We are looking for a franchise partner in Ponneri. Walk down the Thiruvottriyur High Road stretch in NGO Nagar on any evening and you'll see it: a jigarthanda and ice-cream shop so loved it has crossed a thousand reviews on Google, a couple of busy bakeries nearby, yet nobody in town does waffles, thickshakes and sundaes together in one place. With the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor bringing new housing and new families into Ponneri every year, that gap is only going to feel bigger.
Why we're looking at Ponneri right now
You know how Ponneri used to be the town people just drove past on the way to Gummidipoondi? That's changing. Government plans for the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor have marked Ponneri as one of the smart-city nodes along it, and you can already see new layouts and apartment blocks coming up around NGO Nagar Extension and near the railway line. More families moving in means more people stepping out in the evening looking for something sweet and cold — and right now that crowd is splitting between one ice-cream shop, a couple of bakeries and the tea stalls near the bus stand. Nobody is doing the full range — waffles, thickshakes, sundaes, hot chocolate — under one roof.
Who's actually going to walk in
Think about who's around Ponneri on an ordinary day. There are engineering and arts students from Velammal Institute of Technology and Sridevi Arts and Science College who finish class and want somewhere to sit before the bus home. There are young staff from the factories and warehouses that keep opening along the corridor, drawing a salary and happy to spend a little on a treat after a long shift. And there are families who've just moved into the new blocks near the smart-city layouts, still looking for their new 'regular' place for a Sunday evening. Nobody's telling any of them there's a reason to stop in town after dark — because right now there isn't one.
What the numbers around town already tell us
We checked what's already working in Ponneri. One jigarthanda and ice-cream shop on Thiruvottriyur High Road has crossed a thousand Google reviews at a near-perfect rating — that's not a small-town number, that's a shop people queue for. A bakery on Harihara Bazaar Street carries close to 300 reviews, and most of the other cake shops in town carry anywhere from 25 to nearly 100. But search for a waffle place and you find exactly one small stall with three reviews. Search for bubble tea and all you get back are ordinary tea stalls, not a single boba counter. People in Ponneri already pay for dessert every day — they're just splitting between a handful of specialists because nobody has brought the full range together yet.
Where in Ponneri we'd look first
A few stretches stood out as we looked at how people actually move through town through the day and in the evening.
- NGO Nagar Extension / Thiruvottriyur High Road (standalone outlet): the evening market and bus-stand crowd, families out for a walk. already the busiest stretch in Ponneri for ice cream, bakeries and snacks
- Harihara Bazaar Street (standalone outlet): daily shoppers and the Ponneri Market crowd through the day. the main commercial street locals use for everyday shopping
- Near Velammal Institute of Technology, Panchetti (standalone outlet): engineering college students after class and in the evenings. a steady student base with no dedicated dessert spot close by
- Ponneri Bus Stand / Railway Station belt (standalone outlet): daily commuters heading to and from Chennai, morning and evening. the town's busiest transit point, every single day of the week
Which of our two formats fits here
We run two formats today: a standalone outlet, the way we do it at Kay Food Street in Pallikaranai, and a compact mall food-court counter, the way we run Vivira Mall on OMR. Ponneri doesn't have a large mall yet, so a standalone outlet near the market, the bus stand or the college is the format that makes real sense here — your own counter, your own footfall, built around whichever street you pick.
Who we're looking for in Ponneri
- Someone who actually knows Ponneri — which street gets busy when, where the crowd gathers on a Sunday evening
- Someone who can be at the counter, or close by, every single day — not running it from a distance
- Someone who likes talking to people: students, families, the regular who keeps coming back for the same shake
- Access to, or a clear plan for, a site in one of the areas above
- Someone willing to follow our recipes and standards exactly — no food, kitchen or business experience needed
What you get from us
Every recipe and process is documented and we teach it hands-on at our Chennai outlets — it takes two days, and people with zero background in food or business pick it up fine. After that, support doesn't stop: we help with ingredient sourcing and marketing materials, the same way we support our own two outlets today. And day to day it runs clean — food waste is one of the biggest headaches in this business, and a Tasty Nation outlet has almost none. You bring the city knowledge and the daily presence; we bring the menu, the training and the brand.
Questions about a franchise in Ponneri
Is Ponneri big enough for a dessert brand like this?
Between the college crowd, the bus stand and railway commuters, and the new housing coming up along the industrial corridor, Ponneri already has a steady base. The dessert shops already here are pulling hundreds to over a thousand Google reviews each — that's real demand, not a guess.
Ponneri doesn't have a big mall — does that rule me out?
No. Our standalone outlet format, the one we run at Kay Food Street in Pallikaranai, doesn't need a mall at all. A good spot on the market street or near the bus stand works just as well.
I've never run a food business. Can I still do this?
Yes. Training is two days, hands-on at our Chennai outlets, and covers everything you need. No previous food, kitchen or business experience is required.
How far would I need to travel for training?
Our outlets are in Pallikaranai and on OMR, both reachable from Ponneri by road. Training happens there before you open, and support continues after.
What exactly would I be selling in Ponneri?
The same wide menu we run in Chennai — Belgian waffles, thickshakes, sundaes, boba shakes, pancakes, brownies, hot chocolate and more, all 100% vegetarian.
Who we are
We are Tasty Nation, a 100% vegetarian dessert brand from Chennai. Belgian waffles, thickshakes, sundaes, boba shakes, pancakes, brownies and hot chocolate: 85+ items on one menu. We opened at Kay Food Street, Pallikaranai in December 2023, and today we also run a food-court counter at Vivira Mall on OMR. Same recipes, two very different formats, so we can tell you honestly what each one is like to run. Tasty Nation® is a registered trademark (Licence No. 6368235). More about our franchise programme · see the menu.
Why a dessert outlet, and why you can do it
- People love sweet desserts. A waffle or a thickshake is an everyday treat for every age in Ponneri, not something saved for a festival.
- Almost no waste. Food waste is one of the biggest problems in the food business. A Tasty Nation outlet has almost none.
- Just 2 days of training. You, or anyone you hire, can start working after two days with us. No previous food, kitchen or business experience needed.
See our outlets
Real moments from our Chennai outlets, straight from @tastynation.in.
How it works
- Message us on WhatsApp with your name and the area you have in mind in Ponneri.
- A one-to-one call: we walk you through formats, investment and support, and get to know you.
- Site visit in Ponneri: we look at your proposed location together.
- Setup and 2-day training: store design, equipment, then two days of hands-on training at our Chennai outlets. No experience needed.
Book a one-to-one discussion
Register on WhatsApp with your name and the area you have in mind in Ponneri. Our franchise team will call you at a time that suits you to talk through formats, investment and support, one to one. Register on WhatsApp.
Also looking for partners nearby: Avadi, Chengalpattu, Sriperumbudur, Ranipet. All Tamil Nadu cities.