After last year’s on-ground flagship event, Flavors 2021 made a comeback in a crisper, virtual, format featuring big names in the food and beverage industry, including Rahul Akerkar, Amruda Nair, Raghav Joshi, Rajat Mahajan, Navin Honagudi and Sahil Jatana. Our associate partner for the evening was EagleOwl, who provide restaurant management and analytics software.
Rahul Akerkar, Founder and Managing Partner at Qualia Hospitality LLP and India’s original restaurant entrepreneur, kicked off the evening with a keynote address. He shared his views on how the pandemic has presented new challenges to restaurant owners apart from dealing with existing burdens like massive overheads and crippling GST rates. Overnight, the lockdown forced restaurant owners to shut shop and develop new strategies to keep their patrons engaged, including having themed weekend meals. Rahul graciously took on questions from the audience and the MA team. He reflected on his incredible journey in the food industry, his passion reflecting in the fresh perspective he manages to maintain when it comes to the assortment of meals that he serves up at his new restaurant - Qualia.
The keynote address was followed up with a riveting panel discussion featuring Amruda Nair - Director, Araiya Hotels & Resorts, Raghav Joshi - Co-founder & CEO- India BU, Rebel Foods, Sahil Jatana - Co-founder, SVAMI, and Navin Honagudi- Managing Director, Kae Capital, while Rajat Mahajan, Partner at Deloitte India, took on the mantle of moderator. The topic for discussion was about creating a parity of experience across various platforms. The food and beverage sector has been forced to adapt to a constantly evolving pandemic which is yet to come to a close, and in this time, several pre-existing business models have had to undergo drastic changes. Before the pandemic, restaurateurs relied on patrons queuing up at their doors, but have now been forced to deliver their gourmet meals instead, and are being challenged to create memorable dining experiences. Beverage companies were forced to shift focus from Ho/Re/Ca to purely retail and online sales to stay afloat, unable to depend on the otherwise burgeoning party circuit . Restaurants whose clientele generally included travellers, had to change strategy and reach out to locals. Additionally, the food and beverage industry were hit with rising costs owing to the safety and hygiene protocols they have been forced to implement because of the pandemic. At the end of the day, the changes have been complex and many and with no end in sight just yet for the pandemic, entrepreneurs have had to rise to the occasion. Amidst all of this change, they have had to adapt, innovate and most importantly, and learn to survive and thrive in this new normal.
The panellists shared their views, drawing upon their own varied set of experiences in the past year. Bringing in the investment angle were Rajat and Navin who spoke about evaluating and tracking various metrics to understand the new dynamics of success and failure. From the entrepreneurs’ perspective, Sahil and Raghav, shared how they were pushed to transform their business approaches to pull through this difficult period as Amruda Nair, who is both an investor and entrepreneur, shared her unique insight, marrying these two different schools of thought. With a shared passion for food, beverages and hospitality, our speakers and lively audience, made Flavors 2021, a truly vibrant, virtual celebration of food.
