Franchising has become one of the most accessible ways for Indian entrepreneurs to start a business without building a brand from scratch. 

Instead of spending years on product development, marketing, and trial and error, a franchisee buys into a tested model — proven recipes, established supply chains, brand recognition, and operational playbooks — in exchange for an upfront investment and ongoing fees. It’s a model that has worked especially well in food service, beauty and wellness, education, and retail.

This article provides a brief description of the top 10 franchise businesses in India with the year of foundation, owner, headquarters, and core services.

Quick Comparison

Rank	Brand	Founded	Owner / Founders	Headquarters	Core Business
1	Domino’s Pizza India	1996	Jubilant FoodWorks (Hari S. Bhartia & Shyam S. Bhartia)	Noida	Pizza QSR
2	McDonald’s India (West & South)	1996	Westlife Foodworld (Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman)	Mumbai	Burger QSR
3	Café Coffee Day	1996	Founded by V.G. Siddhartha; family-led by Malavika Hegde	Bengaluru	Café Chain
4	Wow! Momo	2008	Sagar Daryani & Binod Homagai (Co-founders)	Kolkata	Momo & Asian QSR
5	Lenskart	2010	Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Sumeet Kapahi	Faridabad	Eyewear Retail
6	Naturals Ice Cream	1984	Founded by Raghunandan Kamath; owned by Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd.	Mumbai	Ice Cream Parlours
7	Lakmé Salon	1952	Founded by JRD Tata & Simone Tata; now owned by Hindustan Unilever	Mumbai	Beauty & Salon Services
8	EuroKids International	2001	Founded by Prajodh Rajan & Vikas Phadnis; KKR (majority owner)	Mumbai	Preschool Education
9	VLCC	1989	Vandana Luthra (Founder)	New Delhi	Beauty & Wellness
10	Amul	1946	Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (farmer-owned)	Anand, Gujarat	Dairy Products & Parlours

1. Domino’s Pizza India – A Pizza QSR Built by a Master Franchise Model

Details	Information
Founded	1996 – India master franchise operations
Indian Operator	Jubilant FoodWorks
Group	Jubilant Bhartia Group
Founders of Group	Hari S. Bhartia and Shyam S. Bhartia
Headquarters	Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Business Category	Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR)

Domino’s Pizza was launched in India in 1996, under the master franchise agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks. In contrast to other pizza chains, Jubilant chose to develop a sub-franchise model rather than working directly with the parent company. 

Domino’s India developed its network of pizza quick-service restaurants (QSR) in various cities with localized toppings and menu items while maintaining a global standard.

What Domino’s India does: Operates and sub-franchises pizza QSR restaurants with localised menu items.

Services: Dine-in and delivery pizza service, localised toppings, online and application-based ordering, franchise business in India.

2. McDonald’s India – Two Franchise Territories, One Global Brand

Details	Information
India Operations Started	1996
Indian Operator	Westlife Foodworld / Hardcastle Restaurants
Key Executive	Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman
Primary Market	West and South India
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Business Category	Fast Food / QSR

McDonald’s restaurant operations in India were built using a master franchise model as well. Unlike other countries, where McDonald’s operations are operated directly by the parent company, in India, they are split between two master franchisees, who operate across different regions and have adapted the menu to local preferences, offering more vegetarian options and no beef products.

What McDonald’s India does: Operates and franchises quick-service burger restaurants with localised vegetarian and non-beef options.

Services: Dine-in and drive-thru burger QSR service, delivery (McDelivery), localised vegetarian and non-beef menu options, franchise business in India.

3. Café Coffee Day – The Chain That Introduced Café Culture to India

Details	Information
Founded	1996
Founder	V. G. Siddhartha
Current Leadership	Family-led, including Malavika Hegde
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka
Business Category	Café & Beverages
Brand	Café Coffee Day (CCD)

Café Coffee Day is one of the first café chains in India and was one of the first to introduce café culture to the country. It was started in 1996 by V.G. Siddhartha, who owns the largest coffee plantation in India, and became a popular hangout spot among the youth. 

The company operates a franchise network of company-owned and franchised outlets across smaller Indian cities.

