Eatsome, which sells more than 7,000 wraps across 16 stores in Pune, is now the city’s favorite wraps joint
When Biswanath Chakraborty, a true Bengali from Kolkata, came to Pune, he missed the famous rolls available back home. In Pune, he met Siddharth Joshi, another food lover, who had come from Goa to try his luck in the food business.
“During those days we hung out as friends not really envisioning our dream, but only gorging on good food and then talking of doing something around it. Meeting up with friends and chatting about our plans led to creating a dream to build something for all those who, just like us, missed great food, and wanted to eat though they had limited spending power,” said Siddharth.
In 2012, the two foodies decided to start Eatsome, a wraps chain in the city, and the reason they called it so was, “Because anytime is a good time to ‘eat some’ food!”
A little about their backgrounds
Most times, people who start food companies come from families that have been doing food-related businesses for generations, but this duo is a little different.
Before Eatsome, Siddharth handled the purchase division of his family business, a hydraulic components manufacturing unit in Goa, while Biswanath, a metallurgical engineer, worked for an Indore-based company in Pune.
Exploring the menu
They started with eight outlets across Pune, and designed their own menus without any help from professional chefs, by exploring recipes that tempted their own taste buds.
“Consumers are always looking for comfort food. The dishes that take them back to their childhoods, when their mothers rolled up homemade parathas with scrambled eggs, or a last minute dish of aloo sabzi in a paratha with ketchup,” added Siddharth.
They have everything from wraps and rolls to traditional biriyanis and finger food like tikkas and Indian curries. They also have affordable combos –rice, parathas or wraps, for less than Rs 200 each.
How do they like their wraps?
“I like to go with the milder spices, which allow the other flavors to stand out. My favorites are Reshmi Kebab Wrap and Mixed Veg Wrap. Whereas, Bisu loves the Mutton Boti Wrap, served with extra onions and a dash of lemon,” added Siddharth.
Scaling the business
Eatsome has grown from one to 16 stores in three years without raising any external funding. “We started quite unconventionally. We did not even have a business plan or savings. Being conservative, and sensing Pune markets, helped us identify locations for outlets,” said Siddharth.
Most of their joints are located around colleges, hostels and MNCs. On a daily basis, the joint gets over 3,000 orders and sells around 7,000 wraps.
Glimpse into the future
Eatsome will be having more expansions in Pune, before exploring other cities in India.
“We want to prove ourselves on a small scale first. Get the idea right and then take it to a point which shows our approach is correct. You cannot scale your way out of a bad business model,” said Siddharth.