Manager - Franchise Development - D2C Startup

Role : Franchise Development Manager (Vending Business)

We are building India's next-generation sports nutrition and wellness brand. As we expand our omnichannel presence, we are launching a high-growth vending machine business designed to make our products accessible across gyms, fitness centers, corporate parks, colleges, hospitals, transit hubs, and high-footfall locations.

We are looking for a Franchise Development Manager to build and scale this network by identifying partners, onboarding franchisees, securing strategic locations, and ensuring operational excellence.

Role Overview :

The Franchise Development Manager will lead the expansion of our vending machine business across key markets. The role will be responsible for acquiring franchise partners, evaluating business opportunities, managing franchise relationships, and driving revenue growth through a scalable and profitable expansion model.

This is a high-impact role requiring strong business development, partner management, commercial negotiation, and operational execution capabilities.

Key Responsibilities :

Franchise & Partner Acquisition :

• Develop and execute the franchise expansion strategy for the vending business.
• Identify, engage, and onboard franchise partners across target cities.
• Build a robust pipeline of prospective franchisees through networking, referrals, industry events, and outbound outreach.
• Conduct business presentations and investment discussions with potential partners.
• Evaluate franchise applications and assess financial and operational viability.

Location Acquisition & Network Expansion :

• Identify high-footfall locations suitable for vending machine deployment.
• Build relationships with gym chains, fitness centers, educational institutions, corporate offices, hospitals, co-working spaces, and retail establishments.
• Negotiate commercial agreements and location partnerships.
• Drive city-wise expansion plans and deployment targets.

Franchise Operations & Success :

• Lead franchise onboarding and training programs.
• Ensure adherence to our brand standards and operating procedures.
• Monitor franchise performance, sales, machine uptime, and inventory management.
• Act as the primary point of contact for franchise partners.
• Resolve operational challenges and drive partner satisfaction.

Commercial Management :

• Own franchise sales targets and network growth KPIs.
• Analyze unit economics and franchise profitability.
• Track expansion metrics, ROI, partner productivity, and revenue performance.
• Recommend pricing, incentives, and growth initiatives to improve franchise success.

Cross-Functional Collaboration :

• Work closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and Product teams.
• Coordinate launch activities for new vending locations.
• Support local marketing initiatives to drive awareness and sales.

What We're Looking For :

Experience :

• 4-8 years of experience in franchise development, business expansion, partner acquisition, channel development, or network expansion.
• Prior experience in vending machine businesses, automated retail networks, food-tech kiosks, coffee vending, smart retail, franchise-led retail, or location-based distribution models is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in acquiring partners, securing high-footfall locations, and scaling multi-location business operations.
• Startup or high-growth environment experience is a plus.

Skills :

• Strong business development and negotiation skills.
• Experience managing external partners and stakeholders.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen.
• Ability to build processes in a fast-growing startup environment.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Comfortable with frequent travel.

Preferred Backgrounds :

Ideal candidates may come from :

• QSR franchise expansion
• Fitness chains
• Retail network expansion
• Beverage companies
• FMCG route-to-market teams
• Vending businesses
• D2C offline expansion teams
• Modern trade and channel sales organizations

Success Metrics :

• Number of franchise partners onboarded
• Vending machine deployment growth
• Revenue generated through franchise network
• Partner retention and satisfaction
• Machine utilization and uptime
• Expansion into new cities and strategic locations
• Payback period and unit economics