1441 Pizzeria was founded in March 2016 by Krishna Gupta and Istayak Ansari.
The concept of 1441 Pizzeria is a quick casual pizzeria where you can make your own pizza from over 50 toppings, with 4 sauces, 4 cheese options and several veggies and meats - it's one of the most unique pizzeria's in the country.
The startup emphasis on the quality of the dough and sauce, for it is also imported from Italy and hand kneaded in authentic tradition to retain its nutritive value.
About The FoundersMr. Krishna Gupta – Managing DirectorYoung and dynamic Mr. Krishna Gupta is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in India. Hailing from the most coveted business house Lloyd's group, leadership and innovativeness are inherent qualities in this young gun.
Krishna, who is 24 years, completed his schooling from one of the elite schools of Mumbai, Ecole Mondiale School and high schooling from Epsom College near London. A management graduate, Krishna specialized in International Business from Brunel University, UK. He felt the tug to gain practical hands-on expertise and thus interned at an American Company, World Steel Dynamics. A luxury aficionado, Krishna understood one's innate need for bedecking himself with luxury and style.
In 2014, the self-motivated entrepreneur started luxury arm called Lloyds Luxury with the zeal to add a spark to the luxury segment in the nation. 1441 Pizzeria is the brainchild of this young gun.
Mr. Istayak Ansari – Director & Co-founderEquipped with a MBA in Marketing from MET (Mumbai) and M.Com in Business Management from Mumbai University, Mr. Istayak Ansari, has more than 15 years of experience in business.
Ansari’s last professional stint was with Gold’s Gym as a Chief Operating Officer. He was instrumental in setting up over 86+ Gold’s Gym outlets across 46+ cities in India. Mr. Istayak Ansari quit Gold’s Gym in 2013 to pursue his entrepreneurial enterprises. After an eventful career in Gold's Gym, he forayed into the Beauty and Wellness industry by becoming founding Director of Lloyds Luxuries Ltd. which owns the Master Franchise for Truefitt & Hill in India and 6 other countries as is his first entrepreneurial venture.
Ansari’s family business was that of a bakery, which specializes in breads, cookies and cakes made in a wood fired oven. Given these roots, it’s no surprise that he was inspired to follow his passion and start a Wood Fired Pizzeria of his own.
Chitrakshi Suneja Interacts With Krishna Gupta, Managing Director, Pizzeria And Spoke To Him
Idea Generation
My love for Pizzas. Having eaten some of the best Pizzas across the globe, I have been fortunate enough to be able to get a taste of some of the most distinct and amazing flavours! We are something like a family of pizza aficionados.
I’ve been wanting to start a Pizzeria in India which serves authentic Italian wood fired pizza which is affordable, tasty and healthy. Since it’s a relatively new idea, the future business prospects seemed promising. I saw a gap in the market for a Quick Casual concept for making your own pizzas and customizing it with your own toppings in unlimited quantities so that each pizza is unique and made to fit the customer's taste.
Special FeaturesWe are first in the country to explore the space of letting the customers make their own pizzas in a quick casual format. Allowing the customers to personalize their pizzas with over 50 topping options. We use a wood fire oven to bake our pizzas, this is not a very common feature in this country but we feel like it adds to the authenticity of the cuisine.
Also our ingredients are unique and of high quality (Flour and Tomatoes from Italy) our pizzas are uniquely flavoured and there are a lot of toppings to choose from. You will be spoiled for choice. We try and incorporate as much as we can at an affordable price for our customers.
Differentiation FactorsAllowing customers to stand in a kitchen with us and make their own pizzas, is a concept that is extremely different from any existing one. Ours is a pizzeria, where in which you can make a hundred different combinations. Using a solely wood fired oven to bake the pizza and using Italian ingredients at affordable prices, has not been seen before.
Offering unlimited coke refills is also a first. We also try and come up with unique pizza toppings like a coffee pizza or say, a fish pizza where pieces of fish are used as toppings.
Challenges FacedStaffing and training was one of the biggest challenges. In an industry with high attrition rates and new restaurants opening up every day. Many of the staff members who have gone through a detailed and extensive training schedule tend to leave for a hike in salary, without any notice!
For the first 2 months we had a high attrition rate, making it difficult to manage operations. Many of the staff are unskilled and new to the field, and training them is another challenge and time consuming.
Funding And MonetizationNo plans at the moment. We launched our first Pizzeria on March 16 (4 Months ago) we still have a long way to go till we think about any funding. Our Focus is on profitability, stabilizing operations, growing organically and building our brand into one that can be recognized among the people.
Since we are a Restaurant, our sales are all in store (Pizzas, Starters, Desserts, Beverages). Delivery accounts for 5-7% of our sales at the moment (Started one month ago), looking to increase it significantly in the coming months by marketing extensively.
Traction DetailsWe currently have 2 Pizzerias in Mumbai, and do an average of 70-80 customers per day per pizzeria growing month on month. On the weekends we touch 150+ customers/ Pizzeria.
Market Size And Opportunity We are in a unique segment, which is relatively new: Quick Casual, Which taps majorly into the QSR segment offering a more premium product, in terms of quality and experience. The QSR segment in india is at around Rs. 9,000 CR growing at 25% CAGR, set to reach 25,000 CR by 2020. Pizzas of which is the fastest growing food segment, and has great opportunity to scale and grow in every city in the country!
BW Reporters
This is Chitrakshi Suneja currently pursuing graduation and diploma in journalism and mass communication. She is crazy about Writing stuff on Startups, Entrepreneurs and reading as well.
