Are you eager to start a business but hesitant to take the first step? Take inspiration from Shiju Pappen, a Gurugram-based entrepreneur who turned the sweet and savory flavours of Indian street food into a thriving venture. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pappen launched ‘The Chatpata Affairs’ in 2020, transforming his passion into a successful business. Originally from a small town in Rajasthan, Shiju Pappen moved to Delhi in 1997 for work. He began his career at Pizza Hut as a team member, doing everything from cleaning the restaurant to serving customers and washing dishes.
In an interview with Startuppedia, the entrepreneur said, “I was earning only Rs 5000-6,000 per month for almost a year straight. It was tough to manage rent, electricity, and food. However, I had no option but to manage with whatever I was earning.”
Later, Pappen became the CEO of Southern Fried Chicken with over two decades of experience. However, he had a constant urge to set up his own venture. With a modest savings of Rs 5 lakh and a small, dedicated team taking on multiple responsibilities, Shiju Pappen took the big step of launching their shop in 2020.
With only a few items in the initial stage, the food venture has now turned into a food chain with a presence across 50 locations nationwide. Among the 50 existing locations, The Chatpata Affairs has its prominent location on Ambience Mall, Gurgaon; Church Street, Bangalore; Nanganalur, Chennai; and some universities in Hyderabad, among others.
The Chatpata Affairs menu now offers nearly 200 items. From breakfast dishes to dinner options, including fusion dishes such as chaat, badam milk, rolls, papri chaat, sandwiches, shakes, etc., the restaurant has it all.
Shiju Pappen’s venture operates through both franchisee and company-owned models. Out of 50 locations, 40 are franchisees, and 10 are company-owned models.
Explaining their franchise model, the founder said that as they are a bootstrapped business, their key focus is on franchise models. Each of the food outlets occupies a modest 200 square feet, and with just an investment of approximately Rs 5-6 lakh, the franchises generate a monthly profit ranging between Rs 60,000 and Rs 70,000.
By the end of March 2025, the Bengaluru-based food venture plans to run 100 outlets, and the food venture is expected to burgeon into 500 outlets by 2027. With this goal, The Chatpata Affairs founder believes that they can generate an annual turnover of Rs 1000 crore. Pappen also plans to expand its outlet across the Middle East, Europe, and the US.
“I believe it’s a journey with patience and perseverance. And, not at all a lottery ticket to instant wealth or success,” Shiju Pappen concluded.
In the initial two years, the food venture generated revenue of around Rs 2 lakh per month with only two outlets. However, after two years, it ventured into the franchisee model that boosted their business massively.
In the financial year 2023 alone, the company’s revenue skyrocketed to Rs 6 crore, followed by an impressive surge to reportedly Rs 8 crore in FY-24.
Comments
0 comment