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consumer’s food intake. According to Sarthak A restaurant in Pune called Indori Chaat House
Kothavale owner of Indoori Chaat House, there was founded with the intention of offering the
is a major drop in revenue of food industry as authentic flavour of food from Indore. We spoke
people have started prioritizing home cooked with the founder, Sarthak Kothavale, a C.A. and
food due to hygiene and safety concerns. A shift an entrepreneur, to learn about his business’s
in consumption pattern has been observed. history so far and to understand his intentions
Health conscious people are preferring to have and long-term expansion plans.
fresh cooked food over packed or frozen food. 1. What gave you the idea to launch your
A variety of COVID-19 related psychological company?
changes might have also affected food-related
behaviors. The desire to create a robust, sustainable
Mr. Kothavale said, ‘Work from home culture’ business entity and to employ people served
as my primary motivation for starting my own
further reduced our customers which earlier company. I’d always envisioned myself as a job
used to visit us in breaks and after working producer rather than a job seeker. I therefore
hours. had a strong desire to launch my own company.
Post covid, most of the restaurants and I’ve never had any inclination to work in the
hotels survived on the delivery and take away business world. I’ve always wished to own my
service system to avoid infection from covid 19. own business. I therefore made the decision to
Suddenly there was hype in using food delivery launch my own company.
apps which also helped them to survive. Many 2. Who are your role models?
times, there was a shortage of raw materials
and restocking it was difficult. Restaurants were My role models are Elon Musk, Ratan Tata, and
not allowed to function for an average of 100 Mukesh Ambani. I’ve always been influenced by
days which affected the business significantly all three of them in different ways. One of Elon
costing them their savings to cover the fixed Musk’s attributes that I appreciate is his focus
costs. More than 25% of the food service on the future and the businesses he builds. I
providers shut their businesses post covid. like Mukesh Ambani because of how he has
Many restaurant owners faced labor shortage built and grown his business empire, generated
as they went to their hometowns during riches, and is constantly on the lookout for new
pandemic. Covid-19 has demonstrated that chances. Ratan Tata is someone I like because
restaurants cannot remain unchanged. They in addition to being a corporate magnate, he
must continuously seek for new methods to is well-known for his charitable endeavours.
innovate their experience, menu, and services. These thus are the explanations for why I view
Restaurants must be aware of what matters to them as my role models.
patrons and adjust their offerings to reflect this, 3. Why did you launch this company?
such as by lowering menu pricing, providing
incentives, or allowing digital ordering and When my grandparents lived in Indore, they
payment with quality & hygienic products. would frequently cook for me or take me to
various eateries and stores. I really enjoyed the
flavour and food there, but I think Pune is lacking
something. I started my own food business to
offer an authentic flavour of Indore because I
live in Pune and this was something that wasn’t
offered, but also because it was something I
liked and was interested in.

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