Foodstories is a premium offering, as are all your other ventures. This is the other end of the spectrum from your father’s business of mass retail, and where you learnt the ropes. What led to this pivot?
I think after COVID we realised that there is a new India being born. Pursuits are becoming far more meaningful for the top end of India. It’s a digital-first consumer who is extremely curious. They are very attuned to everything that’s happening across the world, be it products or brands. And price is one facet of consideration. We also understand that people want to associate with brands that are having a conversation rather than a monologue.
And that was our attempt in building Foodstories. Of course, it’s premium, but more importantly, it is far more experiential. It’s premium because of the quality we sell, the effort we make to bring better quality, produce, products, brands, curating them from the best, finest producers, makers and growers from across the world.
We also are quite clear in this inning that there is one India that will always continue to grow, which is the top 3-5%. And this is a format built for them.
How does the Biyani name open doors for you in business – in terms of perception, investors, partners? How does the legacy affect you as entrepreneurs?
I don’t know if it’s the name or maybe something good that we have done in the past that actually opens doors and so on. I feel we are fortunate enough to have had a certain journey, a certain experience in life. We have always been very curious about customers and the biggest legacy that we have is an instinctive understanding about customers, whether they are mass or whether they are the elite or whether they are psychographically cohorted or demographically cohorted or cohorted in newer ways and forms. And that doesn’t come naturally to most people. It is very valuable, priceless in its own way.
As for investors, we have had a single investor supporting and building this venture with us. It’s very rare to get the kind of support that we have gotten and we are grateful for that.
Does your father guide you in business?
Absolutely. I think my father knows the pulse of the Indian consumer. And it doesn’t matter again which customer it is, he understands, senses and feels India in ways that maybe very few can. I think he keeps us younger, more agile, more curious, because he is three steps ahead of us in every which way. He has a great eye for detail which is very valuable in a business like ours.
So you get guidance from him at every step?
Of course, whether we want it or not (laughs). All our conversations have always been about the business. The apple doesn’t fall far away from the tree.
How do you see the Indian consumer changing, considering everything is very individualistic and it is difficult to generalise. How challenging is it for an entrepreneur, this fast-changing dynamic of trends?
I have always believed that the Indian consumer is a moving snapshot. And I feel like every day we are learning more and more from our customers every time. We have a study at Foodstories which is called Elitology where we study the top 3-5% of India, and we understand the elite on its own terms. There is a distinct way in which India’s elite is evolving. One part is the old elite, the people who have been rich for generations. And then there is this new India that is thriving today, which is the founders, new CEOs, the startup ecosystem and people who were born in a liberalised economy in India. There is a certain comfort that generation has today with themselves and the way they express themselves. So we believe we have to understand the pursuits of the elite.
One of the things we discovered is that the biggest status today is your body — your health, your body, the mind. And for the elite, conquering this is very important, resulting in them engaging with the whole health and wellness ecosystem. And that is what we are also pursuing at Foodstories.
You are an omnichannel business, with a focus on brick and mortar. But going forward, do you see a tilt towards a digital-only preference?
For every trend there is a counter-trend. For everyone who is shopping online, there are people craving physical interaction, craving tactility, smell. Spaces like ours are very meaningful platforms for one to come, discover, touch, feel, sense, and immerse in some ways. We don’t just sell, we hold a lot of events — conceptual dining experiences, workshops, masterclasses. At Foodstories, grocery is not a chore, it is therapeutic, it is meaningful. You add value by visiting a store like ours. And that’s the way we see ourselves. But I do understand that convenience is equally important, which is why from day zero we layered digital onto our stores.
Do you ever feel your new ventures are sort of redemption for the failure of Future Group, and you have a point to prove?
I feel like this is all we know how to do. And this is what we will do, till we can. So I think, with all humility, we have not thought of it in any other way. I feel, and this is again coming from my father itself, that we will always work for the customer, not for each other or anyone else. And we generally always believe that customer is our god, food is our religion in the case of Foodstories, and any platform we create is going to be like our temple. That is what drives us, that’s what motivates us. We don’t know anything better than a consumer business.
Is there any plan to venture into brands or offerings that are more for the masses and can have scale deep into the Indian heartland?
I think we have our hands full with Foodstories and where we are right now. We are very happy with the response, the feedback that we have gotten in all the three cities (Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad). Now we want to take this to Mumbai and to Gurgaon, which is happening soon. We will also be building a better digital experience for our customers, so we have a lot on our plate as of now.
