99.9% revenue comes from Concession segment- Vikas Suri

The most complicated issue for any restaurants is logistics handling and that needs to be managed well. Most of the restaurants do not have sufficient space for the storage and hence they need technology to manage it well. JIT (Just in Time) delivery method is one such method used to ensure proper supplies. No matter you are running a single restaurant or managing 2,000 locations, find out how restaurants are partnering with logistics companies to save time, money and extra gained headaches.

Managing Time With Storage and Transportation

It’s of utmost importance that the restaurants have loyal suppliers who supply products as and when required so there are no excess or short stocks. It also allows the restaurant to provide fresh products all the time. “We at Foodlink ensure pre-scheduled deliveries of goods so that the suppliers do not incur additional transportation costs. Bulk items have periodic standing orders and deliveries in phase manner so that the products are available as per requirements,” shared Nitin Nagrale, VP – Materials Management, Foodlink Services, by adding that combined deliveries on a single route to multiple restaurants ensures savings in logistics and also provides ease in operation.

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On the other hand, Domino’s which changed the overall delivery business in India with it 30 minutes delivery model has always focused on efficient transportation and supply. “By use of Technology for e.g., there are roller cages used at supply centers for picking the stocks and movement through vehicle and this saves unloading time and storage also will be good for restaurant team. They just have to pick the roller cages and move inside the restaurant without being handling in bulk instead of pieces,” pointed K Gopala Krishnan, Head Supply Chain Centre (South), Jubilant FoodWorks that operates Domino’s and Dunkin Donuts in India. Also there are vehicle tracking system that has become popular to track the vehicle from supply center to restaurant and this will enable to plan resource at restaurant for quick unloading and better space management.

Universal and Adaptable- Winning the Game

 “We at Foodlink believe that The Food is the Hero in the entire script of the film called restaurants! We are always innovative in our offerings which make us different in our segment of customers,” added Nagrale as he believed that learning new, innovative methods of presenting & serving food, being on top of the game with progressing cooking methods and insuring good quality raw material is sourced makes us successful. Meanwhile, restaurants tend to be flexible in serving the demands of the guests as due to the exposure every customer has become very demanding. The millennial especially expect attention which is a large part of restaurant business. To understand the customer expectation and create bandwidth at back-end to meet consistent service and sustain the cost below market price. To keep the cost, efficiency and productivity is important and achieve efficiency and productivity, restaurants must use latest technology, automation and systems etc.

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At the same time, it’s important to have adequate resources to provide world class service. Anything inadequate results in insufficient service. But it’s also important that an effective manager manages backend with less resource. His capability of managing backend with short staff or less material showcases his ability and results in reduced costs. Relationship with suppliers and user department also plays a major role when you have insufficient resources so that the same outcome is obtained. “I have been working for supply chain department for over 24 years now. A solid backend ensures great front end! It helps them to deliver better to customers,” Nagrale added further as it also takes away the worry of operations staff about availability and quality of the material. Keeping abreast of latest trends, products, methods at backend always gives a great boost to front end and finally to the customers.

Commenting on the same, Gopalakrishnan added, “strong and reliable resources is very much required for strong backend operation and to train, retain we should have strong HR practices like Employee engagement, training & development system in place.”

Hence, there is no denying that backend is the key for any business success and strong backend is MUST to have great customer satisfaction in the restaurant in terms of product range availability and quick menu mix.

Recently Elanpro announced the launch of seven products at AAHAR, 2018 which included new launches like Flexi Drawer, Sushi Case, Pastry Case, Round Shape Pastry cabinet, Buffet Freezer, Counter Top Display Range and Counter Top Chiller SC 66. “The refrigeration industry is actively developing now and we are witnessing demand from different segments including end-use industries,” says Mr. Sanjay Jain, Director, Elanpro. Excerpts from the interview:

How long has been your company into this business?

We started this company in October 2009. We have almost completed nine years being into this company.

Take us through the journey of your brand.

