Some passionate ‘foodpreneurs’ in Vizag talk about their love for food and recipe for success.

There is something about food that lures people from different career backgrounds to become food entrepreneurs or foodpreneurs. The city has seen a mushrooming of standalone cafes, concept eating-out joints and e-commerce food startups, seeking to grab a share of the growing Indian food industry pegged at Rs 3 lakh crore . The start may be modest, but for the entrepreneurs getting even a fraction of this market could mean a business worth in crores. To that end they are focusing on local cuisine, affordable price points, an amalgamation of varied concepts and convenience of delivery.Metroplus chats with some passionate foodpreneurs who are discovering their recipes for success.

‘Tvam’

The woody, earthy interiors of ‘Tvam’ are as inviting as the wafting smell of baked goodies from its cosy space located at a small lane of Pandurangapuram. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Tvam’ meaning ‘That You Are’, what makes the place different is its unique concept of bringing two elements together – a patisserie and a boutique. Started by Preeti Agarwal, a lot of thought has gone into designing the interiors and the logo of the place, which reflects Preeti’s fascination for the Buddhist culture and her artistic sensibilities. “My concept was to create a place which fuses the concepts of a boutique and a patisserie. The idea of relaxing is different for different individuals. While some prefer relaxing over a cup of coffee or food, shopping and dressing up well are also a form of relaxation for many others. By bringing these two concepts together, I wanted to create a space where different walks of people can come and relax,” says Preeti, who is an MBA graduate with a diploma course in ethnic apparel designing and has also completed two levels in baking course. Tvam’s patisserie offers a variety of options of desserts and breads. But Preeti says the specialty of the place will be its English desserts like lemon and fruit tarts, red velvet cake with cream cheese toppings and low fat sponge cakes (made on order). The interior decors are done up well with recycled products. For instance, the show lights in the café that are made from recycled bottles. Tvam’s boutique features a blend of Indian and Indo-Western wear sourced from designers from across the country, priced at affordable rates.

Specialty: English desserts

Timings: 11.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.

‘Kaloreez’

When Robert Rejoice, a marketing head of a leading shopping chain, decided to chuck his corporate job and become a food entrepreneur, serving ‘health’ food is what he had in mind. That’s how ‘Kaloreez’ was born. He prefers to let his food do the talking and shies away from posing for a photograph. “Apart from my close friends and my family, nobody knows that I am running this food joint. And I prefer to keep it that way,” says Robert with a chuckle. The MBA-graduate-turned-food entrepreneur started the joint last year but faced a few hiccups along the way. “We had to shut down the first ‘Kaloreez’ joint at Kirlampudi Layout few months after it started due to some unavoidable circumstances. It took me nearly six months to finalise another suitable place for the relaunch at Daspalla Hills,” says Robert. Right from the rustic décor to the selection of a revised menu, Robert ensured that he perfected each and every element of the concept he had in mind for ‘Kaloreez’. “The dream to start a health food joint was something I had cherished since 2009,” he says. The passionate food entrepreneur’s day starts from as early as 5 a.m. and ends after wrapping up the last order of the day. Apart from a variety of health friendly and low calorie food platter with salads and sandwiches, the new menu includes brown rice biryani, lemon bubble drink, the Kaloreez special drink and Robert’s own creation of honey gazed chicken salad.

Specialty: Low calorie menu

Timings: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Native Taste

Food tech is the latest buzz in the startup community. After technology startups have made their mark in the e-commerce segment, the ever-hungry Indian entrepreneurs are looking to satiate the appetite of others. Tapping into this space and bringing a unique concept before food lovers across the country is the team of the Native Taste, a Vizag-based ecommerce food startup. Founded by Raja Sekhar Pentakota, Bhyrava Murthy Mutnuri and Gowthami Kanumuru in January this year, the portal nativetaste.in whips up a mindboggling variety of traditional sweets and snacks from various parts of India. So you can sit in a remote corner of Andhra Pradesh and enjoy Agra’s famous petha, order Kakinada’s kaja from Rajasthan or relish Pune’s Bhakarwadi by placing an order from Kerala. “When I used to travel across the country, I and Bhyrava would often wonder why we needed to travel so far to taste the specialty of the place. That’s how we stumbled upon the idea to connect all the regions under a platform for food lovers to enjoy the regional specialties from anywhere in India,” says Raja Sekhar. The portal has more than 30 varieties of traditional sweets and snacks which are procured from the place of origin. “We identified vendors and families that have been making the delicacies for past several decades. For instance, the Madugula halwa is procured from a vendor whose family has been in the business of making the delicacy from the past 190 years,” explains Raja Sekhar. The team is currently working in collaboration with a Bangalore-based food packaging firm for a temperature-controlled food packaging to increase the shelf life of the products. They will soon be starting international orders from July to cater to requests pouring in from countries like Australia, the US and UK.

Specialty: Traditional sweets and snacks

Bean Board

During the past one year, Bean Board has become synonymous with friendly bonding. Founded by Isaac Jeremiah, David DeLaughter and Tyler Julliard, the uniqueness of Bean Board comes from the fact that it gives a representation to the surfing community of the city, promoting a community-based café concept where friends come and share quality time together. It is no wonder then that the place is a “strictly no-wifi zone”. “We never wanted wifi in our café since the entire idea was to create a space where people forget their gadgets and enjoy some good conversations,” says Isaac. Bean Board has seen many small groups blossom into big cheerful gatherings over a cup of coffee. Here, you find surfing boards of different shapes and sizes perched up the walls of the place, the proud possession of one of its founders David, who is a passionate surfer himself. As the café turns one on July 1, it will be celebrated with a uniform special pricing of all its products and live performances by local rock band Kairoz and guitarist Abhishek on July 1 and 2. One of the USPs of the café is its over 90 flavours of ice teas and its concept of small jar coffee, priced at Rs 100, that promotes the concept of sharing among four friends. This apart, its latest addition ‘marble mocha’ was an instant hit with its blend of dark and white chocolate, caramel and coco powder flavours. The menu also includes seasonal specials like red velvet cake and ‘birthday cake’.

Specialty: Seasonal specials and ice teas

Timings: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Mon-Sat) and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Sun)

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Food / by Nivedita Ganguly / June 26th, 2015