Restaurants, bars, pubs, and cafés lie at the very heart of all our communities and having to close their doors has dealt a shocking blow to many of dedicated, passionate, and loyal people. We need restaurants. It is where we go to meet friends, meet family; it is the first place we go to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, new plans; it is where we do business, where we fall in love. When we want to mark the most joyful moments of our lives, it is a restaurant that we think of first.
Mr. Manav Deep Singh the Founder of The Masala Story had a huge love for restaurants and had the vision of owning one someday. He started his professional journey at a very young age wanting to learn all the various aspects of the Food and Business Industry. Starting to work with the operations at a canteen in Faridabad, in the NCR of Delhi he opened the canteen at 7 am after the daily purchase of the raw materials like veggies, meats, etc., and closed it at 7 pm on all days.
He pursued his graduation and his post-graduation simultaneously and learned a lot through experience. His father had a working career of over 50 years with only 3 jobs he had worked in. He was the inspiration for Mr. Manav to understand and accept that “If you enjoy what you are doing there no need for a change for short term gains. Let your work speak, let the success follow.”
So, we would get to know more about the insights of The Masala Story in the below highlights from the interview:
- Describe your professional journey as a business leader.
I got this opportunity to open my first home delivery Indian food kitchen called Desi Potli. This was at a friend’s residential building on the 3rd floor which also had a terrace. On the roof of this under a tin roof was a tandoor for the bread and kebabs and the 3rd floor had 23 rooms one converted to the kitchen and the other to a store/order placing table room. This was the era when we had no digital media and the only source of informing the customer of a delivery brand was a mailer/flyer in the newspapers. Then I began to do things differently.
The first venture I opened to create a difference was a brand called “Wok N Noodle Bar” which was in the year 2001. The concept of this cuisine was a Mongolian barbecue and we opened 2 outlets one in GK2 and the other in DLF. During this period there were no malls and restaurants. Some of them existed either on the High Street and a few in Gurgaon in office buildings. I operated this chain for 8 years. This was the only restaurant in those times with a complete show kitchen and a place that offered an unlimited option of soup, starters, main course, desserts in all for just Rs. 349/399. You could go back to the stir fry counter as many times and try various permutations and combinations of the food.
In 2003 I got an opportunity with Mr. Vikram Bakshi to open an Indian outlet inside Mcdonalds at the old Delhi railway station. I was the first brand to go inside a McDonald’s and it existed there for almost 10 years with an Indian brand called “Desi Potli”.
In 2010 I have a friend Amandeep who is a professional golfer and he proposed to me a space to set up a cafe at the Siri fort sports complex right on the driving range which was in a rundown position with just a tuck shop operational. I happily accepted it and we decided to make there a nice vibrant young cafe so people could distress thereafter their walks, swimming, etc. This too was a great success and we operated there for over 4 years.
In 2011 I was advised with the knowledge I had gained in the past 10 years on F&B to take my real estate consultancy as a career for setting up restaurants. I actively pursued that and still do provide various domestic and international brands solutions/locations for their expansions. Today I work for over 50 brands in the country for the same.
In 2020 came another opportunity to use my experience of the last 2 decades in improvising and creating an Indian brand that was fulfilling the gaps in the expectations and deliverables of Indian cuisine. Hence was the origination of “The Masala Story”.
- As the leader of your company, what challenges have you faced while running the business?
The biggest challenge in any business is the typical FOLLOW HIM attitude that happened. People with no interest/experience in the business only see the limelight and success of the businesses and decide to do so, whereas they fail to understand that behind one successful business there are 10 that fail as well. We as a brand “The Masala Story” opened right just before the Pandemic in March 2021 and this has for sure been a challenging year. The customers we acquired during this period were looking for a trusted brand and it was a challenge at every level to keep up to their expectations in terms of hygiene, food quality, and safe delivery experience.
- Brief us about the operations of your company, its mission, vision, and core values.
We are a young brand, and the vision is to create a difference in the industry. We are carefully making sure every delivery experience of the masala story is unique and personalized. The brand is focused on 100% customer satisfaction and feedback and hence I am involved in every feedback given to the brand. Core values of the brand include providing a standardized product all across the country.
- How has the current pandemic affected your business and what steps have you taken to safeguard your employees while catering to your clients?
We opened peak at the start of the pandemic but have been fortunate to grow from one kitchen to 6 kitchens within the pandemic over the NCR. We have made sure all our staff is providing accommodation at walking distance from any of our kitchens so that they all come from one location and not through public transport from other locations. We are following all WHO protocols and the food that reaches the customer has the delivery box sealed and tamper-proof with a mention of body temperatures of the ones who handled the food cooked the food as well as delivered the food.
- According to you, what are the essentials of being a responsible business leader?
Focus and knowing more than what others around you know. I think to read and be aware of what’s happening around you is the key to being a responsible business leader.
- What would you like to share with the young generation of entrepreneurs who are looking to step foot in a leadership role in their respective businesses?
Qualifications if the key. Make sure you are professionally qualified. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the line of business you take up, but education teaches you how to adapt to various situations and yet continue to think on. It teaches you to accept change in a positive way.
- In terms of future growth, where do you see yourself and your company?
I see heading the same brand for now. We aim to get to 100 kitchens for the brand in the next 7 years.
- How to climb the corporate ladder dynamically?
If you aspire to join top management in your company or a different one, and you are willing and ready to put in the effort to do so, there’s no reason why you can’t work your way up the corporate ladder to the top rung. As a seasoned professional in today’s dynamic world of work, if you’ve demonstrated all the skills inherent in a great leader: people management, market foresight, political savviness, and consistent communications. If you now navigate into the executive ranks, you must reassess your goals — both professionally and personally. While this may seem unnecessary since you’ve journeyed thus far in a successful career, moving into the C-suite requires a careful re-examination of what you aspire to be as a leader. This means being brutally honest about the roles you desire and the timeframe in which you want this to happen.
Aspiring to be a C-suite leader is not the goal of every professional. Those holding the title understand it requires immense personal sacrifice, dedication, the ability to absorb useful criticism while deflecting others, and being accountable to the executive board and shareholders. As digitalization and automation transform most industries, leaders are expected to have a vision for taking their business into the next decade and beyond.
But maybe joining the C-suite is not your goal; you may seek out a leadership position working more closely with a functional team in sales, operations, or product development, for instance. This still requires clearly defining your goals, whether those are related to financial compensation, job satisfaction, specific professional achievements, personal desire, or others. Whatever it is you hope to achieve, regularly reassessing your goals will ensure a clear path to them.
“You have to define these goals and be a self-advocate. Executives often aren’t as proactive as they should be when it comes to regularly revisiting their professional goals is what I feel,” concludes Mr. Manav.
