APPETITE FOR DISRUPTION
Cracking the high-flying burger market is no mean feat, but Carl’s Jr. franchisee Gaurav Bansal admits he’s always had an appetite for disruption.
Carl’s Jr. franchisee talks tactics.
“Inever tried the brand, I’ll be honest with you,” he jokes. “But the hype, growth and response overseas were so huge that I knew we had to get the brand to Queensland.”
For years the Australian Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) and fast food market has been dominated by US burger chains. From the overwhelming success of McDonald’s to the hyper growth of Hungry Jack’s, the franchise burger scene seemed to be all but sewn up.
That was until Gaurav Bansal, director of family owned enterprise Bansal Group took note of the steadily growing interest in US mainstay, Carl’s Jr.
“There was a lot of continuous hype on digital platforms for the Carl’s Jr. brand in terms of advertising,” he says.
Identifying a gap in the market between traditional fast food outlets and the emerging trend for boutique burger bars, Basal approached the global giant for the Australian rights.
It was a long process getting the venture off the ground, and Gaurav admits the barriers were many.
“The biggest challenge first off is getting the right location,” he says. “No one trusts the brand; you don’t have the history so it’s very hard to convince someone that the brand will work.”
It’s more than just convincing landlords and lenders as well, he says.
“Getting good managers to transfer from an established brand in Australia to a new brand like Carl’s Jr. was a major challenge.”
“Your managers are the front-face of your business – if they’re not trained well, your business will not survive more than six months.”
Bansal is a man who practises what he preaches. Since opening his first Carl’s Jr. outlet in January 2018 at Redbank Plains the Queensland entrepreneur hasn’t looked like slowing down.
In under two years, Gaurav and his team have taken the domestic market by storm, launching seven greenfield restaurants.
And their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.
INDUSTRY ACCOLADES
Earlier this year, Bansal Group was awarded the International Developer of the Year award from Carl’s Jr. parent company CKE Restaurants.
The prestigious honour is handed to the international franchise company that has made the most significant contribution to the growth and development of the CKE system during the fiscal year.
Gaurav reveals that being named as an international leader among CKE’s over 3800 restaurants is one of his proudest accomplishments.
“There are some incredible franchisors within the network, many of whom I admire as industry leaders, so it’s a great honour for both our team and myself personally,” Bansal says.
“That being said, I don’t think that anyone else has opened seven new restaurants in the world in one year. People have done takeovers and changeovers but no one has actually run from a greenfield site, seven restaurants. With the sales we did and the stability we have, it was really hard work paying off.”
DIFFERENTIATION
The key to the brand’s growth is simple, Bansal says: differentiation. In its home country, Carl’s Jr. has carved out an impressive reputation as a staple of good old-fashioned American fast food.
The chain is now the third largest hamburger brand in the world, being named number 54 in Entrepreneur’s 2018
Top Franchise 500 list globally. The challenge for Bansal, however, was replicating that experience Down Under.
“A brand’s ability to globalise, whether it’s from the US, the UK or otherwise, is all to do with if it has a market in that particular region and if they can replicate their unique selling point in a way that resonates with that region’s consumers,” he says.
“I think the flavours in our food are very different to other brands. We have hand-scooped ice cream shakes, which no one does, we have hand-branded chicken tenders and we don’t use processed chicken.”
“Plus, we also bring the food to you. It’s more than just a regular QSR. We like to call it a casual dining American experience and it’s made fresh to order.”
While Gaurav has spent the better part of two years taking a bite out of the Australian burger sector, he is already gearing up for another monumental challenge.
CINNABON
In January, the Queensland entrepreneur revealed he had secured the Australian rights to fellow US franchise giant, Cinnabon.
With his Carl’s Jr. venture going from strength to strength, Gaurav says he is perfectly poised to launch the fresh bakery business.
“Cinnabon was one brand, unlike Carl’s Jr. where I actually tried the product and I approached while I was in America.”
Similar to the Carl’s Jr. approach, Gaurav says he identified a gap in the market for a hot bakery indulgence offering, once again taking note of the brand’s global hype.
“We have a lot of muffin brands and doughnut brands in Australia, but there’s nothing like a QSR bakery product that produces hot scrolls every 30 minutes.”
“We knew there would be a strong market for Cinnabon in Australia, but we’re already amazed by the fan base around the country begging us to open in their city.”
Bansal reveals that the strength of the Cinnabon brand is the low-cost operating model.
“Cost of goods for a scroll is sitting around 20 per cent, so it will be a high margin model, as compared to other QSR brands where your sales are high, but your cost of goods is also high,” he says.
“It’s a brand to look forward to for the Australian market and we are really hoping to do well in the future.”
FUTURE GROWTH
While he admits his approach so far has been structured, the future looks wide open for the multi-brand franchisee. Bansal reveals two new Carl’s Jr. locations in Rockhampton and Townsville are due to open in the next six months, but as far as long-term goals go, he says his focus is on the next three years.
“We don’t have massive plans for the future; we don’t have five-year plans, we go with the flow,” he says.
“The medium-term goal is to open 20 Carl’s Jr. in the next three years in total, so that means 12 more in the next three years.”
“The other goal is to launch Cinnabon. We’ll open two stores this year and we’ll franchisee more in other states, but the plan is to have 50 Cinnabons in five years,” he says.
No one trusts the brand; you don’t have the history so it’s very hard to convince someone that the brand will work.