Jamshedpur, June 21: The pride of the steel city is expanding.

After Tata Steel, with its Corus acquisition, it is now the turn of Fakira Chanachur — the 67-year-old sweet and confectionery shop in Bistupur.

Known across the county for its variety of chanachur and snacks, Fakira Chanachur would soon have outlets in most major cities.

Company sources said they are scouting for a suitable location near Mango to set up a modern food factory. The company would be set to expand in a much bigger way after the factory is established.

Some cities where the additional outlets are being planned are Ranchi, Calcutta, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The company has set 2008 as target for the expansion.

Fakira Chanachur was established in 1940 by Fakir Chand Gupta, a former employee with Tata Steel, from Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh.

Raj Kumar Gupta, who is running the business, said: “It was a struggle for my father when he started selling some five varieties of mixtures and chanachur on a small pushcart near Regal Cinema in Bistupur. Today we have three major outlets in the city. And now we have decided to enter other cities by franchising.”

After the pushcart in Bistupur, Fakir opened the first shop at Tulsi Bhavan in 1997.

Rajiv Gupta, a member of the Gupta family, said: “We started by selling just five varieties of snacks. But today we have over 50 varieties of sweets and confectioneries. We think this would be the right time to take our business to other cities and venture into mass production.

“Currently, our small unit in Kadma produces over 100kg of snacks every day. But when new outlets come up, we will need a much bigger place.”

With expansion plans in sight, modifications in the method of operation look inevitable. “Each day a fresh stock comes out of the factory and all the products are made without using preservatives or chemicals. The entire manufacturing process is traditional and no machines are used. But if the new units come up we will surely need more manpower and better technology,” added Rajiv.

As of now, the company makes a sale of over Rs 2 lakh every month, making it one of the largest food-product chain in the region. But if the expansion plans work out properly, Fakira Chanachur could become a brand akin to Hot Chips and Haldirams.