Belgium choclate maker, Leonidas is all ready to sweeten up the taste of Indians with its delicious range of its chocolates. Leonidas has launched its first franchise outlet in Mumbai at Santacruz West on Tuesday.

The chocolate manufacturer has set up a partnership with Premium Pralines Pvt. Ltd to trade its premium range of chocolates pan-India. The company has 1600 existing outlets across the world which offers no less than 115 products with quality.

Karl Van Den Bossche, consul general, Belgium, and Tom Vermeulen, trade commissioner,Flanders Investment & Trade, graced the opening ceremony of the store and expressed delight tasting the delicacies.

Stating that Brussels was the single biggest spot for selling chocolates in the world, Van Den Bossche, said, “The national airport sold around 800 tonnes of chocolate a year and is the chocolate hub of the world. There is a lot of potential for Belgium companies in India but the biggest hurdle is regulations and excise, the Indian market is too rigid and needs to be liberalised.”

Darshit Shah, MD, Leonidas Fresh Belgian Chocolates Premium Pralines Pvt. Ltd, said, “The chocolate industry in India is both organised as well as fragmented and is growing at the rate of approximately 12 percent to 14 percent. Being positioned as Belgium chocolates, Leonidas will facilitate the consumers in Santacruz with wide range of chocolate hampers, kids hampers and much more. All our chocolates are made from 100 percent cocoa butter, both the shell and the filling. The company believes in providing luxurious products of the best quality to the Indian consumer and plans to venture out into different luxury avenues for expansion.”

Shah added that he has plans to open stores in tier-I and tier-II cities, beginning with the metros in India. “We have two formats in place – kiosk and store. The kiosk would suit the tier-I and tier-II cities, since there are consumers out there and they frequent the mall more compared to high street locations,” says Shah. The store format would need an investment of Rs 50-55 lakh and the kiosk model would cost around Rs 20-22 lakh.