Jumbo King

Jumboking was not born in a day. After years of research, trial and error methods, investments, and innumerable attempts to make people understand its worth made it what it is today. This journey started because of a visionary man, Mr Dheeraj Gupta, who realized that in the west, the people who got served "under the golden arches" were average consumers, but in India - McDonald’s burger was marketed as an upmarket product. This gap was an opportunity in India that was yet to be addressed.

Jumboking emerged and occupied the place that Mcdonald's had occupied in western countries by providing standardized food for the masses. With an investment of Rs. 2 lakh, and on a leased space of 200 sq. ft., on 23rd August 2001, at Malad Railway Station, Jumboking started its journey as a Vada Pav store. Customers started flocking to it, given the size of the Vada Pav, priced at 5 rupees, was 20% bigger than what was available elsewhere in the market. Also, hygiene was the mainstay at the store, helping Jumboking differentiate itself.

Jumboking’s first-year turnover touched Rs 40 lakh, and its profits went into setting up the second store in the same neighborhood. In 2018, the brand shifted to vegetarian burgers and move away from the "Vada Pav" positioning to appeal to a younger audience that was constantly on social media and looking for an aspirational lifestyle. Twenty-one years and several stories later, Jumboking has more than a hundred stores across India.

Jumboking’s first-year turnover touched Rs 40 lakh, and its profits went into setting up the second store in the same neighbourhood at Rani Sati Marg, Malad (East) in June 2002. The third store then followed in the more upmarket suburb of Andheri (West). The journey of the franchise began with the fourth store which was in Kandivali East. Jumboking tied up with Johnson Diversey to get the hygiene aspects right. It entered into a partnership with Pepsi in 2004, which led to good word of mouth.

In 2004, the company also celebrated the first-ever ‘vada pav’ day with Esha Deol. Since then, "Vada Pav Day" is celebrated on August 23 (The brand discontinued this later when it renamed itself The Indian Burger). By 2005, there were five outlets in Mumbai. Around that time, Jumboking started receiving franchise-related enquiries. In 2006, the brand set up a presence in Surat, Gujarat. The then-President APJ Abdul Kalam also met Dheeraj Gupta to encourage him to continue his entrepreneurial journey. The company also hired a senior person from Cafe Coffee Day, to set up company-owned stores in Mumbai. The brand grew to 38 outlets by 2009. ‘Softy’ was launched in the same year thanks to customer demand.

In 2011, Jumboking set up an air-conditioned sit-in restaurant in Bengaluru, with a meal for two priced at INR 200.  The brand got poised for expansion by establishing a modern frozen supply chain in place. A new production line was commissioned in April 2011,  capable of upgrading to manufacture up to 1,00,000 units a day. Thanks to the Pepsi partnership, India's captain M.S. Dhoni was the 90 millionth customer in 2011. Along the way, Sachin Tendulkar, John Abraham and Mallika Sherawat shared photo-ops for the brand, thanks to their partnerships with Pepsi. In April 2014, Jumboking sold its 100 millionth vada pav and continued its expansion plan on the franchising path, focussing on Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Delhi as key markets.

In 2018, Jumboking opened its first store at T2, arrivals Mumbai. It has redefined its position as India's favourite On-The-Go snack and serves the widest range of vegetarian burgers; flavours such as Nachos, Macaroni, Cheeseburger, Spicy Mexican etc; are available at the stores, giving the consumer choice as well as excitement.  The brand keeps the audience engaged over social media and has also rolled out a loyalty program called Indian Burger Rewards.  It also set up a new fully automated 20000 square feet bread plant in association with Cranberry Foods which is a manufacturing unit of all bakery and confectionery-related products and snack items. It has a manufacturing capacity of 1.5 lakh buns a day. The brand's footprint expanded out of Westen India, with stores in Lucknow, and Ahmedabad, it has launched a second store at T2 departures and is now expanding to Delhi.

