Delhi is famous for its street food. Practically every mohalla in the Capital offers a signature treat for the connoisseur. Akshat Rathee was savvy enough to realize that while people swore by the flavours of Delhi’s street food, not everyone found it practical to go to particular markets to taste them, especially those who lived in faraway Gurgaon.
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So, in 2008, Akshat set up KopyKat, a young and vibrant restaurant that is creating quite a buzz in Gurgaon, a satellite town of Delhi. KopyKat offers Delhi’s signature street foods – from South Extension’s Bombay Bhelpuri to paranthas from Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk – with the same taste and quality and in the same form.
Akshat is a computer engineer from Manipal with an MBA in international business from Paris. He is a serial entrepreneur, who has three more businesses, in addition to KopyKat. He has set up ventures in consulting, biofuels, telecom and BTL marketing. But, as he says, “food is something that has fascinated me from childhood and I am a hardcore foodie. In my professional life, this has translated into associations with numerous restaurants (for consulting, turnarounds, etc.), all of which culminated in my opening my very own place, KopyKat.
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I have always been very fond of street food and Delhi, as everyone knows, is a street food lover’s delight. But because I live in Gurgaon, I was unable to indulge in my favourite bhelpuri and paranthas as often and as easily as I would have liked. And I was not the only one. There were many in Gurgaon who craved the delicacies of Delhi’s streets and the only thing stopping them was paucity of time. That was how the seeds of what would later become KopyKat first got rooted in my head. Instead of people going to the food, was it possible to bring the food to the people? The answer was yes, and today, KopyKat stands testimony to that fact.”
Akshat started KopyKat with an initial investment of Rs 25 lakh. He raised the money from various angel investors. Why KopyKat? He explains, “The restaurant derives its name literally from the concept on which it is based. At KopyKat, we serve the exact replicas of the food that you would find in any of the famous street food areas of Delhi. The vendors provide us all the ingredients, down to the salt that is put in each dish. Our assemblers have been personally trained by the vendors in preparing each dish. Thus, at KopyKat, we mimic the real vendors of Delhi and serve their delicacies to
our customers.”
Currently, KopyKat enjoys a loyal customer base of which 40 per cent are repeat customers. Another 40 per cent drop in because they have heard good things about the restaurant. Akshat says the remaining 20 per cent come here because of its location. They don’t know about KopyKat, but visit it to see what it has to offer.
KopyKat is located in a busy part of Gurgaon, which is crowded with restaurants of all kinds. Despite that, it has a loyal customer base. So, what keeps it abreast of the competition? Akshat says it is the food that KopyKat serves that sets it apart – nowhere else can you get all the famous delicacies of Delhi under one roof. He asserts, “Like in any other business, as we expand our network and variety of products, the competitive landscape will also change in the future.”
Starting a venture and establishing it among its target customers is a gradual process, which requires perseverance. Akshat had complete faith in his business model. He says, “I spent close to 15 months raising money and forming the company. Yet, nothing was as challenging as meeting the various vendors and convincing each one of them to be a part of this venture. The toughest part was winning their trust and assuring them that their brand would not be compromised. It was a long journey, but one that was truly worth it.”
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Akshat is optimistic about the future of the restaurant business in India. He says, “With growing urbanization, changing lifestyles and rising incomes, the restaurant industry is currently valued at Rs 580 billion, with huge potential for growth in the future.” The segment is a brilliant one for an aspiring entrepreneur because the demand for food is universal, which makes it practically recession-proof. The need is to recognize the gaps in the food business and tap the market at the right moment.
Akshat says that replicating the KopyKat business model would be difficult for a new entrant: “For new entrants, the main hurdle will be to get what we already have – vendor relationships. We spent a substantial amount of time with each of them and a new entrant would find it difficult to match that. They would also need to be well funded to be able to spend that much time on relationship management and setting up the supply chain without having to worry about losses.”
KopyKat plans to launch five restaurants in the next eight months. Akshat is targeting a pan-India presence in five metros within 15 months. His subsequent strategy with his investment partners focuses on international expansion to the UK, the US, Dubai and Singapore.
Akshat tells us, “Currently, we have a turnover of Rs 3-5 lakh from our first location. We expect a location to stabilize at an approximate turnover of Rs 10 lakh per month, with an EBITDA of Rs 2-3 lakh. Our corporate turnover should touch Rs 10 crore with our first phase of five locations.” (EBITDA stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization; it is an approximate measure of a company’s operating cash flow based on data from its income statement, and is calculated by looking at earnings before the deduction of interest expenses, taxes, depreciation and amortization.)
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