When Kazem Samandari, executive chairman of L'Opera, set up his first patisserie in Delhi's Khan Market, he wasn't looking to just tickle the palate of expats in India but he also wanted to tap Indian connoisseurs. He told Praveena Sharma that today 90% of customers at his 13 outlets are Indians and that he is planning to expand beyond National Capital Region (NCR) to other major cities. After spending $3.5 million (around Rs 23 crore) over the last five years, Samandari is in process of raising Rs 40 crore and has hired Langham Capital for the same.
How challenging was it to set a French patisserie and bakery chain in India?
Initially, we had to get personnel from France and we still get French chefs to train our bakers and chefs. It was difficult to get right raw material for our products too. We use some imported products like butter, cream, chocolate and others to maintain the quality for our products. Before we went in for a full-fledged launch of our first outlet in Khan Market we used the French embassy kitchen to make our products. Though, today we have a 12,000-square feet production facility where we make our products and transport to our 13 outlets.
How different is your revenue model compared to other patisserie?
We have multiple sales channels. While the majority of our sales is through our 13 outlets in the NCR, we also earn a substantial part of our revenues from institutional sales and direct orders for customised desserts from top-end restaurants in five-star hotels and online sales on our website.
How are funding you venture, and how much more do you plan to raise?
We are currently funded by family and friends but we have hired Langham Capital to raise Rs 40 crore to expand our outlets to cities outside NCR like Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Dehradun. We have invested around $3.5 million over the last five years in our business. We plan to take the number of our outlets to over 50 in the next four years. We are in the final stages of our discussion with interested venture capitalists (VCs), private equity (PE) funds and will soon be getting funded.
Why did you choose India for your patisserie?
The decision to start a patisserie in India was taken after 15-16 months of systematic study. We call ourselves an Indian company with a French heart. After the study, we came to the conclusion that there was an opportunity for us in India, not just to cater to expats but also Indians. Today, 90% of our customers are Indians. Indians appreciate high quality, and so we positioned L-Opera as a high-street patisserie brand.
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