At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this, we invited Saurabh Munjal for an exclusive interview with us. He is a Seasoned Entrepreneur, Leader, Business Consultant and Mentor. Saurabh is the Co-Founder and CEO of Archian Foods Pvt Ltd. Let’s learn more about his incredible journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Saurabh:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
After finishing my schooling from Chandigarh, I pursued Masters in Business Administration and also an Entrepreneurship course from Singapore.
I have been a sports enthusiast since school days and grew up to be a passionate learner with an inquisitiveness to experiment. Born and brought up in a business family, running a business comes naturally to me. Therefore, I always had the inclination towards spotting opportunities and focused on creating long-term value.
My first entrepreneurial stint was in 2012 when I was pursuing my MBA. This was a trade finance venture, clocked a peak revenue of $15mn and operates on an auto-pilot mode even today.”
After running it for a few years, I returned back to India and was looking for consumer ventures. I came across an opportunity to involve in a hospitality venture, which continues to operate a highway retreat by the name of Heritage Haveli in Punjab.
For the last 5 years, I am working on a profitable FMCG venture in the beverage space built from scratch. It operates the brand “Lahori”, funded by a global investor and is on road to achieve INR 1000+ crores revenues.v
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Entrepreneurship comes naturally to me. It has been a dinner table discussion for me since childhood having seen my father, later my brother runs an extremely regulated pharma venture in the listed space.
I was quite clear that I wanted to do something of my own and not integrate into my dad’s venture which was more B2B business. I think I have a consumer bent of mind and have always been on the lookout of branded consumer ventures.”
Hence, I had a plan to start from scratch, a well-researched venture, something with a large market opportunity, disruptive and that has the capability to become a brand. With my hard work and the blessing and support of family and well-wishers, it panned out exactly like that and there has been no looking back since then.
‘Archian Foods Private Limited’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
The name “Archian” is actually derived from a Greek God. While brainstorming on multiple names, this appeared to be pretty unique and liked by other stakeholders who partnered with me in my journey.
Archian Foods Private Limited owns the brand “Lahori”, a homegrown “made in India” non-alcoholic beverage brand that formulates beverages that are inspired from Indian kitchen. The company aims at bringing authentic flavours from the streets of India to the people of India as a tasteful and joyful experience under the brand name “Lahori ”.
The brand “Lahori” began its operations since 2017 to fill the white space of “desi” flavours or alternately to declutter the market from the Cola drinks.”
The mission was to re-introduce the naturally flavoured beverage inspired from the traditional basket of Indian favourites which are more relatable with the masses and packed with the goodness of natural ingredients from the Indian Household.
The plan is to provide the target audience with the opportunity to choose a beverage that is more suited to the Indian palate and offers unique options other than typical tea, coffee and colas.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
As a young founding team, we have also aspired to build a future-ready business which is less people-intensive, data-oriented and automated as much as possible. Covid enabled us to fast-track this endeavour. We can proudly claim that we are building an extremely sustainable business – key elements are:
~ Our business model consists of a lean team which is not at all resource-heavy and has minimal overheads.
~ Manufacturing is completely automated with zero human contact in the entire process of packaging the bottles.
~ Every aspect of the business is online and tech-enabled to ensure automation as much as possible.
We continue to optimize our operations to bring in continued efficiencies as we scale.
What is the uniqueness of the Brand and what’s the way forward?
The ambrosial taste built on exceptional quality and use of 100% natural ingredients has instantly created its niche in North Indian states as a preferred “Desi Flavor Drink” capturing the heart of the masses. The Brand has formed an instant connection with both the elite and the masses alike across cities, towns and villages and is eventually on road to become a pan-India brand with its evergreen flavours ingrained to the roots of the nation.
The love that the brand has got from its patrons is awe-inspiring and honestly, that love is what drives us every day to make sure that we make the brand “Lahori” as big as it possibly can be and to ensure that the entire country gets the opportunity to choose Lahori as their preferred drink. The goal is to become the top 3 beverage brand of the country and this drives us to continuously innovate and grow.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
Have always wanted to be a very successful businessman for me to not only provide well for my family but to make myself capable of doing greater good for humanity.
Everyone who knows me knows the one thing that makes me the happiest is doing well at work. Of course, it goes without saying; the support of my family to be able to focus on work is unwavering.”
The way my brand “Lahori” has been accepted and loved by the consumers gives me immense gratification and motivation to continue to grow this brand and be the biggest non-cola brand in the country.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Getting the right opportunity and performing to the best of your capability when you get that opportunity.
Ability to take risks, set targets and work towards delivering them.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Quiet a few actually but to list down a few are:
> To be consistently open-minded and learn from each individual and situation
> Empathize with my team and employees
> Diabolical vision – To maintain a balance between our short-term goals and long-term vision
> Courage to take risks & venture into uncharted territories.
> Delegation with Accountability
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
A good product is the key to success. Our product does the talking for us.
We are happy to vouch that we have the best formulation and a mindset to institutionalise our brand
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Leadership is about building a good team, and agility in decision making.
As a leader, I am calm, have a problem-solving approach and can get the work done in any circumstance.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
There are no set formulae to success.
One has to find their way. Also most importantly, success is not a destination but the journey itself. Just make sure to stick to your principles and enjoy the ride because when you get there, the next challenging milestone is already waiting to be achieved.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Find your way (give Google maps, some rest 😊). I am myself doing the same.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
