Gilato maker, especially in the posh urban Indian setting.

This fundamentally means that a brand that had a lot to do with sweets and delectable Indian Namkeens is now concerned with Ice-creams and Coffee as well. What incredible diversification via acquisition, right?

Mr. Manish Agarwal, Chief Executive, Haldiram Bhujiawala also shared that his company had acquired a majority stake in Pan India Food Solutions, a holding company set up by the above mentioned Private Equity fund to govern it’s coffee and ice cream businesses.

At this moment of time, the exact details of this particular financial transaction aren’t in the public domain. Additionally, when contacted via E-mail regarding the financials involved in the said deal, Everstone didn’t respond.

But on this occasion, Haldiram’s chief happened to elaborate on the current dynamics of his big business and was quoted as saying, “We have acquired a total of 89 outlets as part of this deal. We plan to expand the coffee chain and ice cream business.”

Undoubtedly, 89 outlets happen to be no small business in any capacity. What’s also known is that Pan Indian Food Solutions happens to own various Food-Courts operating in various malls, such as- Spoon and Foodtalk. And it appears that as a part of the deal, some of the brands operating under the umbrella of the food court are also with Haldiram Bhujiawala now, although, it’s not clear which ones.

In an elaborate report published on the above-mentioned deal, The Economic Times shared some interesting anecdotes:

Over the past two years, Everstone has had to scale back expansion plans and shut down outlets of the coffee chain and Spaghetti Kitchen due to accumulating losses at Pan India, an industry executive said. Filings with the ROC show that Pan India Foods had around 50-crore sales in FY18, but was loss-making. Its liabilities exceeded assets, resulting in a negative net worth for the company, according to its auditors. 

In addition to the above, it’s worthwhile to note that the Haldirams group operates out of Delhi NCR region, Kolkata and Nagpur, where it operates various branches. Haldiram Bhujiawala is the company that belongs to a Kolkata-based family.