Armed with an excel sheet and young-spirited optimism, Nicky Alfred and Claudin knock on the doors of CEOs from the food industry. “You can scale your brand five x faster with more profits,” Claudin would say, “While investing zero money,” Nicky would add. At that instant, Nicky would input details about the restaurant’s cash flow into the excel. On the screen, one could see the wide gap in the estimated profit for opening an outlet or franchise and partnering with Smoose. The offer is enticing with almost 25 percent more royalty.
“Think of it like D-Mart,” Nicky says, referring to the Indian retail giant, “Except, we partner with restaurants and sell their products.” Every restaurant has a specific ingredient and way of assembling its food. These processes add up to the ‘secret sauce’ that makes a brand what it is. The ingredients and processes (also called SOPs) are bought by the startup at a nominal cost and executed at Smoose assembly stations across the city.