What Café Coffee Day does: Operates café outlets of coffee, fast food, and restaurant QSR in a casual hangout format.

Services: Dine-in café service, coffee and food menu, express and kiosk-based outlets, franchise business in India.

4. Wow! Momo – From a Kolkata Stall to a National QSR Chain

Details	Information
Founded	2008
Co-Founders	Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai
Headquarters	Kolkata, West Bengal
Business Category	Quick-Service Restaurant
Specialty	Momos and Asian-inspired fast food

Wow! Momo was started in 2008 by Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai as a small momo stall inside a departmental store in Kolkata. Following their success, the duo decided to turn their popular street food eatery into franchising opportunities. 

Their company operates several sub-brands and franchisees across India in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) segment of Asian street food.

What Wow! Momo does: Operates and franchises quick-service outlets specialising in momos and street food.

Services: Dine-in and delivery momo and Asian QSR service, cloud kitchen operations, multiple sub-brand formats, franchise business in India.

5. Lenskart – India’s Leading Eyewear Retail Franchise

Details	Information
Founded	2010
Co-Founders	Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi
Headquarters	Faridabad, Haryana
Business Category	Eyewear Retail
Major Products	Eyeglasses, Sunglasses and Contact Lenses

Lenskart is an eyewear retail brand that was launched in 2010 as an online store and expanded its operations to include a large network of company-owned and franchised offline retailers. 

Peyush Bansal, one of the co-founders, has been vocal about his belief that eyewear should be considered a fashion accessory and has worked on providing affordable yet stylish eyewear through online and franchising platforms.

What Lenskart does: Designs and retails eyewear and eye care products through online and offline channels.

Services: Offers prescription glasses and sunglasses, contact lenses, in-store and at-home eye-testing, franchise business in India.

6. Naturals Ice Cream – A Mumbai Original That Went National

Details	Information
Founded	1984
Founder	Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath
Owner	Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd.
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Business Category	Ice Cream & Desserts
Known For	Natural-flavour ice creams

Naturals Ice Cream Company was started in 1984 by Raghunandan Kamath and has been one of the most popular ice cream parlours across Mumbai. It offers a range of fruit-based ice creams without any preservatives and has expanded its presence across India using a franchise model to set up company-owned and franchised parlours.

What Naturals Ice Cream does: Manufactures and retails fruit-based ice creams through company-owned and franchised parlours.

Services: Retail ice cream parlours, wide range of fruit and traditional flavour ice creams, franchise business in India.

7. Lakmé Salon – A Beauty Franchise With Roots in the Tata Group

Details	Information
Founded	1952
Original Founders	J. R. D. Tata and Simone Tata
Original Group	Tata Group
Current Brand Owner	Hindustan Unilever
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Business Category	Beauty & Wellness

Lakmé Hair & Beauty was founded in 1952, at the request of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who wanted India to develop its own cosmetics brand rather than relying on imports. 

It was initially a part of the Tata Group, but in the late 1990s, it was sold to Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever). Over the years, the company developed a wide network of salon outlets and launched franchising opportunities.

What Lakmé Salon does: Offers hair, skin, and beauty salon services through company-owned and franchised outlets.

Services: Hair styling and treatment, skincare and facial treatments, bridal and event makeup, franchise business in India.

8. EuroKids International – A Pioneer of Organised Preschool Education

Details	Information
Founded	2001
Founders	Prajodh Rajan and Vikas Phadnis
Parent Company	Lighthouse Learning
Major Investor	KKR
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Business Category	Preschool & Early Education

EuroKids International was founded by Prajodh Rajan and Vikas Phadnis in 2001, at a time when the preschool education sector in India was virtually unorganized. 

The company offers franchising opportunities to set up and run preschools following their proprietary education methodology. Today, all of EuroKids’ operations are under the parent company Lighthouse Learning, which is backed by private equity firm KKR.

What EuroKids does: Operates and franchises preschools delivering organized education programs.

Services: Preschool and pre-primary education, teacher training, curriculum-based learning programs, franchise business in India.

