Future Group forays in gourmet retailing with launch of Foodhall

Future Group is India’s largest retail group with likes of Pantaloon, BIG Bazaar in its kitty for masses, now it is going super elite with launch of gourmet food chain- Foodhall, which will sell some exquisite food items including Swiss truffles, Camembert cheeses, Focaccia Italian bread and Californian Apples.

Company will open the first all-new format of gourmet food store in Mumbai’s most luxurious shopping mall Palladium spread over 15,000 square feet and followed by other 10 posh areas across the country within the next 8-12 months. 

“The Foodhall concept takes customers to the next level of food retailing; it is different from anything we have done before and also from what any retailer has attempted in India,” Damodar Mall, president, integrated food strategy, Future Group, told ET. 

With Foodhall group wants to lure the rich and upper-middle class consumers by providing them with high-margin fine foods where you won’t find any discount or consumer promotions. 

The group has also experimented with Gourmet Food Bazaar and is very optimistic about the market. The Gourmet Food Bazaar stores will eventually merge with new Foodhall.

The store has set up an in-house team for training its staff. In the transition period, their partners like Moches, for bakery products, and Zeba Kohli for chocolates will train the Foodhall staff on how to serve customer needs. 

The opportunity for gourmet food is estimated at about 4,000-5,000 crore, which is about 5% of the overall foods industry. The competition includes Godrej Nature’s Basket, which operates over 10 stores, and smaller chains such as Le Marche and Modern Bazaar. Besides, RPG’s Spencer’s Retail has a section on gourmet foods at some of its stores.