Extensive Expansion - mm! maroosh!

Impresa Hospitality Management currently owns and manages 17 mm! maroosh outlets in Mumbai and Pune, with extensive expansion plans for the QSR brand chalked out in the next few years.

Till July 2015 we will add 23 outlets, including five in all PVRs in Mumbai. We have signed up with PVR and all these five outlets will be launched soon. We are looking out for other locations as well. After consolidating our position in Mumbai and Pune, we plan to enter Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai markets, along with tier II cities which have a high aspiration value. This will be followed by a pan Asian expansion after 24 months – Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Dubai.

However, the company is not looking at growing through the franchise model and all the outlets will be self-owned. We are simultaneously back-ending our production strongly. Next year when we move out of the city, it will be a copy – paste job.

Currently Impresa Hospitality Management does not have a centralised kitchen and we outsource this part of our operation. We have tie-ups with vendors for this, while we manage the QSRs. The recipes are our own which we give to them under a non-disclosure agreement.  Lebanese cuisine is familiar to the Indian palate and the company's outlets have always been popular from the time the first QSR was launched in 2000. It was the first interactive concept, much before something like Subway came up. You get to eat fresh and see the cooking done before you – that element works very well.

While Shawarmas remain the quintessential favourite, vegetarian options like Hummus and Falafels are increasingly getting popular, along with salads like Fattoush and Tabbouleh. We have introduced Baked Falafel and are concentrating on an interesting vegetarian spread.

Your Office Space - A Reflection of You!

I would like to believe that my office tells the story of all my professional adventures. Overlooking the Racecourse, besides reflecting my eclectic taste in art, the interiors of my Mumbai office also reflect my love for a good laugh.

1. A sculpture by Mumbai artist Satpal, captured my imagination because of the clever structure and illusion. It was the perfect outdoor talking piece for our 800 sq ft terrace. 

2. Look at their faces and you will be forced to smile back. The rustic, red Chinese couple caught my eye during a trip to China and I thought they would add a touch of humour to the otherwise serene setting.

3. Another pick from China, I have two versions of elegant white figures. Instead of keeping the pair together, I prefer to keep them apart, each standing out on its own. 

4. I've got a chess board that I love to bring out when I feel the need to relax.

5. My most priced possession has to be my Nespresso machine that I bought during one of my trips abroad. It is right next to where I sit which says a lot about my caffeine obsession!

6. Lastly how can I forget my beloved drone - this finds a place of pride in my office - just for kicks ofcourse! I call it the parrot and I promise you I don't use it to spy on my competitors or deliver pizzas (haha)! Flying the drone on my terrace is a real stress-buster.

MM! Maroosh Expansion Plans

At present, MM! Maroosh operates seventeen stores in Mumbai. Our target is to open a total of 35 stores in Mumbai by March 31, 2015. After that, we will go for a pan-India expansion.

Alongside this we plan to centralise our production and tighten our systems and processes, namely information technology, training, etc. We plan to invest approximately Rs 15 crore in the next two years.

Where did we get the funds to facilitate this? We were valued at Rs 50 crore, and raised funds from Unilazer Ventures, whose promoter is Ronnie Screwvala. As I’ve mentioned earlier, what Ronnie brings to the table is not just money, but also value creation for our brand. Getting our back-end and ecosystem right is crucial as we look to expand!

First-Mover Advantage

Lebanese cuisine is rapidly rising in popularity in India. We were one of the earliest entrants in this space with Maroosh (now re-branded mm! Maroosh). That is essentially what makes us different from the other players in this space. Other players, who offered burgers and pizzas at the time, did not have that edge.

We concentrate on quick, authentic Lebanese cuisine, with an addition of Indian cuisine to appeal to the local market. We keep our classics authentic, and offer variations to suit the local palates. The blends of flavours and spices used in Middle-Eastern cuisine are similar to those used in Indian cuisine, so it suits us. That is the reason for the former’s popularity in India.

We have added baked falafel, spicy chicken shawarma and chicken tikka shawarma, with hummus in three variants (parsley, sun-dried and tomato), and we will introduce a special every quarter.

Keep watching this space for more updates on mm! maroosh.

Rebranded Maroosh

Popular Lebanese QSR, Maroosh now dons a new avatar with the super chic & exceedingly delish mm! maroosh. The launch of our two brand new outlets of mm! maroosh, one at Reclamation in Bandra and the other at Shivaji Park in Dadar, mark the beginning of a pan-Asian expansion of our brand.

The first quick service restaurant in the Lebanese cuisine segment, Maroosh has a target to reach an outlet count of 30 by the end of the year, all of which will be mm! maroosh including the already existent ones.

mm! maroosh will bear a new look and feel in its newly launched outlets, with a revamped menu and new packaging supported by a robust marketing campaign both on-ground and on social media. The focus will be primarily on Lebanese cuisine, with quintessential favorites of Shawarmas, Hummus and Pita Bread, Lebanese Salads and Falafels taking centre stage. For the Indian food loving audience, mm! maroosh offers a range of mouth-watering Indian wraps, starters and main courses apart from the Lebanese best-sellers. 

Watch this space for more!

Definition of Luxury

Luxury means something that appears to be the best of whatever it represents; a term that raises expectations and makes one work harder towards achieving it.

Luxury, to me, is comfort in the best possible way. Luxury is also a statement to be made, with the car you drive, and the watch you wear, for instance. Luxury also is that extra asset other than usual possessions, like a holiday home or a yacht.

My first luxury purchase was a convertible sports car - the Pontiac firebird. It's an American sports car, which was imported from the States. I was just 24 back when I purchased it. The thrill of buying something from my hard-earned money was indescribable!