It is nothing short of a Bollywood movie. Karan Sharma was a passout from Lovely Professional University, Abhinav Chanda and Himanshu Sharma were passouts of Amity University, Jaipur. While Abhinav was a hardcore foodie who was of the 2016 batch, Himanshu was a B. Tech Mechanical student of Amity Jaipur who was an entrepreneur in the making.
The duo of Karan and Himanshu has finally opened their third food truck this one in Amity University Lucknow campus. The inception of the idea was when Abhinav Chanda wanted to open a food truck business in India. It was one call that went to Karan Sharma that sealed the deal.
From roommates to partners in a business, both Himanshu and Abhinav weathered every storm along with Karan Sharma till 2018 when, Abhinav went his own way. By now Abhinav’s food brand – Southsy had already started reaping dividends and he moved on. Karan and Himanshu bought the shares and they took the food truck company Hashtag Foods Private limited to newer heights.
No investor was ready to invest and it was a big hurdle. Wise that the two were they pooled in money and gave shape to their company.
They heaved a sigh of relief by signing a contract with President, Amity Group of Institutions, Dr Aseem Chauhan and then after that happened a series of food trucks in Jaipur, Manesar and now in Lucknow.
The mandate the company has now is to setup two food trucks outside campus in the next twelve months.
While they have also envisaged trips abroad, they are also working on an attractive menu that will appeal to the general public. Founding member, Hashtag Foods Pvt Ltd, Karan Sharma says, “We should be ready with our final plan by January 1. Franchisee investors are willing to walk that extra mile with us.”
Karan, a young serial entrepreneur who has high expectations, says, “Wanted to replace Sodexo, a French conglomerate that caters to MNCs.”
Ask them of the guiding force, Karan adds, “ Dr Aseem Chauhan lived in Boston and he has lived off food trucks. Having liked the idea he wanted to create the biggest food truck company in India. His blessings are essential to mention but reception and competition is definitely big in India.”
Life for the young turks will not be rosy because the owners themselves say that for e. g in DLF Gurgaon, Zomato has 200 to 300 outlets. Beyond that there are just 4 – 5 outlets. In outside markets you can only sell using USPs, adds Karan.
“In future the company aims to enter the food manufacturing business that would cover stuff that can be sold instantly in the market. We are our own competition,” believes Karan.
In India there is a monthly 10% growth of the food truck business. Each month Hashtag Food Private Ltd gets 1 to 2 offers for franchisee.
In a message to future entrepreneurs – Karan parts saying, “Biggest asset was making mistakes while being a serial entrepreneur or creating websites and then improving upon them. I have met failures from close quarters. Never fear making mistakes.”
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