Frankly speaking, I am not new to business and refrigeration. I have worked for refrigeration industry for long now. When we started this company, our main and only focus was to remain focused on refrigeration. We started with retail and horeca segment. We were in connections with Pepsi, Coke, Bisleri, and Amul. And on the other hand, we also were linked with chains like Easyday, Big Bazaar and more for retail format. The other area where our presence is very large is the Horeca segment. In horeca, there are about 3-4 segments which we are catering to. We have the mini bar which goes into the room followed by the other segment which is the kitchen. Cafes and bars are the other remaining segments for which we cater. Of all the segments, bar is the area where we are the market leaders at this particular time. In India, 70-80% bars are having small bit of Elanpro one way or the other. Maybe the unit could be supplied through Pepsi or Kingfisher, but Elanpro can be found in almost every bar located in India. You may not find our logos everywhere as many times they are given through companies like Pepsi and Coke but they are our product in reality. That is our dominance in the horeca segment. We started with a bang when we were working with Taj, ITC, Oberois, Subway, KFC and many more. Almost 80% of market share for draught beer is with us providing various companies with 100% equipments. Today we are working with all the leading brands across India which is marking a very large presence for us.

How are your experiences helping in taking your company forward?

Our focus has been to do more of brand awareness and creating a position where customers feel that we are a brand with a difference.  We have been providing more smiles on the face of chef and bartender. This is how I am trying to put my experiences come into play while catering to our customer hoping to take my company forward.

Tell us something about the distribution network.

Luckily we are supported very well by our channel partners having around 300 partners around the country. Right from Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Kanyakumari, Srinagar, Jammu etc, we are having dealers in almost every major class cities of India. We are still not that strong in North-East but we are penetrating it and are looking forward to get strong over there too.

What are the various challenges you face?

I will not say that we faced major challenges earlier between 2009 to 2015. The market has gone up and down for sure but that never came as a major challenge for us. We faced a little bit of challenge when there was a problem on the real estate sites where hotels and restaurants were not opening. Demonetization and GST were some other challenges we faced a bit but other than that the things were right at their place. But that is all past. Market is again going up and we are confident to do well despite challenges that can come across.

How the ever-changing food trends makes you work in a different way?

Food trends are something which keeps us on our toe. For coping with the changing market, we continuously upgrade our products range. We keep going to international exhibitions because that is what India is going to ultimately catch in the upcoming time. We believe in blending our utility with whatever is happening internationally. We customize the new things accordingly and then work on them so that our customer can get something which they are expecting.

What is your expansion activity?

There are two types of expansion plans which happen with us. One is geographical. So we are expanding deeper into North-East and sea type cities. The other is expanding my offering to my customers. So we are trying to provide our customers with other kind of products related to refrigeration. We even want to explore beyond the Indian boundary. Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan are some places where we are willing to expand.              

Commercial kitchens in India is a humongous opportunity. And not many has been able to tap it unlike Pune-based Alister Equipments - a one-stop shop for all commercial kitchens including restaurants, hotels, and new bakery set-ups. The company, this year will be crossing Rs 3 crore revenue mark. Here are the excerpts: 

How do you see Alister Equipments expanding its legacy?

We are into the equipment business from the past four generations. Our family has been into restaurant supplies and equipment since 1920. Now as the kitchens are becoming modern, we do mainly machineries and stainless steel equipments. We are a one-stop solution for all commercial kitchens such as restaurants, fast-food corners, new bakery set-ups, canteens, etc. We are based out of Handewadi, Pune where we have our manufacturing unit. We also run a brand named Alister Products which only cater to bakery and fast food equipment.

Who are the names among your clients?

We are vendors for many businesses like Taj Hotels, Barbeque Nation, O Hotel, LG Industries and Deltin Group of Hotels, Goa. We also supply to bakery chains like Monginis, Baker’s Basket etc.

So you have covered the entire ecosystem of commercial kitchens?

