Event hospitality expert Manvir Singh Anand recently published his first book, Catering Your Way To Financial Independence, which advocates and inspires new-age F&B business owners and enthusiasts to look beyond the conventional forms of businesses. The book also contains a step-by-step process of starting a catering business from scratch. Excerpts:
How did the idea of penning this book strike you?
This book is the fruit of a deep conversation with a senior management executive during the initial days of lockdown about how unemployment will rise.
We came to the consensus that these are the times of ‘forced entrepreneurship’, where more self-employed professionals would need to enter the workforce industry. And they will need to look beyond the conventional sectors of restaurants, hotels, IT, FMCG, BFSI, etc.
I looked at my own journey of building my company from scratch. To recommend catering business as a viable ‘self-employed’ career option to the youth was a conscious decision.
Why do you think outdoor catering industry offers the best opportunities to the youth in the current scenario?
As per industry reports, catering is one of the fastest growing segments of the hospitality industry. It’s estimated size in India is at over US $4 billion with CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 25-30 per cent. India is a festival economy with over 60 festivals or occasions happening every year, so there is a room for everyone. There are limited barriers to entry in this business, unlike others.
With people refraining from eating out at restaurants and cafés due to social distancing norms, catering to smaller gatherings and families will see an unprecedented surge. Budding caterers need to build their backend capability and sell within their desired micro-niche target market to build a sustainable business in the long run with minimal capital expenditure.
You were a risk management consultant before entering the F&B industry. Why the shift?
I started my career working as a consultant and got great insights into various different businesses and industries. One of my client engagements was in the travel retail industry that gave me a good knowledge of the QSR (quick-service restaurant) business.
I found the F&B industry to be a good fit for starting my own business. I began with midnight food and essentials delivery service that was scaled to three outlets and sold to a private investor at 2.5x ROI. Post-exit, I started Knight Gourmet.
In less than six years, the company has scaled to three local offices with satellite presence in 30 cities of 11 states, serving over 1.35 million patrons as on date..
At heart, you are a chef or an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur with the heart of a chef. You can be passionate about food, but the business side fails the moment you mix your passion with your business.
It’s always about establishing strict protocols and service standards within your business but being brutally honest with your quality of ingredients and freshness of produce.