By May 2018, the owner of 30 FiLLi Café outlets across the United Arab Emirates had come a long way from helping out in his father’s a small cafeteria in the Mamzar area of Dubai in 2004. With his innovative FiLLi tea and FiLLi Zafran tea, he had successfully created a tea brand in the United Arab Emirates. After the company’s success there, he aspired to take the brand global using the franchising model. The path ahead, however, had to be navigated carefully. New entrants had emerged and were competing for market share. In the changing market scenario, how would FiLLi Café manage to retain customer loyalty locally and successfully manage global expansion? Was this plan too aspirational? Was it the right time to expand the company? Was franchising the best method for global expansion?

By May 2018, the owner of 30 FiLLi Café outlets across the United Arab Emirates had come a long way from helping out in his father's a small cafeteria in the Mamzar area of Dubai in 2004. With his innovative FiLLi tea and FiLLi Zafran tea, he had successfully created a tea brand in the United Arab Emirates. After the company's success there, he aspired to take the brand global using the franchising model. The path ahead, however, had to be navigated carefully. New entrants had emerged and were competing for market share. In the changing market scenario, how would FiLLi Café manage to retain customer loyalty locally and successfully manage global expansion? Was this plan too aspirational? Was it the right time to expand the company? Was franchising the best method for global expansion?