Edible Arrangements announced that it has opened its first store in Mumbai, India. Last year, Hiten Bajaj, Avinash Khemani, and Ishna Batra signed a Master Franchisee agreement for the development of 20 units throughout the Republic of India. With this opening, Edible Arrangements is now available to consumers in 14 countries outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
“We are thrilled to open the first Edible Arrangements store in the Republic of India,” says Tariq Farid, CEO and founder of Edible Arrangements Inc. “As President Obama’s trip to Asia this week demonstrates, these markets are seeing significant growth. Mumbai has experienced substantial economic progress over the past decade and continues to position itself as a leader in the international business community. International growth continues to be a key priority for our company and we look forward to future store openings across India’s booming regions.”
Since Edible Arrangements’ founding 12 years ago, the fresh fruit retailer has grown to 1,092 locations in 14 countries worldwide.
“Currently, there is nothing like Edible Arrangements in India and we anticipate our healthy, hand-crafted products will be well received by consumers in the country,” says Hiten Bajaj, Edible Arrangements India Franchisee. “It is our goal to ‘wow’ customers with our chocolate dipped fruit and beautiful, fresh-fruit arrangements perfect for any holiday and all entertaining needs.”
Edible Arrangements has earned countless accolades from the franchise industry since its inception, including its ranking as first in its category by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Annual “Franchise 500” Ranking for the past five consecutive years and the winner of the ICSC’s 2010 Hot Retailer Award. In addition, the company has also ranked for seven consecutive years in Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 fastest growing privately-held companies, ranked ninth on Forbes “2011 Top Franchises to Start for the Money,” and was recently named one of Inc’s “10 Promising Franchises for 2011.”