In 2019, it launched the JK-bite logo. The huge advantage of a simple strong logo like the iconic JK Bite is its wide adaptability. The logo is versatile and can communicate various aspects such as 100% Touch Free, important themes and days and dovetails neatly into the new tagline, Burgers Born in India. Jumboking also moved its partnership from Pepsi to Coke, seeing an alignment with Coca-Cola’s sharp positioning, fun vibe, and 'happiness' platform. The foundation day of Jumboking, 23rd August, is now celebrated as the ‘Indian Burger festival.’

The company has only seen growth since its beginning. Now, it has grown to 115+ stores which are located in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Delhi, Hyderabad,  Pune, and Lucknow. The future of Jumboking only holds more expansion as it wants to conquer more cities and open stores all over India.

The initial stage is always the hardest. The dire need of attracting customers is a basic challenge for any company. But in Jumboking's case, the early years were one of the remarkable growth. The main challenge for the brand came after 10 years when Jumboking had a presence in 13 cities with 52 stores, half of which were company-owned. But the brand was in the red, struggling with unit economics and overhead costs like rents and salaries. A timely infusion of Rs 6.5 crore of venture capital from undisclosed sources in 2010 and a renewed focus on fiscal discipline recharged the company. Jumboking also took a bold bet, completely realigning the business model from company-owned stores to a 100% franchise model. The major focus was on brand building.  Products were kept standardized to control quality. By 2013, the brand was back on the growth path. In April 2014, Jumboking sold its 100 millionth vada pav and continued its expansion plan on the franchising path, focussing on Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune as key markets.

• 2001: First outlet of the chain at Malad in Mumbai was opened on 23 August 2001.[3]
• 2002: Jumboking extended its chain and opened its second outlet in Rani Sati Marg, Malad (East)
• 2003: Second outlet in Kandivali, Malad.[2]
• 2004: Partnered with Pepsi which led to good word of mouth.
• 2005: Expanded to five outlets in Mumbai.
• 2006: First outlet in Surat, Gujarat.
• 2007: Received Award for New Concept Franchising and Award as Innovative Franchisee model.
• 2009: Expanded to 38 outlets.
• Two outlets were opened in Ahmedabad on 17 August 2007.[4]
• 2011: First outlet in Bangalore at Koramangala.[5]
• 2014: First outlet in Hyderabad at Narayanguda.[6]
• 2019: Launched the JK-bite logo
• 2021: Expansion in Delhi and Hyderabad
• 2022: Launching On-The-Go Campaign

• 2007: Awarded for New Concept in Franchising.
• 2009: A case study by Knowledge at Wharton.
• 2010: Invited to be on the jury - ET Retail Awards.
• 2011: Voted Top 100 Franchise Opportunities of the year 2011 (The Franchising World).
• 2013: Won best Quick Service Restaurant – Indian Origin.
• 2015:Topped the 2015 Brand Trust Report in the Indian-QSR Category.
• 2019:World Trade Center hosted Jumboking Founder Dheeraj Gupta for a "smarterpreneur masterclass".
• 2020:Jai Hind College Entrepreneurship Cell & Skill Hub (under RUSA) Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2020.
• 2021:Awarded FRO – Franchise of the Year 2021 – QSR Brand.
• 2022:Exchange4Media – Pride of India – Best of Bharat Brand 2022.

Jumboking has the finest range of burgers that are made to match the Indian palate. Considered India's most tremendous homegrown vegetarian burger QSR Chain, Jumboking has been serving people mouthwatering varieties of burgers that have won over their hearts and have managed to become an inseparable part of Indian food choices.

Jumboking offers a variety of choices in Burgers which includes Corn N Spinach Burger, Nachos Burger, Crispy Veg Burger, Spicy Mexican

Burger, Mac & Cheese Burger, Big Crunch Burger, and Hara Bara Kebab

Burger. To compliment all these Burgers, Jumboking also serves a variety of Fries, Thick Shakes, Softies, and Coke.

Jumboking recently introduced two more additional lip-smacking Burgers called Zesty Paneer Burger and Classic Cheese Burst Burger that are hard to resist. Along with the new Burgers, Jumboking now also serves Tea and Coffee making them the best combo for all the varieties of Burgers.