Indian honey and food-and-beverage brand Honeyman has signed a country franchise agreement with Nepal’s MV Dugar Group, marking its first international franchise deal and the brand’s entry into the Nepalese market.
The partnership will initially focus on Kathmandu, before expanding into other major cities across Nepal. Under the agreement, MV Dugar Group will develop Honeyman’s portfolio of retail and food-and-beverage formats in the country, including ice cream parlours and cafés, with plans to introduce bakery, tea and beverage concepts as the network grows.
The Nepal rollout will also include Honeyman’s packaged portfolio, spanning honey, spreads, confectionery and other honey-based products. The financial terms of the country franchise agreement have not been disclosed.
Yuvraj Kapoor, Co-Founder, Honeyman, said: “We did not build this business simply to sell dessert. We built it to demonstrate that honey can replace refined sugar in products people love without compromising the experience: taste, texture or indulgence.”
Kapoor said the family’s association with honey dates back to 1984 and that the Nepal partnership represents the beginning of Honeyman’s international expansion.
Honeyman currently has more than 100 outlets and franchises across India. Its franchise portfolio extends beyond ice cream into bakery, chai, beverages and multi-category retail, with formats including Honeyman Ice Cream, World of Honeyman, Honeyman Bakers, Chai+ and Boba.
The company’s product portfolio also includes honey, jams, gummies, sauces, kombucha, confectionery and Indian sweets. Its business has evolved from a family honey and beekeeping operation into a broader consumer brand built around honey and honey-based products.
The family business traces its origins to 1984, when Sardar Jagjit Singh established the honey business. Honeyman has since expanded its operations across honey production, consumer products, FMCG and retail.
For MV Dugar Group, the agreement adds an Indian-origin food and beverage franchise to its diversified business portfolio in Nepal. The group has interests across automobiles, financial services, hydropower, cold storage and construction, and has a nationwide presence in the country.
Shubham Dugar, Executive Director, MV Dugar Group, said: “Nepali consumers travel, they read labels, and they are asking many of the same questions Indian consumers have increasingly started asking. Honeyman gives us a differentiated proposition; a brand built around honey rather than simply another conventional dessert concept.”
“We see significant potential to develop the Honeyman ecosystem in Nepal over the coming years,” Dugar added.
Honeyman has previously exported its honey and honey-based products to international markets including the US, UAE and UK. However, the MV Dugar partnership is the company’s first overseas country franchise agreement, giving it a direct franchise-led platform for international expansion.
Nepal has an established franchise market, with international food, beverage, hospitality and retail brands operating in the country. Kathmandu is the principal commercial hub and is expected to serve as the starting point for Honeyman’s Nepal expansion.
The partnership also aligns with Honeyman’s wider ambition to develop what it describes as a “bee economy” around honey, beekeeping and value-added bee products. With Nepal as its first international franchise market, the company is now taking its honey-focused retail and F&B model beyond India.
