Day 1: Theme: Brands • Retail • D2C • Franchise • Distribution • Scale
Building, Scaling & Franchising Consumer Brands in Bharat
Opening Keynote: The Rise of Bharat’s Consumer Economy
Key Discussion Areas
- Rise of aspirational consumers across Bharat
- Shift towards branded and organised consumption
- Digital infrastructure enabling demand
- Consumption growth beyond metros
Ashita Marya
CEO, Franchise India
Bharat’s Consumption Story: Policy, Demand and the Next Growth
Markets
Key Discussion Areas
- Policy push and economic drivers of consumption
- Accessibility of ‘branded’ trust in ‘organised’ environment
- How to push consumption through digital channels in a more ‘responsible’ manner
- Expand mass consumption in Tier 2–3 markets by empowering consumer rights while
keeping brand promises right
Sanjeev Asthana
CEO, Patanjali Foods Limited.
Capital Behind Consumer Brands: Funding the Next Wave of D2C
and Retail
Key Discussion Areas
- Investor focus areas in consumer and retail brands
- Shift towards profitability and sustainable growth
- D2C vs retail-led investment models
- Exit strategies including IPOs and acquisitions
Building a Winning Consumer Brand: From Digital First to Market
Leader
Key Discussion Areas
- Building brand identity in a saturated market
- Role of storytelling, community and creators
- Transition from online to offline retail
- Pricing, positioning and premiumisation
- Building trust, loyalty and recall
Ashita Marya
CEO, Franchise India (Moderator)
Founder’s Journey: From Idea to Retail Shelves
Key Discussion Areas
- The inspiration behind starting the brand
- Early struggles and entrepreneurial learnings
- Building consumer trust in the beauty industry
- Turning a passion into a scalable retail business
- Breaking into retail shelves and modern trade
- Importance of branding, packaging, and product innovation
- Competing with global beauty brands
- Evolution of Indian beauty consumers over the years
- Role of digital and social media in brand growth
- Leadership lessons from her entrepreneurial journey
- Advice for young founders building consumer brands
- Future of India’s beauty and wellness industry
From D2C to Omnichannel: Building Experiential Brands Across
Channels
Key Discussion Areas
- Marketplace vs owned channels: balancing scale with brand identity
- Creating immersive customer experiences online and offline
- Offline expansion: kiosks, retail, malls & experiential touchpoints
- The role of sensory branding and emotional consumer connection
- Data, retention & community building in modern consumer brands
- Scaling operations while maintaining consistent brand experience
Retail Scale Playbook: Stores, Malls and Distribution Networks
- Role of malls vs high street vs digital
- Experience-led retail and footfall drivers
- Distribution and last-mile retail reach
- Store economics and profitability
- Partnerships between malls and brands
Ashita Marya
CEO, Franchise India (Moderator)
Day 2: Theme: Franchise • Retail • Expansion • Scale
Franchising as the Ultimate Scale Model
Key Discussion Areas
- FOFO vs FOCO vs COCO models: Understanding the trade-offs between ownership, control,
and capital efficiency across different franchise formats
- Why brands prefer franchise expansion: Asset-light growth, faster market penetration,
and leveraging local expertise to scale efficiently
- Entry of global brands into India through franchising
- Role of franchise partners in growth
- Technology in franchise management
Gyan Prakash Srivastava
AVP- Retail, Underneat
Beny Sachdeva
Assistant Editor, Franchise India (Moderator)
David Elizalde
CGO, Equivalenza
F&B Expansion Playbook
Key Discussion Areas
- Scaling across formats: Dine-in vs QSR vs cloud kitchens
- Location strategy & mall partnerships
- Unit economics & profitability
- Franchise-led growth: FOFO/FOCO models
- Menu innovation & localisation
- Omnichannel & delivery growth
Akash Srivastava
Chief Business Development Officer (Non-Yum Brands), Devyani
International Limited
Siddharth Arora
COO, Culinary Brands (Subway India)
Chuck Buttiglieri
President, UNO Pizzeria & Grill
Rajat Wahi
Senior Advisor, CPG, Retail & Hospitality (Moderator)
The Bharat Brand Expansion Playbook
Key Discussion Areas
- Scaling retail, D2C, quick commerce and consumer brands across categories
- Turning regional success into a replicable multi-city and pan-India business model
- Distribution, omnichannel, and market entry strategies for rapid expansion
- Balancing standardisation with localisation across diverse Bharat markets
- Capital, profitability, and growth readiness for emerging consumer brands
- Building scalable operations, supply chains, and execution capabilities
- Leveraging technology, data, and customer insights to drive growth
Beny Sachdeva
Assistant Editor, Franchise India (Moderator)
Multi-Unit Franchising: The Rise of Regional Power Operators
Key Discussion Areas
- Growth of multi-unit franchise operators
- Scaling from 10 to 100 outlets
- Operational challenges and standardisation
- Regional market expertise advantage
- ROI and portfolio diversification
New-Age Retail – Immersive Experiences & Sparkling Commerce
Key Discussion Areas
- Hybrid D2C + offline models for higher conversion and seamless experience.
- Emotional storytelling to build strong brand identity and loyalty.
- Ethical innovation & sustainability as core differentiators.
- Immersive customer journeys to boost dwell time and engagement.
- F&B restaurant integration: Using ambiance, scent and experiential dining to drive
footfall and cross-category loyalty.
- Meeting Gen-Z demand for accessible, transparent, and values-driven brands.
- Franchising & omnichannel strategies for scalable growth across India.
World-Class Flavors & Franchise Systems: Winning Big in India
Key Discussion Areas
- Proven Domestic Success — Lessons from scaling iconic brands in Canada, USA & Australia.
- Why India Now? — Market opportunities, consumer trends & perfect entry timing.
- Franchising Models for India — Preferred structures, partner profiles & collaboration
expectations.
- Localization Strategies — Menu adaptation, pricing, culture fit & supply chain
solutions.
- Overcoming India Challenges — Real estate, regulations, talent & operational hurdles
-
India Growth Roadmap — Launch plans, expansion targets & becoming household names.
Ashita Marya
CEO, Franchise India (Moderator)
The Future of Consumer Business in Bharat
Key Discussion Areas
- Moving form AI experimentation to scalable adoption in India's consumer and retail
ecosystem
- AI-driven personalisation, consumer engagement, and the rise of conversational commerce
- Voice AI and multilingual customer experiences across Bharat markets
- AI-powered operations: logistics, fulfilment, supply chain, and workforce efficiency
- Building measurable ROI from AI investments through practical, high-impact use cases
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