GOPIZZA bets big on India: Introduces 2 new brands, puts in Rs 25 cr fresh investment to hit 100 stores
GOPIZZA
, which has so far invested Rs 100 crore in the India business, plans to invest additional Rs 25 crore to take the total store count from 65 to 100 by the end of this CY,
Jaewon Lim
, founder and CEO of Global GOPIZZA, told ETRetail.
It has launched its newest venture,
Gochujang
, a
Korean street food restaurant
in Bengaluru. With this opening, GOPIZZA has added a third brand to its umbrella, along with
Dalkomi
- a
K-dessert cafe
and GOPIZZA.
The company aims to open 100 outlets of all three brands together by the end of this calendar year. Both brands - Dalkomi with 2 outlets and Gochujang with one outlet - pilot first in India before going global.
'India is a key market in our global growth strategy. We're actively seeking a master franchise partner and aim to launch 100 outlets across GOPIZZA, Gochujang, and Dalkomi by FY 2026. Our focus is to create integrated spaces where customers can enjoy all three brands under one roof — delivering a complete
Korean food
experience with operational efficiency,' he said.
"Now that we have successfully built a working business model, and by the time we operate 100 stores in India, we will be able to roll out franchising options to master franchises," he further added.
The brand, which has a presence in 3 cities - Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, plans to expand its presence to Delhi NCR, Pune, and Ahmedabad by this CY end. It was planning to touch 100 outlets by CY 24, but couldn't.
"We firmly believe that we will be able to meet our targets to open 100 stores by the CY end as now we have three different brands opening in different locations," he said.
"We were finding it difficult to meet our previously set targets as it was difficult to find the right spots for our pizza brand, but now with two other brands, we aim to meet our targets. Secondly, the global economy had a downturn in Q3 and Q4 everywhere else but India. So, we were a bit careful on what we were rolling out in each country," he further added.
The outlets of the brand, which span between 50 sq.ft to 2,000 sq.ft., find a sweet spot at 500 sq.ft.
Mapping Global Presence
The brand, which has a presence in 8 countries - Korea, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the US - plans to enter 2-3 more by the end of this CY. Globally, it operates 1,400 stores.
"Going ahead, we plan to give the master franchise of the brand in other countries as well, like Malaysia, and will be opening soon in Mongolia," he said.
So far, Korean and Indian markets have turned profitable for the company.
"We're betting big on profitability while diving deep into various countries. We consider India as the biggest growth engine for the company," he said.
"To turn profitable in Korea, we expanded our portfolio in the B2B space to become a pizza solution company. It really took off and contributed to our bottom line heavily, whereas in India, growth is directly proportional to the number of stores we open," he explained.
At present, 75 per cent of the revenue of the brand comes from dining, and the remaining 25 per cent is contributed by delivery.
Tapping Growth
Currently, the same store growth of the brand stands at 15 per cent and EBITDA profitability at 10 per cent.
"By adding new brands to our portfolio, we plan to take our EBITDA profitability to 20 per cent in Q2 CY 26 as multiple brands under one roof will help us maintain the same OpEx and higher top line," he explained.
The brand, which plans to double its revenue numbers from Rs 50 crore last CY to Rs 100 crore this CY end, expects India to contribute 30-40 per cent of its total revenue by this CY end.
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