On single-handedly revolutionizing the multi-billion dollar Biryani segment, Aparna Andrews, Founder Biryani Blues

Aparna Andrews believes working and flourishing together is the secret mantra to success.   “I make sure whatever goes out from Biryani Blues’ kitchen is made with a heart full of love and patience for the food”. Amidst handling 30 outlets, moving from one room to another planning her day and continuously experimenting to provide the best of Hyderabadi flavors to customers, Aparna Andrews aces it all! Aparna Andrews the co-founder of Biryani Blues graduated from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She had successful stints at Citi financial and GE Money before diving into entrepreneurship. Deciding to open up a QSR brand, Aparna Andrews and her husband knew that their type of business will face more challenges. Staying open to the market, customers and Aparna’s vision of producing a trustable quality product for the masses have culminated into a brand. It is her operational efficiency and her desire to give the authentic flavors of Hyderabadi Biryani that led to the conceptualization of first Biryani Blues outlet. Serves authentic Biryani Moving from Retail Consumer Finance to the food and Beverage Industry has been both rewarding and challenging. Along with the perfect business model, an urge to bring something accessible and traditional in the plates of young Indian is what describes the perseverance of Aparna Andrews. Establishing a brand in the times when western fast food chains are taking over is a marvelous job. Thea Kitchen founded in 2013 by Aparna Andrews and Raymond Andrews has received immense love and support from people in Delhi NCR. It’s the perfect example of how a brand, made with love with a perfect marketing blueprint looks like. Biryani Blues delivers around 3000 kilos of biryani every day. One thing that makes Biryani Blues stand out from its competitors is that they have always been an economy brand and not a cheap brand. Aparna believes in providing value for money to the customer. From buying the best quality ingredients to implementing high-quality capex processes, Aparna’s company sets a benchmark for others. Chicken Biryani There are various reasons due to which Authentic food like Biryani is flourishing extensively amidst the whirlpool of American fast food joints. Biryani is perceived as a perfect wholesome meal with proteins, carbs, micro-nutrients and Biryani Blues flavours! Many delivery chains have adapted the QSR format but there are only some, who flourished. Aparna’s company does online brand promotion while co-existing with the tradition offline consumption patterns. Starting from a small takeaway store in Gurgaon, Biryani Blues has come a long way today. It has been growing rapidly with 6x operating revenue growth in the last 3 years (86% CAGR) with operating revenue up by 42% vs YTD Dec’17. This is mainly driven by strong same store sales growth. The chain has always focused on providing delectable Hyderabadi food at a value for money pricing. Great pain is taken to maintain the quality of the Biryani and that can be felt in each bite. To spice it up, the earthen pots used for packaging makes it a delight for the customer. The care with which each handi is prepared is enough to lock the freshness of the food. Focus on food costing and menu re-engineering has led to an EBITDA growth of 297% over YTD FY18. Veg Biryani Everything Biryani Blues does keep the customer first and are constantly working and improving ourselves to deliver the customer a better product with better service. This has translated to high repeat rates (more than 50%) and customers loving the brand. We are now the most awarded Biryani Chain with 30 stores in Delhi NCR. Working with a vision to be a global QSR brand we strive to make all our processes scalable. We adopt methods and processes which can be scaled to other cities and geographies. Our products and the brand is designed to have a universal appeal. Chicken Biryani being the most ordered items on the aggregator portals makes us poised to take Biryani Blues across the country within the next few years. Online food delivery market in India is expected to grow at 90% CAGR from $0.3 Bn in 2016 to $ 4 Billion by 2020. Biryani Blues is thus poised to grow exponentially over the coming years. Mutton Biryani Although in an old-world business we still use the latest in technology for product creation and marketing. From understanding customer behaviour to the production of Biryanis we use Technology where ever we can. Data and a scientific approach have helped us scale efficiently and we are the only Biryani Brand to be EBITDA positive. We use the latest Cloud-based software to manage inventory and CRM.   Aparna Andrews is a role model for every woman looking out to start something of her own. Setting up a perfect business and managing ins and outs of the brand, Aparna has received pretty much every accolade and recognition in the F&B industry. Her example is not just limited to F&B industry; rather her successful business model can be implemented in every field to create a successful brand. Her passion for food and streak to succeed is what made Biryani Blues stand 30 outlets strong. With the recent addition of Dubai as Biryani Blues family, there are only high hopes from a brand like Biryani Blues. Dubai is just a starting of the global expansion as she and her company aim for more. Ms. Aparna has revolutionized Multi-billion dollar biryani segment. Believing in working together and flourishing together is and can be a perfect moto for people with entrepreneurial streak which Aparna Andrews strongly believes in. In the end, we would only say, every step matters! To read more such interesting content on Indian food, download our monthly magazine, Spunky India. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.