Building ‘Brand Sri Lanka’ through strategic franchise development

Franchise India Group Chairman Gaurav Marya

Sri Lanka’s inaugural Global Franchise Forum (GFF) 2025, held in April 2025, has delivered immediate results, awakening local brands to their global potential. Franchise India Group Chairman Gaurav Marya in this interview discusses the phenomenal response to GFF 2025. He sees Sri Lanka at a critical juncture where the traditional export-dependent economy must evolve into a brand-creating powerhouse, and outlines his roadmap for establishing ‘Brand Sri Lanka’ globally through strategic franchise development.

Q: Now that the Global Franchise Forum 2025 has concluded, what are your key reflections on Sri Lanka’s readiness to embrace franchising as a mainstream economic catalyst?

The response was absolutely overwhelming. We received phenomenal interest not only from Colombo but from people who travelled from across Sri Lanka to attend the event. What struck me most was how the younger generation is actively seeking to diversify into new-age businesses. We witnessed significant interest across multiple sectors, and remarkably, we actually closed our first franchise deal at the forum itself with a beauty institute.

Q: What concrete partnerships emerged from the Forum, and what immediate impact has it had on both international and local brands?

 About 30 global brands participated in the Forum, and I’m confident that within this year, 50% of them will establish operations in the Sri Lankan market. Several have already made firm commitments.

ISAS Beauty Academy, a beauty school from Dubai, is entering Sri Lanka and has finalised all arrangements. Three O’Clock Coffee from Vietnam has announced their Sri Lankan entry. Frank’s Famous Hot Dogs from France announced their master franchise for Sri Lanka. UClean, a laundry company operating in nine countries, has committed to the Sri Lankan market. Network In Action (NIA), a global American networking company, has also announced their Sri Lankan operations.

We saw tremendous interest in food services, education, and technology-centric businesses. Many approached us specifically seeking quick commerce capabilities.

The bigger success story, however, is how many Sri Lankan brands have awakened to their potential. Remarko Bakers has announced ambitious expansion plans, wanting to add stores both within Sri Lanka and regionally. We’re in discussions with homegrown Sri Lankan fashion brands that are now looking beyond domestic markets.

This mindset shift is crucial because Sri Lanka has tremendous production capabilities, but only one brand, Amante, which I actually helped take to market, has successfully gone overseas. We produce for the world, but now manufacturing companies are shifting their approach to create their own brands.

Q: Why is this brand-creation shift happening now, and what’s driving this urgency?

There’s a compelling economic reality at play. Countries where Sri Lanka traditionally exported are imposing unrealistic tariffs because every nation wants manufacturing within their territory to create jobs. Export alone cannot be our salvation anymore. We cannot remain merely an export economy; we need to create our own brands and take them to global markets.

I recently met with Tea Avenue, an established tea export company that’s now creating their own brands. The next generation has recognised that depending solely on manufacturing or tourism won’t suffice. We need to learn from small island nations like Singapore that have created remarkable global brands.

Q: Which sectors do you see as having the greatest potential for Sri Lankan brand development?

I see tremendous opportunities in tea brands and Sri Lankan food brands targeting the diaspora. There’s huge interest from Canada for authentic Sri Lankan brands. Fashion presents enormous potential given our production capabilities. We also see opportunities in skills-based brands since our people are well-educated and need training to work globally.

Wherever the Sri Lankan diaspora exists, there’s demand for authentic Sri Lankan brands.

Q: What unique advantages does Sri Lanka offer to global franchisors?

Any country with significant tourism has the ability to expose brands to diverse communities and nationalities. That’s a tremendous opportunity we’re not fully utilising. Apart from 2-3 companies that significantly target tourist communities, nobody else is leveraging this advantage effectively.

We need to learn from countries like South Korea. Despite having a more recent development history than Sri Lanka, similar conflict challenges, financial issues, and limited natural resources, they created the K-brand phenomenon: K-drama, K-music, K-dance, K-food, K-beauty. Now anything from Korea excites people globally.

Countries with smaller economies should position themselves as brands. Singapore is a brand, Dubai is a brand. Sri Lanka should make a concerted effort to create ‘Brand Sri Lanka.’

Q: What are the main challenges hindering franchise development in Sri Lanka?

Three key challenges concern me: infrastructure growth, ease of doing business, and financing. When people consider franchising here, their biggest concern is how to receive royalties and remittances from Sri Lanka. Young franchise entrepreneurs want to start businesses but lack accessible financing.

As bank liquidity improves, I expect easier lending to emerge. These are addressable challenges, and I’m very excited about the potential.

Q: How do you plan to nurture a ‘franchise culture’ among the new generation?

Education is ongoing. We need market education to help people understand how franchising works. But more importantly, success breeds success. When McDonald’s started in 1973, America became a franchise nation worth $ 3.5 trillion today, almost equivalent to India’s entire economy.

My focus is to select 4-5 Sri Lankan brands and make them success stories. If these become successful, others will follow. We’re conducting workshops, and I’m hosting a seminar in August, the first scale-up seminar for emerging brands to explore franchising as a growth strategy.

Q: What is your long-term vision for sustaining this franchise momentum in Sri Lanka?

 Both public and private sectors must collaborate. Without supportive public policy, you cannot stimulate growth beyond a certain level. Policy creates entrepreneurial environments that encourage investment.

At Fran Global, our Sri Lankan division, we’re excited about this market and committed to continued investment. We’ll conduct delegations in the coming months and, over the next 3-4 years, create extensive education and capabilities.

The franchise journey has just begun, but I’m confident we’ll build this systematically. With the right environment, both local entrepreneurs and foreign investors will gain confidence, creating a successful cycle of investment and growth.