The group already operates four food and beverage brands Shitakke, Twenty.21, Oval Bar and Binge.
The group is looked at as an international luxury offering because it brings to the table a lot of international tastes - Mediterranean, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Thai. The concept was conceived by its three directors: Gilbert Soman, Shibu Thomas and Suhani Mehta.
For the hospitality group, Shitakke is the heart of Oriental cuisine while European/Mediterranean fare rules supreme at Twenty.21. Binge is one of the most popular lounging experiences and Oval Bar is setting new standards for parties.
“Fine dining culture in India is on a rise but what we are consciously trying to incorporate is relaxed fine dining where ambience, authentic food and décor play a very important role. We have quickly grown in size as well as in terms of revenue since we have established the brands in Bengaluru known for good food and ambience,” Suhani Mehta, director, Orange Tomato, told FnB News in an email interaction.
“Of the four brands, Shitakke is the fastest growing. There is a lot of potential for making it into a franchise,” she added.
Current marketing strategy of the company is via digital media which is essentially Facebook, radio ad campaigns, food festivals, flyers and word-of-mouth. Going forward, the group is keen to include the ‘Chef's Table.’
The hospitability start-up opted for Bengaluru to kick off its operations because of the large presence of youth population and a cosmopolitan environ.
The food and beverage sector is at an inflexion point with disposable income, and access to information. People will have less time to cook and so eating out is now more of an entertainment. Therefore this is the right time to be a part of the restaurant landscape. In fact there has hardly been any impact of either the global recession or domestic food inflation, according to Mehta.
“The visible trends are that people either value conscious dining and are willing to splurge for quality food served in the right ambience. If there is a location which is less central, then there has to be a value offering along with good food. The consumer is also spoilt for choice,” she pointed out.
Current challenges for food & beverage outlets are shortage of trained personnel including good chefs, lack of innovative advertising opportunities besides high real estate costs.