Yes. We do everything related to commercial kitchen. From supplying burners to make ladoos at Sai Baba Sansthan in Shirdi to quick service equipments like coffee machines, dishwasher, waffles machine, and ice cube machines. We also provide the best quality equipments manufactured by World’s leading brands including Hotmix Pro, Brema Ice Makers, Irinox USA, and Scotsman.

What is the price range of the equipments?

We have a varied range for the different section of the food industry. For a QSR, our set of equipments start at about Rs 80k–Rs 1 lakh, for a bakery it is Rs 2 lakh, and for fine dine it is somewhere between Rs 5-Rs 10 lakh. We also supply the equipments to top rated hotels like Taj Hotels where the budget goes anywhere between Rs 20 lakh-Rs 1 crore.

We customise our equipment according to the needs of restaurant. We talk to chefs as well and decide on what they would need and design accordingly. Also, most of it is manufactured by us and there are only a few like universal bakery machines are imported.

Which segment is bigger for you, HORECA or retail?

HORECA being the fastest growing industry takes up 75 per cent of our sales. We are getting more clients from this sector and it remains our focus for continuous growth.

What opportunity do you see in the industry?

We are positive for next 3-4 years as there is lot of energy flowing in the industry. We have started a full fledged expansion and are growing at almost 100 per cent. Our focus is on delivering best service and as long as we are getting good customers and we are expanding our service base we are good to go.

When did you entered into the refrigeration business?

Elanpro started its journey in October 2011; we started small as a strategy that we will only work with our own brand because most of the company want to promote the global brands. We realised that in India if you really had to grow and want to become big you can’t promote multiple brands. And, when the global company enters India they take you for making the product big in the region and when the product becomes big they either appoint multiple companies or directly enter into the business.

How has Elanpro grown over the last five years?

We are today one of the fastest growing and among most of the profitable company. Elanpro is today a reliable product in the refrigeration industry. We are associated with something which has quality.

What are the different segments you are catering to?

We are only focusing on refrigeration. Our major focus relies on- HORECA, Retail, Life Science. On the HORECA and retail side we strongly focus on beverages, beer company, milk company, Pepsi company and now we are introducing a product from Italy that will be for frozen beverages and frozen carbonated beverages.

Which is your top revenue generating segment?

Retail gives larger revenue because customers like Pepsi, Coca Cola, beer companies who are placing themselves in retail. And, for us retail is a bigger market. Retail has the major growth. Almost 55 per cent revenue comes from retail, 35 per cent from HORECA and the rest from the life science.

Can you share some of the top hotel and restaurants where you are supplying Elanpro’s refrigeration?

We work with almost all the hotel chains. We work with Taj, ITC. We work with brands like Cafe Coffee Day and Travel Food Services (TFS). We work with The Beer Cafe. We also give equipment to people like Pepsi, Coca Cola, Kingfisher, Foster.

Which are your major countries in terms of importing the machines?

We have major imports coming from Italy, China, Turkey, Spain, USA, Latin American countries.

How about the competition in market?

There is no one single competition there are multiple competition. When I look at retail, I have competition from Voltas, Blue Star carrier, but they don’t have upright. If I look at HORECA segment we may have competition from Electrolux, Foster or other big companies which are there. But not many companies are present in bar refrigeration. They are into icing. We have segment vice competition and not a pan competition. In our entire segment we are a leading player.

What is the major challenge growing your business in India?

We are heavily affected by the change in exchange rate because that deteriorates our entire profit.

Do you have a target to focus on refrigeration or we can see you entering into other segments?

We need to focus on refrigeration. We are closing 40-45 per cent growth as compared to last year. We see refrigeration as a huge potential and India being the hot climate and most of our restaurant, dhaba and bars do not have proper refrigeration equipment. So, we see a huge potential in the Indian market.

What is your expansion plan?

Our expansion is going to be in two ways- we are going to penetrate more and more in B and C cities town. East is becoming a major area for us. We are entering northeast. And, on the product category we are getting more and more into HORECA segment product catering more to restaurants. 

