Mr. Ketan Kalra, the founder of Super donuts Company shared his entrepreneurial journey so far.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an entrepreneur.
I have done my graduation from Panjab University, Chandigarh with Honors in Economics. Then pursued a course in Food and Technology from London, UK. Followed by an MBA in International Marketing from Symbiosis, Pune. Super Donuts is a Chandigarh based brand, which was started in 2012. I always knew I eventually wanted to be an entrepreneur. While I was doing this course, I was simultaneously setting up my own business. I spent a lot of time figuring out where I was going to get my raw material from and how I wanted my idea to stand out. Even sourcing from Europe required quite a lot of research from my end. I managed to do so successfully, which led to the beginning of Super Donuts.
2. Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs. You see – It’s fascinating how you build something from scratch to build an empire around it and not everyone can do it. It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills. Hailing from a business family, I bought a chance from my father, who agreed to fund the company on the condition that I would come back to the family business if the odds go against me. But I was determined to do something different.
During college, I chose food and technology intentionally because I was very passionate about following world food trends. Hence came out with the concept Super donuts which serves s 40 different kinds of donuts which were innovated by me.
3. What was the vision behind it?
Think global, act local, while preparing the menu, I tried several mixtures and it took me months before arriving at the perfect taste. The aim was to make doughnuts with localized taste which are soft, fluffy, and melt in the mouth. Super Donuts also claims to not add any sugar syrups. Chandigarh is the hub of the company’s manufacturing facilities.
4. Describe the services that you offer to your customers and in what way they are unique?
Super Donuts has a total of 40 flavors including the Gulab Jamun doughnut and the Kaju Katli flavor which were introduced during Diwali. Other varieties include Oreo Dust, Cookie Dough Monster, Billion Dollar Ferrero, and many more. The doughnuts are priced between Rs 90 and Rs 130. While other doughnut brands have stuck to the core, this brand has diversified into the snacks category, offering coffee, milkshakes, bagels, sandwiches, pizzas, etc, all of which are priced between Rs 100 to Rs 250. The intention behind this move is to have something for both kinds of customers — those who want to consume something sweet and those who don’t. When we started expanding our offering, our sales went up by 20-30 new customers coming in every day.
5. What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?
It is said that wrong paths often take one to the right destination. Something similar happened to me. At 20, I was pursuing rally driving when I met with an accident. This compelled me to change careers and I went to the UK to do a course in food and technology. During this time, in 2011, street vendors offering doughnuts caught my eye.
I applied for a master franchisee in Chandigarh for the Dunkin Donuts brand but received a rejection two days later. They were unsure about handing over the brand to someone inexperienced considering my age. It is then that it occurred to me to start a doughnut brand of my own. I flew back to the UK to complete my research about doughnuts and even visited Belgium which helped me gain a deeper understanding of the industry and the sources needed for my raw materials.
“The initial years were fun but very hard also. I had to learn and do everything from scratch. Organizing the business, streamlining its operations, getting the taxes in place, and hiring and maintaining the staff, I had to ruffle my feathers to get everything right.
6. How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I believe success and stress go hand in hand. Yes, there are times when things turn topsy turvy. You have no idea how to sort the chaos, which leads to sleepless nights, low appetite, and whatnot. This is the moment when you have to recall the reasons that motivated you to start and the endings that you have dreamt of. None the less, nature has always been therapeutic for me.
7. In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Emotional discipline and work ethics lead to monetary success.
8. What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
You can never ever make everyone happy and satisfied. Don’t let negative feedback put you down. If you find it constructive, imply. If not, then the comments of anonymity shouldn’t stop you. You are not here to impress the world but to explore your own potentials, find an expansion of yourself in varied areas. Rise and shine!
Connect here,
Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ketan-kalra-7a6a6163/
Website:www.superdounts.in
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