Lassi n Shakes, Standing Tall At 140+ Outlets In 3 Years

Almost all developing countries, having a little or more influence from the west, are swiftly inching towards fast foods. Unlike conventional food items that used to take so much time in preparation, fast foods can be prepared in some minutes. Coupled with this emerging trend of fast foods, a different type of restaurants came up which serve fast foods named as Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).

These QSRs normally contain a small area with some chairs on which people can sit and enjoy food. They, in most of the cases, do not keep waiters and servers, and most of the service is self-service.

Quick Service Restaurants or QSRs have experienced an exponential growth in recent years. From the Financial Year 2016 to 2020, the Indian QSR market grew at the rate of 17.27 percent, which will make it an USD 10.6 Billion market by Financial Year 2025.

A report by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting, IMARC, stated that the global fast food and quick service restaurant market reached a value of USD 232.3 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, IMARC Group also reckoned the market to reach USD 308 Billion by 2027, projecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 4.9 percent during 2022-2027.

An increase in consumers' tendency to eat outside and a growing number of innovative fast food chains are the driving factors for the chain QSRs segment. This category has grown in popularity over time because of youngsters eating habits, fast moving lifestyles, increased plastic money, and globalisation.

In this article, we are going to talk about one of its kind QSR brand Lassi n Shakes. The brand came up with a unique idea of serving traditional Indian beverages (like lassi) along with cakes and fast food items. Founders claim to serve the best quality at an affordable pricing. The brand love to get introduced as a mini food court, where guests satisfy their cravings with fast foods like Burgers, Waffles, Pizzas, Wraps, Sandwiches, along with Mock tails, juices, Kulfies, Tea and Coffees, Milkshakes, Lassi and Faloodas. Because of some continuous efforts of the brand in the food and beverages category, Lassi n Shakes got recognition as ‘Home Grown Business of The Year’ in Small Business Awards 2022 Hyderabad organised by Franchise India.  Below is an exclusive interview with Founder of the Brand Lassi n Shakes Mohammed Abdul Gani.

Q. How does it feel to achieve the small business award?

A. Great to get recognition for our hard work. It is tough competition out there!

Q. When did your business begin?

A. I started one business in 2018 and this brand was launched in May 2019

Q. Why did you decide to start your own business?

A. I am passionate about the service, interacting with customers and providing solutions to customers. I wanted to try that in doing my own business and my passion in food led me to start this Food and Beverages business.

Q. What was your first objective when you founded your business?

A. To Provide a great service to customers with best quality product with right quantity and at affordable pricing. Dil khush karna hai. Bas!!

Q. How many people work for your company?

A. There are more than 30 people currently working for us.

Q. What products or services do you offer?

A. Waffles, Burgers, Pizzas, Rolls-wraps, Sandwiches, roasted Fried Chicken along with Mock tails, Smoothies, juices, Kulfies, Tea and Coffees, Milkshakes and traditional drinks like Lassi and Falooda. If someone requests, we can even offer Momos, Pastas and Maggi Noodles.

Q. What methods do you use to promote your business?

A. We grew mainly through word-of-mouth publicity. Recently we initiated social media marketing too.

Q. How difficult was the start, what was the motivation and what was the reason for starting the business?

A. Working as a business developer in Europe with a mechanical Engineering background, it was pretty challenging to open a Food and Beverages outlet. As I did not have any prior experience, starting something from scratch and that too with such low margins was very tough for me. I was used to selling products with a high value, and this is totally contrary to it, but my experience in value sales helped me develop the products and the brand itself.

Q. Please tell us what is the current industry trend of your sector.

A. Nowadays people are more health conscious and are ready to pay more if you serve more natural and healthy products.

Q. If you were not a businessman. What else would you have been?

A. I am a Business Developer with a technical background. I might have been the marketing and sales head in some company.

Q. Do and don't for aspiring entrepreneurs?

A. Do’s - Understand the need and need behind the need. Service should be the Focus.

Don'ts – Do not compromise on quality. Never take things for granted.

Q. What motivates you the most?

A. A satisfied customer face. You can completely satisfy anyone with tasty food. With great food, you can win hearts. I do not know about anyone else, but I feel so motivated after winning hearts.

Q. How do you handle your competitors in the market?

A. We compete by staying honest and by focusing on our service.  None of our competitors matches us in service.

Q. Business is another name for taking risks, before starting any new things, how do you overcome your fear?

A. We work very democratically in our office and even consult and discuss with our franchisees, employees and customers. Before we launch or initiate changes, we brainstorm and consult with our clients, carefully analyse and mitigate risks.

Q. Who were your Business gurus?

A. I have learned a golden rule from Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).  Always be Honest and be kind when you sell, be kind when you buy and be kind when you recover debt.

Q. Where do you see your company after 5 years?

A. We would like to be a pan India F&B brand supporting thousands of young entrepreneurs to be self-sustained by serving healthy and hygienic food & beverages to common people all over India.

Q. What has been the role of stakeholders in your business in terms of support from the government?

A. We have not taken any help yet from the Government.

Q. How was the initial seed fund taken care of?

A. No external funds were raised. It all was from early savings. I also sold some properties to build this firm.

Q. Which is the area of opportunity for small businesses today?

A. Definitely, Food and Beverages is the most interesting as it can sustain and run in any circumstances.

What Small Businesses Can Learn From It

The brand, Lassi n Shakes has mixed the conventional format of dine-in cafes with quick service restaurants. They offer their franchisee to run the outlet as a commercial quick service cafe, proper dine in cafe or as a cloud kitchen also. The brand claims to be bound on their secret yet simple recipes, which get ready quickly and have the same taste every single time.

Lassi n shakes mission is to serve the tastiest food possible at the most pocket friendly prices. The brand claims that a family of four people can fulfil their cravings under INR 500 at any Lassi n Shakes store; their menu offers food and beverages of more than 18 categories with almost 120 items.

A very important thing that all businesses can take as learning from the story of Lassi n Shakes is that every business should try to taste different things and go for whatever is good for them. QSRs are the future for catering supported by drive through and restaurant quick delivery platforms.