Getting quality and reasonable food is a huge task in today’s world. After pandemic people are more inclined towards hygiene. If the place is hygienic and the food is pocket friendly, then it is the cherry on the top of the cake for all the food lovers. Mr. Idli is one such food franchising company that assures and delivers quality and hygienic food.
The concept of Mr. Idli is bold: to experiment with traditional food.
Chef Shajahan M Abdul, Founder of the company, defies convention on a daily basis, not just by developing some fantastic Idli meals, but also by the job he does. With a Masters’ Degree in Hotel Management and verifiable experience as a Michelin Star Chef with top Multinational Corporate chains, he hopes to put South Indian food on the map as an unusual culinary experience.
The Genesis of Mr. Idli
Mr. Idli was born in 2009 on a beautiful day in the ancient, heritage city of Mysore. It began as a tiny outlet handled by Chef Abdul himself with the assistance of his friend Prashanth in a nondescript neighbourhood.
What began as a simple desire to provide Mysoreans with nutritious, flavourful, and inexpensive native cuisine grew so popular for its diversity, inventiveness, and quality that Mr. Idli was selling franchises by 2011. By 2014, an R&D unit, as well as a production unit, had been established to develop uniform menu products for all stores.
Mr. Idli moved from starting operations in a location no larger than 200 square feet to one that today spans 20,000 square feet and has Manufacturing, R&D, a Training Institute, and a Communication Office, employing over 50,000 people worldwide.
Mr. Idli is a global corporate network of vegetarian restaurants that specialises on South Indian cuisine, with over 78 locations worldwide.
It blends the unique cultures of the southern states to offer a healthy, wholesome, and lip-smacking meal. It is authentically Indian in taste and spirit, whether it is the fiery chillies of Andhra and Telangana or the subtle spices of Karnataka, the iconic sambar of Tamil Nadu or the gentle, steamed dishes of Kerala.
The Dynamic Chef
Professional Journey of Mr Shajahan was awesome as he provided many job opportunities to individuals. He always encouraged women entrepreneurs and to individuals who were looking for an opportunity. Shajahan says “It is an exciting journey altogether, helping somebody is a lifetime of happiness”.
He is a Michelin star chef from France, he resigned from his job as he wanted to be an entrepreneur. Shajahan’s whole family was into entrepreneurship, which gave him the passion to start his journey as well. Shajahan was thinking of a plan as big as McDonalds. McDonalds is junk food, but it was pocket friendly. Keeping that in mind, he started his journey that was tough at times. As South Indian food takes time to be prepared and also the food joints are not that hygienic, Shajahan invented some delicious recipes and created a hygienic atmosphere at his outlets, so that people do not feel that they are eating unhygienic or unsafe food.
Challenges to Tackle
A lot of challenges were faced by Shajahan while venturing into this industry. Especially while starting Mr. Idli. He says, “When you open a food outlet in Delhi, Mumbai, or New York, you already know there is a demand there”. “When you are opening a food outlet at a place like Mysore, you have street vendors in every nook and corner and they are expert at it,” adds Abdul.
Mr. Idli gives utmost priority to hygiene and has achieved desired goals of cleanliness. The team at Mr. Idli believes in creating a safer environment for its customers. Mr. Idli is completely into franchising. Whoever is managing the franchise has to deal with quality products. Mr. Idli uses its recipes uniquely and never use any dehydrated products. It has local procurement as well. The quality consistency of Mr. Idli is never compromised under any circumstances. The main branch of Mysore provides raw material at the doorstep to the people who are franchising Mr. Idli.
Uniquely Different
South Indian is the simple food and it is not an expensive affair. Shajahan has seen franchising businesses that play in crores. It is all not worth it. Keeping the food simple and hygienic should be the major concern. The pocket friendly food is always beneficial and the satisfaction of mitigating someone’s hunger is the ultimate satisfaction.
The main goal of Mr. Idli is to be product-centric, providing reasonable rate, making sure that quality is always optimum, and the investor is always happy with the returns. “At the end it is all about the food, no one cares about the interior if you give them quality and tasty food,” says Shajahan.
Future Endeavours
At present, Mr. Idli is acquiring almost all the places. It is just into FOFO, but it is venturing towards FOCO and FICO as well. It is merging the company into capital. It aims to be better than McDonalds. Looking at it carefully, McDonalds is into real-estate and Mr. Idli is also aspiring to do something like that.
Mr. Idli is looking forward to expanding its brand in various locations ensuring the price rates to be minimum for the food to be affordable. Mr. Idli is looking for venturing into several countries. Shajahan wants to create a brand so strong that the world recognizes the South Indian food.
Mr. Idli is already present in 14 countries. In the coming five years Shajahan wants to be in 50 plus countries.
Expert Opinion
Given the pandemic, people are struggling to raise fund. “If you are thinking about starting something new to support your family you can start a small business with Mr. Idli. Food business is not a credit business so you can generate returns very soon,” says Shajahan.
Concentrating on quality and hygiene should be the priority while starting a food business. Anyone who want to venture into food business with sustainable growth should make sure that the brand is food centric.