9. VLCC – A Homegrown Beauty & Wellness Franchise

Details	Information
Founded	1989
Founder	Vandana Luthra
Headquarters	New Delhi
Business Category	Beauty, Wellness & Personal Care
Major Services	Beauty Treatments, Wellness and Training

VLCC (Vandana Luthra Concept Creations) was founded by Vandana Luthra in 1989 and has since built a network of company-owned and franchised wellness and weight management centres across India and several other countries. It has pioneered the concept of organized beauty and wellness and offers franchise opportunities in this segment.

What VLCC does: Offers beauty, wellness, and weight management services through company-owned and franchised outlets.

Services: Proprietary weight management and fitness programs, skin and hair care, cosmetology, franchise business in India.

10. Amul – A Cooperative-Owned Dairy Brand With a Retail Franchise Network

Details	Information
Founded	1946
Ownership	Cooperative owned by milk-producing farmers
Members	Nearly 36 lakh milk-producing farmers in Gujarat
Marketing Body	Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)
Headquarters	Anand, Gujarat
Business Category	Dairy & Food Products

Amul was launched in 1946 as the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, initially formed by local farmers to address exploitative dealing practices by large private companies. 

The brand has since evolved and now operates a large network of franchised retail outlets selling dairy and ice cream products under the Amul brand name.

What Amul does: Markets milk, dairy products, and ice creams under the Amul brand, on behalf of a cooperative of milk-producing farmers, including franchising of retail parlours.

Services: Milk and dairy products, ice cream parlours, franchising of Amul retail outlets, cooperative-based dairy processing.

FAQs

1. Which is the oldest franchise business on this list?  

Amul, which was founded in 1946, is the oldest franchise business on this list, followed by Lakmé, which was founded in 1952.

2. Which franchise businesses are homegrown Indian brands rather than international franchises?

Café Coffee Day, Wow! Momo, Lenskart, Naturals Ice Cream, Lakmé Salon, EuroKids International, VLCC, and Amul are Indian homegrown brands, whereas Domino’s and McDonald’s are international franchise businesses.

3. How does India’s master franchise model typically work for global brands like McDonald’s and Domino’s?

In India, the master franchise model typically works by licensing specific rights to an Indian business, allowing them to operate under the parent company’s brand and sell their products or services. For instance, both Domino’s and McDonald’s are operated by Indian franchise partners under a master franchise agreement.

4. Which franchise business on this list operates on a cooperative ownership model?

Amul operates on a cooperative ownership model, as it is owned by a large number of milk-producing farmers in Gujarat, rather than a private promoter or corporate entity.

5. Which franchise businesses are now owned or majority-controlled by private equity or larger corporations?

EuroKids International is majority-owned by private equity firm KKR, whereas Lakmé Salon is owned by Hindustan Unilever.

6. Which franchise business started from a single street food stall?

Wow! Momo started from a single street food stall in Kolkata.

7. Which of these franchises operate in the beauty and wellness space?

VLCC and Lakmé Salon are the franchises that operate in the beauty and wellness space.

8. What kind of investment is typically needed to start a franchise business in India?

The initial investment for a franchise business in India can vary greatly depending on the brand and format, ranging from several lakhs of rupees for a kiosk or parlour to much higher amounts for a full restaurant or upscale salon.

9. Which company on this list is involved in eyewear retail?

Lenskart is the company on this list that is involved in eyewear retail.

10. Why has franchising become such a popular business model in India?

Franchising has become popular because it allows an entrepreneur to rely on an established brand rather than create one from scratch, making it easier and less risky to enter the market, which explains its popularity in India.

Conclusion

India’s top franchise businesses reflect a mix of global QSR giants adapted for Indian tastes through master franchise arrangements, like Domino’s and McDonald’s, alongside genuinely homegrown success stories like Café Coffee Day, Wow! Momo, Naturals Ice Cream, VLCC, and Amul. 

A few, like Lakmé Salon and EuroKids International, sit somewhere in between — Indian-origin brands that have since passed into the hands of larger corporations or investors.

As India’s middle class continues to grow and consumer categories from eyewear to preschool education professionalise further, franchising is likely to remain one of the most accessible paths into entrepreneurship, with these ten brands offering a useful cross-section of what that opportunity looks like today.