Failed Restaurant Business Propelled Inception Of INR 1K Cr Veeba: Founder Bahl

SUMMARY

Veeba Foods CEO’s restaurant business Pocketful shut down three years after operations in 2013

Founded in 2013, the condiments manufacturer claims to have crossed the INR 1,000 Cr revenue mark in FY24

Bahl attributed customer love that Veeba has received over the years to the company's process of adding an Indian touch to western sauces like Chipotle

Speaking during a session at Inc42’s D2C Summit, sauce major Veeba Foods’ founder and MD Viraj Bahl unfolded how his earlier restaurant business, shut down after three years in 2013, led him to realise a white space in India’s condiments and sauce space.

Bahl said that while he put the same amount of hard work in setting up and running his restaurant business, Veeba’s success is more gratifying than what he could have realised from the restaurant chain named Pocketful.

“If I cannot take the credit for the complete failure of the restaurant business, I cannot take the complete credit for the success of the sauce business. I’m very proud to say each CXO is better than me in their verticals,” he said.

Founded in 2013, Veeba started as a B2B supplier of condiments for QSR chains like Dominos and has ventured into retail space. Following entrance into the retail space, the company has gained favour from consumers as well and scaled up to INR 1,000 Cr in revenues for FY24.

On Veeba’s success, Bahl said that he is proud to have built a solely Indianised sauce company. “Veeba has seen uniform amounts of love from consumers across the country. City wise, our customer base is the largest in Delhi, state wise it is Maharashtra, and region wise it is South. We are truly nation first.”

Bahl attributed customer love that Veeba has received over the years to the company’s process of adding an Indian touch to western sauces like Chipotle.

While Veeba was one of the earliest movers in building homegrown sauce based markets, newer companies have emerged to take a chunk of the pie. Some of these startups include Wingreen, MasterChow, Gusto Chef.

All of these homegrown players take over big conglomerates like Unilever, Mondelez, Kissan, among others.

Meanwhile, Bahl said that the company maintains the same level of vigil on new brands coming up as well as older players. He said that he gets very insecure if he comes across any sauce offering better than Veeba.

The mounting pressure for Veeba in the space comes at a time when the broader market is on an upward trajectory. According to Inc42 Plus, the online fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market is poised to reach $25 Bn by 2025, with packaged food being the major category in terms of market potential.

The D2C Summit is presented by Broadway, co-presented by Simpl and Emiza, powered by Venture Catalysts++, Zippee, Pay10 and Mobavenue, along with associate partners NITRO and Rukam Capital.