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“We tread on path of building multi-million dollar business”
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Monday, 14 August, 2023, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 One of the fastest growing fresh Indian online snacking brand, Samosa Singh, devised a strategy of business acumen and regional receptivity to wrap up flavours and taste in the simple folds of a samosa. The growth catalyst for the company was the Covid-19 pandemic . At least 80% income coming from B2B business was completely shut! Yet the brand continued on the spree and within the last two years of Covid turned the company around said Shikhar & Nidhi Singh, founders, Samosa Singh, in an email interaction with Nandita Vijayasimha. Excerpts:
Samosas are a ubiquitous snack that every food outlet specialises. In the wake of the stiff competition, how has Samosa Singh positioned itself to garner a market share?
The samosa is a snack that has a unique place in the Indian snacking world. According to a research report, the Indian snack market was at US$12 billion in 2022. On-the-go snacking is becoming extremely popular, especially among working-class people, teenage children, people living in hostels, and bachelors due to their hectic lifestyles. Samosa Singh has helped the local snack progress from its basic street food origins by improving the familiar joyous experience. For customers, it evokes a sense of nostalgia and provides a pleasurable experience.
The samosa is a simple but versatile product concept with a well-established market and significant competitive advantage. Without any big ads or corporate backing, the samosa has been the most popular food for decades. Samosa Singh provides ‘value addition’ to India's massive, unorganised samosa business.
Could you throw more light on your move to go global partnered with D2C brand? Samosa is an international snack with huge mass appeal and there is a big demand for this product outside India too. We will be foraying into the export market soon with the Middle East and North America etc. The D2C partnership will enable quick expansion into international markets.
How did you opt for Bengaluru to launch for the first QSR? Are these on franchise mode and what is the response for such a business model?
Our headquarters being Bengaluru, it was the perfect market to start our physical outlet there. Now with a QSR (quick service restaurant) in Bengaluru, we are looking to expand in other cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
No, we have currently all company operated outlets. We are however franchise ready and will explore franchise very soon. We are expecting our second QSR launch in the next quarter, it will be in Hyderabad city.
We understand there are plans to open in around 250 locations across 30 cities, when and where would these be?
We aim to be present pan-India within next 18 months. Our central manufacturing facility has state-of-the-art equipment with automation and best-in-class industry practices and certifications. We are eyeing to expand our presence across the countries and also exports in the coming months.
Share more details on the research and development wing. How many food scientists are working here?
Samosa Singh is the first Indian snacking company with a scientific core team and hours of research behind it. Rebranded for the modern age, we adopted the samosa to invest almost 100,000 plus man hours of R&D to give it a unique triangle interlocking shape making it less oily and lighter. A gourmet avatar with proprietary technology that let it stay crispy for more time.
Also we intend to target the disorganised category of Indulgent Snacks. They hold all the necessary certifications and take pride in producing products that combine innovation, quality, and taste. Their samosas are healthier and non-greasy, but yet have the satisfying crunch, warmth, and flavour of India's favourite snack.
We gather that you have received a funding of Rs 17 crore so far. What have this been used for? Would there be a move to look for more funds?
The new fundraise will fuel the physical store expansion, across South and West India and also enter global markets. We have a profitable business model and owing to the growth and love for the samosas and the business segment – we see a good interest throughout the investment fraternity. We have a strong board and have been seeing continued participation from them and a new set of strategic investors including Bikaji International Foods, Tie Singapore, Bangalore based Anand Sweets etc.
Which is your revenue generator - online or physical outlets? What is your pricing strategy for the brand? Apart from samosa, what are the bestsellers?
Majorly we are operating with online outlets, cloud kitchens but the plan is to strategically expand our physical presence as well. We have competitive pricing as a brand. Apart from samosa, we have star products like kachori, dahi bhalla and rabri.
How do you view the current scene for samosa snack consumption in India and which of the products are in demand and what are the visible trends you sight in this space?
Indian snacks market is huge and targeting India’s massive fresh snack food market, estimated to cross $51 billion by 2023, we have emerged as a leading player in the indulgent snacks category.
Scope for Indian street food and snacks has always been great in India as we have always enjoyed eating out and with the advent of online deliveries people have started now enjoying their favourite street food snacks at the luxury of their home. With our unique offerings in this category, I think we are very well placed to take Samosa Singh globally as well in terms of quality standards, taste and freshness of the product.
What are the challenges encountered by food entrepreneurs like you in the country?
Challenges and continuous learning are quintessential part of the life of an entrepreneur. We strive each day to make it better than the previous and grow, evolve through the learnings.
From our perspective, it has been a long and an eventful journey of being a scientist and then giving it all up to actually build a high-growth successful business. As first-time entrepreneurs who quit jobs to pursue our dream, put everything we made and had into the business and a soul to commit oneself to it, so, truthfully—we have seen it all!
There were tough days—really tough ones—including Covid-19 which changed the entire dynamics and overnight the revenue stumped to almost zero! But we never gave up and worked the hardest during these years and as of today, we have managed to tread on the path of building a multi-million dollar business with our passion.
How easy is it to get the right qualified workforce for product research and manufacture ?
We believe in training the right people, as a brand we ensure to onboard qualified professionals and internally train them.
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