The brand today announced 20 franchise tie-ups from across the country, with plans to on-board 100 franchises by the end of 2023

With the Indian imported fruit market set to achieve record growth, WayCool Foods has announced plans to push its premium imported fruit brand, L’exotique, into tier-2 & tier-3 regions.

Amrit Bajpai, COO of WayCool Foods

Amrit Bajpai, COO of WayCool Foods

The brand has partnered with 20 franchises from across the country and said it plans to further expand its franchise network by adding a total of 100 partners by the end of this fiscal year.

L’exotique, one of the youngest imported fruit brands in India, offers an assortment of premium fruits including apples, oranges, kiwifruit, dragon fruit, grapes, and berries sourced from 10 countries.

WayCool’s COO, Amrit Bajpai, commented: “We are pumped to expand our presence to 20 more locations in India.

“The Indian premium fruit market is burgeoning, and we see great potential especially in the tier-2 & tier-3 markets – customers in these markets are looking for healthy snacking alternatives.

“The new franchise partners and our foray into the rural markets will certainly add strength to our growing business.”

The company also announced that it has extended the features of its in-house app, WayCool App, to allow franchise partners to seamlessly place and track orders of consignments from across continents.

In addition, L’exotique said it will provide marketing support to its franchise partners. The company aims to become a supply, marketing, and technology partner for the franchises.

“Health-conscious consumers and their exposure to exotic fruits varieties in the recent past has fuelled the growth of the Indian premium fruit market,” said Bajpai.

“While the segment is set to grow in double digits, we noticed a major gap in the supply chain in tier-2 & tier-3 cities in India. The current supply requirements in these regions are fulfilled by agents in port cities, who scout the market every day for material and communicate availability to the traders in the smaller towns.

“However, there is a lack of consistency in availability of the produce and the quality of the fruits.

“With our global sourcing prowess, strategic tie-ups with orchard owners across 15 countries, technology capabilities, stringent quality control, and super-efficient supply chain, we can help our partners have worry-free and seamless business supplies. We are thus expanding the market and reach of premium fruit across India.”

WayCool launched L’exotique ini 2019. Today the brand is available in locations like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, Kanpur, Chandigarh.

The label also recently announced its entry into the B2C space by offering its range of fruits in select retail outlets across key regions in India.