With growing food processing as the major sector in Indian economy, Swedish companies which are into manufacturing are bullish on India and see the country as a major investment destination as well as an important hub for exports.

According to the business climate survey conducted by Swedish Chamber of Commerce India, about 70 per cent of the Swedish companies see India as a major exports hub, reported PTI.

"This is against only 30 per cent of the companies expressing such sentiment last year," it said.

Swedish companies have been present in India for decades and have helped generate 1.60 lakh direct jobs in the country.

Companies like ABB, Atlas Copco, Camfil, Ericsson, IKEA, SAAB, Sandvik, Scania, SKF, Tetra Pak, Volvo have substantial presence in the country.

"The companies also feel that for India to truly take its place in the global value chain, there are key reforms that need to materialise," it added.

The survey is based on the experience of 141 Swedish companies doing business in India from sectors like engineering products, IT/telecom, fashion and lifestyle, healthcare, automotive, services and defence.

As per the survey, the National Capital Region (NCR), Maharashtra and Karnataka form the major hub for Swedish companies.

"About 90 per cent indicate that they will focus their investments in states they are already present in while 30 per cent are looking to expand into 3 new states - Tamil Nadu (10 companies), Rajasthan (8) and Gujarat (6)," it added.

"Last year, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and AP/Telangana were the top states," the survey said.

Maharashtra continued to be a very important hub for Swedish businesses, with one out of 3 companies having their head office in the state, while most manufacturing companies have some presence.

Companies have chosen Maharashtra mainly because of the strategic location for imports and exports and proximity to strategic business partners, it reasoned.

"Swedish companies in India have a positive business sentiment in doing business here despite a slightly lower figure compared to last year. They continue to invest and expand their manufacturing and operations," Fredrika Ornbrant, Consul General of Sweden, Mumbai, said.

The survey has been conducted by Swedish Chamber of Commerce India, in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden, Consulate General in Mumbai, and Business Sweden.

How do you focus on creating best packaging options?

For us, the packaging options are based on the consumers and the market. We have a range of packages depending upon the type of product, be it milk, fruit juice, or flavoured milk. And based on that we first decide the consumption pattern and the optimal package size required for it, for example, a 1litre packing or 200ml packing measured on how is the package going to be used and the consumer.

How do you maintain food safety while packaging your products?

Our revolutionary technology which is the aseptic processing and packaging technology ensures that the best product be it a fruit juice pulp or milk is actually processed with the ultra-high temperature treatment or the pasteurisation treatment made up of best quality of raw material. Also, it is a six-layer packing which combines with the processing technology which ensure that one can keep the product safe over a long period of time. Because of all such technologies, the product remains safe not just for one or two days, but it remains safe for up to six months to one year without refrigeration.

What is the capacity of the production that you do at your plant?

At our plant in Chakan (Pune), we manufacture 50 per cent more than what we are selling. In numbers, it is about 10 billion packages per year. We also export to markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. We are also planning to double up the capacity in the next 4 or 5 years.

Can you tell us about how much you export to other markets?

Today, about one-third of our production is being exported and about two-thirds is being used by the domestic market. This ratio is going to be increased in favour of the domestic market as per the demand and the growth we are seeing in India which is increasing day by day.

What are the challenges in the packaging industry?

Some of the key challenges in the packaging industry are related to infrastructure. I feel that there is a need of much more rapid growth of the roads and transportation as we are a very vast country where the products are transported over large distances that requires a good infrastructure. Another big challenge is the availability of good facilities like food parks where we can encourage entrepreneurs to set up processing facilities or packaging facilities. Also, good quality of water, soil and being close to farmers help us in delivering the best.      

Can you name some restaurants and QSR partners?

Some of our big partners in the juice area are Dabur, Parle, Pepsico, and Coca-Cola. In the dairy area, we have Amul, Karnataka Milk Federation, Parag, and Nestle amongst others.