Perfect eating experience!

F&B industry added a new name to its list in 2011, Orange Tomato Pvt Ltd. The young hospitality brand aims at offering good food and atmosphere at affordable prices, keeping in mind today’s young office goers. Suhani Mehta, Director, Orange Tomato Pvt Ltd talks about her plans in an interaction with Neha Malhotra.

Neha Malhotra (NM): Can you brief us about the inception and growth of Orange Tomato?

Suhani Mehta(SM): We always had a passion for food and wanted to cater to the taste of the city.  We wanted to bring under one roof, some good European food as well as pan Asian recipes.  With this thought we planned to start off our own restaurants.  Shibu Thomas and Gilbert Soman come from successful F&B backgrounds such as Fbar and Club Nero.  I have been a PR professional and bring on board the marketing skills.  All of us thought do share a common passion for good food and great times!

NM: How did you come up with the name 'Orange Tomato'?

SM: Orange colored tomatoes do exist.  They are like tomatoes but yet stand out from the crowd.  They are different.  We strive to be the Orange Tomato of the F&B industry.

NM: What is the brand's USP?

SM: We bring you good food, relaxed atmosphere at affordable prices and all under one roof!

NM: Who is your TG? How are you working towards catering to them?

SM: We have kept in mind the upwardly mobile Bangalore office goers and thrill seekers.  So our buffet during weekdays is relatively simple to manouver through and yet gets a great value for money.  We have BBQ in the evening to attract the friends and family crowd.  We also have an elaborate lunch buffet for the weekends for the easy going customer.

NM: What off beat marketing strategies have been opted by Orange Tomato?

SM: We have been promoting our brands on radio and on social media (facebook).  Besides this, we have also organized an express lunch buffet at Shitakke which appeals specifically to the corporate crowd. We also conducted a Grill Thrill Food Festival at Twenty.21 where customers could enjoy the whole grill/barbecue experience.

NM: Where all does the brand have retail presence? What are target areas for the opening of your restaurants?

SM: We are currently present in 5 locations including Shitakke at Bellandur, Shitakke at Park Square Mall, Whitefield, Shitakke at Forum Value Mall, Binge Lounge at Bellandur, Oval Bar at Mantri Mall, Malleswaram, Twenty.21 at Park Square Mall, Whitefield and YogurtBay at UB City.

NM: What are the company's future plans?

SM: We are looking at opening two more restaurants in the coming fiscal.  We currently have an investment of Rs 3 crore. We plan to invest more money and we are also going to be coming out with more restaurants of different cuisines soon.