3 Leverages Available to the Foodpreneur of Today Why has the food business bubble burst?

Today with the restaurant burst, there are entrepreneurs increasingly delving into the food business. This means that the Indian society could potentially witness new and smarter forms of food (businesses) hitting markets. With this being the criteria, Entrepreneur India attempts to bring to light the potential for smart models in the food domain; which could also serve as guides for budding "foodpreneurs".

Opportunity to actually listen to customers

Today, every business has the "customer is king" tagline; but when it comes to actual implementation there are only a handlful which actually stick to this tagline. Here is where your entrepreneurship in food could come in handy.

"The world is changing. Today, people are a lot more conscious about what they put into their bodies," informs Sushmita Subbaraju who is Co-Owner at Carrots Restaurant.

Subbaraju indicates that it is always best to merge both people's preferences as well as yours (as an entrepreneur) to prepare recipes to truly cater to the needs of guests. Big Data and Data Analytics could be a potential technological driver in this approach.

"With the change in people's eating habits, there is a huge demand in market for vegan food products," says Kinjal Darukhanawala who is Founder at Wegan Foods.

Now, Darukhanawala's statement hits the nail squarely on the head as far as analyzing consumer wants and the market demands are concerned. Hence, you could structure your models to cater to specific customer needs when in the restaurant (and food) business.

Creative collaborations

If you are a foodpreneur also focused on preparing recipes, then you could collaborate without actually sharing your recipe secrets and even without picking up the other person's. Also, since food is a matter close to the heart, it is bound to catch peoples' fancies relatively easily.

"When I was 15 years old, I went all across to Spain for a road trip along with my father. We stayed at around nine bed and breakfasts and tried local food. It gave me an amazing sense of exposure to a bunch of tastes," added Zorawar Kalra who is Founder and Managing Director at Massive Restaurants.

The takeaway here is the learnings which follow, passionate foodpreneurs, when properly analyzed. As foodpreneurs, you could also potentially get to undertake pure learning expeditions; a trend which is now becoming a rarity.

Businesses established

When you are in the culinary domain, as an entrepreneur; your smart models could serve as effective business establishments.

The advantage in the culinary business is the revenue model is comparatively easier to set up as the earnings are direct from end consumers (B2C). This also potentially translates to opportunities (multiple target segments to cater to).

"If you give every team member, regardless of their seniority or experience, an opportunity to share their ideas and demonstrate their skills, you'd be surprised at the innovative dishes that will show up," signs-off Subbaraju.