Sandwedges featured in The Hindu Business Line :D

By Arushi Sachdeva on December 14, 2014 1 Comment / 2489 views

Sandwedges is a sandwich based QSR chain having two outlets in Ghaziabad. The first outlet was started in May, 2013 when both Chaman and I were still doing their MBA degree from IMT Ghaziabad. Within six months of operations, we learnt from our own experiences what two years of MBA course wouldnt have taught us. And before college was over, we were scouting for the location of our second store.

The Sandwedges journey so far has been very exciting for us- we have served over Fifty Thousand orders, organized parties for our customers, and grew to the team size of Fifteen from Five initially. We also got an opportunity to present ourselves in TheRodinhoods Open House which took place in Delhi in March, 2014. And just recently we got the proud feeling of being featured in The Hindu Business Line 😀 😀

The article:

Selling Mumbai sandwiches to Dilliwalas NAVADHA PANDEY

When Arushi Sachdeva did her MBA at IMT Ghaziabad she missed the sandwiches from her hometown Mumbai so much that she decided to take matters into her own hands. The result is a venture that sells Mumbai sandwiches in Delhi.

The start-up — SandWedges — now has two outlets in the National Capital Region, and aims to expand to 50 stores by 2019.

“These sandwiches are very popular in Mumbai and we thought that there was no reason why Delhi wouldn’t enjoy them as well,” says Sachdeva, who believes that food popular is any part of India would be appreciated by the rest of the country too.

The seeds for SandWedges were sown when Vishit Ventures, a body under the Students Affairs and Welfare Council of IMT Ghaziabad, was set up in June 2012 to boost entrepreneurship. .

It started with a nine-member team, which pooled in Rs. 3 lakh to set up the first store at Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, in May 2013. But by the time the company was registered, there were only two left in the venture. The two Mumbaikars, 27-year-old Sachdeva and 28-year-old Chaman Raj, were second-year MBA students when they became partners.

SandWedges, operating on a tight budget, banked on social networks and word-of-mouth marketing to become popular. “Chaman (Raj) and I go out on the streets and convince people to try our food. One happy customer gets another 10,” says Sachdeva.

Raj says that they decided opt for the quick-service restaurant model as it would bring them volumes. “So we decided not to have seating space as the number of orders per hour gets restricted.” The bright little takeaway joint soon started drawing in not just IMT students but also orders from their director’s office.

But the big break for SandWedges came with the launch of its ‘Spicy veggie burgwich’, which through word-of-mouth attracted locals and pushed its rating on online restaurant discovery site Zomato to 4.4 from 3.2.

The team constantly researches on recipes and blends Indian masalas with sandwiches wherever needed.“For example, green chutney with simple American mayo and corn sandwich is perfect for the Indian palate,” says Sachdeva.

The next store would be launched in Noida by mid next year. The team has roped in another member, Shikhar Prateek, to handle the HR and operations, and is looking to hire more as the store count goes up. It is also talking to companies for housing their stores in the campuses.

The Ghaziabad outlet gets more than 100 orders a day, while the recently opened Indirapuram store gets 80. The company may look for seed funding next year to help it meet the 50-store target.

Post the initial Rs. 3 lakh investment, the duo reinvested their profits and the current investment at the two outlets stands at Rs. 18 lakh. So what is the most challenging thing about a food start-up? “Well, we work while everyone else parties,” says Sachdeva.

**********