The bell of the ice-cream dealer used to be probably the most expected sounds in maximum of our childhoods. Once Gagan Anand would listen the bell again within the 90s, he would rush to his mom to borrow Re 1, run at the back of the ice-cream guy down the roads of Jharkhand (then Bihar). Different summer season treats incorporated ‘barf-ka-gola’ (snowcones).
The love for ice-creams, ice-candy and gola endured smartly into his maturity, and turned into ‘all-weather buddies’ for the 37-year-old. He rose from being a group member at Pizza Hut to managing large manufacturers like Gloria Denims Espresso and Rasna, and now runs a a success ice-cream corporation.
The youngest of 4 siblings, Gagan grew up in a middle-class house with lofty goals of changing into an actor. Alternatively, his father retired when he had simply finished Elegance 10, which propelled him against making his personal existence thru sheer onerous paintings.
With Rs 1,200 in his pocket, he moved to New Delhi to pursue performing at simply 16. He quickly realised that making a reputation for your self on this box used to be quite tough. Roaming round Connaught Position in Delhi, the doorways of Pizza Hut beckoned him against a extra strong occupation trail.
Beginning as a part-time group member at 17 after finishing his Elegance 12, the formidable younger guy rose during the ranks to grow to be a cafe common supervisor at 21. From there on, he labored with world and Indian manufacturers for over 18 years ahead of deciding to construct an organization himself.
And the industry concept used to be a no brainer. It needed to be one thing in ice-cream – however with a twist.
Introduced in September 2020, ‘Scuzo Ice-O-Magic’, a dessert cafe, serves ‘are living’ popsicles and gelato. During the last 4 years, the corporate has grown to having over 30 retail outlets around the nation with a turnover of Rs 8 crores within the ultimate monetary 12 months 2023-24.
From no longer having cash to come up with the money for hire to offering employment to over 140 other folks lately, right here’s Gagan’s adventure.
Large goals, humble beginnings
Gagan’s father labored as a block agriculture officer which intended common transfers and postings in rural Bihar/Jharkhand the place electrical energy used to be a luxurious.
“We hardly had electrical energy rising up as we used to stick in Naxal spaces. It used to be a precarious state of affairs and as protection itself used to be any such large factor, loss of electrical energy didn’t appear to be a large downside then. The primary time we had uninterrupted electrical energy used to be when I used to be 12 years outdated,” Gagan stocks with The Higher India.
In spite of this, that they had a contented early life, he stocks, as that they had each and every different’s corporation.
Whilst in Delhi, he turned into a shift supervisor at Pizza Hut in 2006. This used to be temporarily adopted by way of the eating place common supervisor publish in 2008, on the age of 21.
Curiously, when he used to be selected as the most efficient supervisor, the video used to be circulated to Pizza Hut retail outlets the world over, which ended in his subsequent stint at one in every of its centres in Afghanistan on the Kandahar airfield.
“I used to be dealing with Pizza Hut, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Rooster (KFC) retail outlets at Kandahar as a common supervisor for two.5 years,” he provides.
This stint propelled his occupation, resulting in his subsequent stint at Gloria Denims espresso in Dubai. He returned to India to construct an organization known as Honey Hut, which gave him a floor up concept into franchising.
“I needed to construct their franchise vertically. I created 15 retail outlets in two years and advanced their Same old Running Procedures (SOPs), how one can paintings, what to do and what to not do,” he provides.
From right here on, he labored in different franchising verticals on the Chocolate Room and Rasna.
“I created the meals and beverage verticals at Rasna as they sought after to make cafes. We opened over 70 retail outlets for them,” he provides.
After growing manufacturers for others, Gagan wanted to create his personal logo. “In spite of being in a top place, I couldn’t make my very own selections. I sought after to create my very own logo the place I will have the freedom to do no matter I would like,” he provides.
Taking a shuttle down reminiscence lane
His early life reminiscences, coupled with the continued craze for popsicle sticks the world over, ended in an concept of making a ‘are living’ popsicle logo.
If pizzas had been being made in entrance of shoppers, why no longer popsicles?
“In america, there are lots of manufacturers promoting popsicle sticks. In India regardless that, I discovered that it’s nonetheless being offered at the streets. I determined to paintings on making it an immersive revel in, taking other folks down the reminiscence lane,” he provides.
The theory used to be implanted in his thoughts since 2016-17 and Gagan labored on it for over 4 years ahead of launching the project.
The primary wave of COVID-19 and the lockdown gave him the very best alternative to experiment and create those popsicles. In an try to supply a more fit choice to ice-cream, he labored with cooks to create recipes constructed from end result. He additionally were given his group able.
Most significantly, he labored on growing a popsicle system that might freeze them in an issue of mins. Months of trials and 4 prototypes later, he had the very best system able, which “freezes a popsicle inside of 7 to eight mins in entrance of you with a temperature of minus 31 levels”.
His revel in within the franchising industry and QSR (Fast Carrier Eating place) led him to broaden a string of processes that may simply be replicated throughout retail outlets.
Making an investment Rs 70 lakh of his financial savings, Gagan began the primary Scuzo Ice-O-Magic retailer in Netaji Subhash Position, Pitampura, New Delhi in November 2020.
Working out that simply popsicles may no longer paintings, he additionally advanced gelato, an Italian frozen dessert, in a producing unit. With a view to cater to a much broader target audience, the dessert cafe serves waffles, milkshakes, scorching drinks, sundaes along with popsicles and gelato.
The shop had a really perfect reaction, in keeping with the founder, with other folks enquiring for franchisees within the first 3 months itself. The primary franchise retailer used to be opened in March 2021.
Nowadays, Scuzo has 30 retail outlets in 25 towns around the nation, of which 27 are franchisees and three are company-owned.
The popsicles get started at Rs 65 a work whilst the gelato begins at Rs 110. Their bestseller is the chatpata jamun popsicle. Gagan stocks that the popsicles are constructed from ‘one hundred pc fruit’. Moreover, they’re served with fit for human consumption rice straws.
The adventure has been a ways from clean as the second one wave of COVID-19 introduced a halt to his enlargement. The primary retailer, which used to be in a mall, needed to be close down and moved to Noida.
Supply too, is a huge problem, in keeping with Gagan. Maximum meals supply corporations don’t give you the cooling pouch, which has led to simply 5 % of gross sales from on-line channels. To fight this, Gagan hopes to begin his personal supply provider to verify right kind supply of the popsicles.
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So, what used to be his happiest second? “My father informed me that he used to be very happy with me as a result of I accomplished such a lot with out taking a unmarried rupee from him. He passed on to the great beyond in 2021, however he were given to peer all this,” he stocks.
Edited by way of Padmashree Pande; Symbol Courtesy: Gagan Anand