From Google Ads to Biryani and Samosas – 10 Getting Started Lessons from Munaf Kapadia, Meal Manager, The Bohri Kitchen

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The ups and downs of an entrepreneur’s journey are well described in the fascinating new book, How I quit Google to sell samosas by Munaf Kapadia. The “meal chef” of The Bohri Kitchen started his food technology business from his home in Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai.

The book is a mixture of endearing stories of mother-son love for culinary traditions, and the roller coaster of a food contractor – especially in an expensive city like Mumbai, with the pandemic as a later episode. There is a lot of humor and a few photographs capturing the trip.

The author shows how important passion and creativity are to an entrepreneur – along with resilience and a supportive ecosystem. The 20 chapters make for entertaining reading and also capture 10 lessons for entrepreneurs (“Samosa Gyaan”).

Here are my main takeaways from this 220-page book, also summarized in the table below. See also my reviews of related books Why did I stop wearing my socks, Finance your Startup, Young Turks, Indian innovators, I like Mondays, and Social entrepreneurship in India.

First days

Munaf graduated from NMIMS and worked at Wrigley India in Mysuru, before joining Google in Hyderabad. “Your first job prepares you for the next” he recalls, describing how it’s only the professional life after college that brings out its strengths, weaknesses and motivation.

The Google experience has been dynamic since the days when I was a “Noogler” (new Googler). As an intrapreneur, Munaf’s activities involved a Factory of ideas forum for moonshot ideas, and help NGOs optimize their Google Ad Grants. But he discovered that the real dopamine for him came from culinary traditions and the food trade.

Bohri cuisine

Munaf’s desire to help his mother monetize her cooking skills (“more than watching TV at home”) led to the launch of The Bohri Kitchen (TBK). It is inspired by the culinary traditions of the Dawoodi Bohra community, with a mix of Yemeni Muslim and Gujarati influences.

The home dining experience delivered authenticity through its community setting with traditional decor and family hospitality. The food itself is served on a large thaal (three feet in diameter), with delicacies described in tantalizing detail. Group consumption also leads to community bonds, observes Munaf.

“The best brands and companies in the world are built on authenticity, creativity and their ability to offer customers something unique,” ​​he says.

TBK was promoted widely on social media and the word went viral, eliminating the need to call a rope in a PR firm. But home cooks were not generally considered on par with professional chefs, TBK has seen success, with home meals priced from Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000.

While the supply of regional cuisines in India is staggering, most of these kitchens are under-represented in the F&B sector, Munaf laments. Housewives have many opportunities to become home chefs and monetize their culinary heritage – a micro-entrepreneurship theme that Munaf then promoted to the government of Maharashtra as a tourism promotion strategy.

Along the way, he also assessed starting a home chef platform company for the scale, called The Dining Table. But subsequent market research found that this model had not performed well, so it was put on hold.

The path to growth

Budding entrepreneurs, especially in the food business, will appreciate the author’s detailed descriptions of wins and losses along the way. This included a sloppy experiment to introduce TBK to a music festival in pune (the rented kitchen location was too far away, the food court location was not close to the crowds, home recipes were difficult to standardize or teach other chefs).

The delivery option was launched with a cloud kitchen in Worli, but early problems with ensuring consistency in quality and packaging led to negative reviews. The lack of focus on accounting and finances resulted in stress and even mental problems, for which Munaf had to seek the services of a therapist.

Then came a series of breaks – appear in Forbes’ List of the 30 under 30 in 2017, featured on the Living Foodz and Grilled TV shows, and winning a series of catering orders and even home visits from Bollywood stars.

“One of the some advantages (there aren’t many) to be in the F&B space means that you meet people from all walks of life, ”enthuses Munaf.

Fundraising for the ladder

“Reap fun, not money,” Munaf jokes, describing how love and passion are as important as finances and partners for growth. He tied up a former Google colleague Mihir Mehta as its investment banker, and has lined up a series of investors.

The decisive arguments were that Munaf was smart enough to join Google, engaged enough in his passion to quit Google, and had a mission to “make Bohra food exciting for non-Bohras”.

A new delivery kitchen has been set up in Worli, involving lengthy government approvals and licensing processes. TBK’s first QSR was established at Flea Bazaar Café in Kamala Mills in 2018.

Funds should be raised over the long term, says Munaf, because fundraising is a demanding activity. As of August 2019, TBK was selling Rs 35 lakh per month – but would need Series A funding to expand further.

Refine the story

“When I break it down, there are three things I committed to at the very start of my journey and continued to tirelessly devote time and energy to: (a) one damn good story (b) tell this story every opportunity I have and (c) continue to develop the story over time, ”emphasizes Munaf.

“You have to have a story worth telling,” he adds, especially in a crowded market. “History needs several arcs, each with its own purpose,” says Munaf.

He qualifies this approach as “3D branding” – product, visual identity and emotion. “The latter can be brought out through faces, names of real people, history – all of which are woven into narrative and branded language,” writes Munaf.

An entire chapter is devoted to the story of his mother, born as Nafisa Masalawala. She was trained in Bohra heritage cooking by her grandfather and her mother herself was a fantastic cook. Nafisa got involved in family life after her marriage, and the TBK company subsequently broadened its culinary profile, gaining new fans.

The story, combined with the inherently unique and marketable Bohra cuisine, has contributed to the brand’s virality, says Munaf. The kitchen was separate but also featured mass-market items like biryani and samosas.

Digital storytelling and gamification helped boost customer engagement, even with those who had never consumed Bohra food. Munaf also gave hundreds of speeches at conferences, founding circles and TEDx stages.

“There is so much to be gained from a dining experience at home apart from a good meal – it can help goodwill, relativity and better understanding of communities which are different from ours. In fact, TBK has helped me understand what it means to be a Dawoodi Bohra myself, ”he writes.

Food trade

An entire chapter explores the metrics and rules of the star food industry, including unit economics, organizational hierarchies, and food partnerships.

For example, Munaf recommends that a large part of the menu be outsourced to other partners (with clear NDA rules), cash collection is entrusted to banks and a dedicated customer service manager is appointed to take orders.

Another chapter shows how the commercial aspect of culinary heritage can be extended to tourism sector, by monetizing the stories of local communities and heritage. Government support and promotion by travel agents could help in this regard, says Munaf.

The road ahead

Munaf’s other visions include replicating the home catering model to other Bohra homes in cities around the world and opening a flagship restaurant One day.

Unfortunately, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced TBK to lay off more than 70% of its staff and close new outlets. Sales halved to break even – only home meals and catering for other family dinners remained.

“Entrepreneurship, by definition, is a marathon of bypassing, overcoming and sometimes overcome by challenges that you face as a business owner, ”writes Munaf. The company began to recover in early 2021, but ran out of working capital to resume operations in June this year.

“I have learned not to fear failure – what is important to me is knowing that I have done my best,” concludes Munaf.

YourStory also published the paperback “Proverbs and quotes for entrepreneurs: a world of inspiration for startups” as a creative and motivating guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).