FMCG MNCs usually salivate over the large share of mouths available in India. But for a bunch of enterprising home-grown entrepreneurs it's a slice of the global pie that is looking attractive. Companies such as frozen yoghurt chain Cocoberry and floral retail firm Ferns N Petals are chasing interesting new markets.

“We have got franchise enquiries from Ukraine and Serbia,” says Mr G.S. Bhalla, Founder, CEO of Cocoberry, a frozen yoghurt food chain that started in 2009 and has 29 outlets in India.

But it's towards South-East and West Asia that Mr Bhalla's chain is looking to make its first global foray. “We plan to take our brand international no later than 12-18 months,” he says.

Going abroad sooner than that could be the flower retail chain Ferns N Petals, which is looking to open franchise outlets in Dubai, Sharjah and Kathmandu. “We are in advanced discussions and should be ready to open early next year,” says Mr Pawan Gadia, CEO of Ferns N Petals.

The chain has 110 outlets in 45 cities in India and is looking to touch 200 in the country by March 2013. To fund expansion it could be going the IPO route (in 2013) as well as look at private equity funds.

At a time when consumer sentiments overseas is not as high as in India, why the global foray? “For me, India is 23 countries, I have to have as different a strategy, a different taste, a different flavour for every State here, so why not global,” retorts Mr Bhalla. In fact, he says a Dubai may have more in common with a Delhi market than a Chennai market with a Delhi market.

Giving other examples of small Indian players trying to go global, such as Aachi, a spices brand from Chennai, Mr Kannan Sitaram, Chief Operating Partner of India Equity Partners says, “To me what seems to be happening here is less a story of Indian brands going overseas than an interesting entrepreneurial business model being taken overseas.”

But Mr Bhalla insists that his entire brand was conceived with an international name and feels to it, as he had it in mind to take it global right from the start. “I am geography agnostic,” he says. Cocoberry got $2 million from Mr Ajay Relan, Founder and Managing Partner, CX Partners (and former head of Citigroup's private equity business), earlier this year and is looking to raise another $15-20 million from private equity within a year, for expansion.

Mr Gadia too, says that the company will invest in brand-building activities in the new geographies it enters. He says that 50 per cent of the marketing cost in the new geography will be borne by the franchise, with the rest being supported by the company itself.

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