Agenda 2026

• How shifting demographics, income growth and Tier 2/3 spending are reshaping demand
• Categories set to see outsized consumer growth through 2030
• What founders and franchisors should build for today, not for the India of 2015

• Retail formats that scale fastest in Bharat today — standalone, mall, high street or hybrid
• Franchising and licensing as the real scale lever for a retail brand
• Quick commerce rise as a serious retail Channel- threat, opportunity or both for traditional retail
• Systems, SOPs and unit economics that make a retail brand truly scalable
• Where AI actually helps — personalization and inventory — without it being the whole strategy

• The rise of Bharat's beauty & wellness consumer — from metros to Tier 2/3 towns
• Clinic, spa, salon or D2C — choosing the right business model
• Building trust in a category driven by word-of-mouth and influencers
• Franchising beauty & wellness: standardizing an experience-led service

• The 'recipe' for a scalable F&B brand — concept, kitchen economics and consistency
• Cloud kitchens, QSR and dine-in: picking the right format for the market
• Supply chain, sourcing and quality control as the brand grows beyond one city
• Turning a single successful outlet into a franchise-ready food business

• A candid, founder-led conversation on the real decisions behind scaling a brand
• What almost broke the business, and how it was fixed
• The one piece of advice every early-stage founder in the room should hear

• What makes a location right for a brand — footfall, catchment and cost per sq. ft.
• How strong regional brands make the leap to a pan-India presence
• Company-owned versus franchise-led expansion when scaling city to city
• What typically breaks when a regional favourite goes national too fast — and how to avoid it

• What early-stage investors actually look for in consumer/retail pitches
• Debt, equity and revenue-based financing — matching capital to business stage
• Red flags that kill a funding conversation in the first five minutes
• Building an investor pipeline before you need the money