BakeryBiz, May-Jun, 2021
Chef Anees Khan, Founder, Star Anise Fine Foods & Leisure Pvt. Ltd
Chef Anees Khan, Founder, Star Anise Fine Foods & Leisure Pvt. Ltd., with his multi-dimensional experience in the baking and patisserie horizon, believes that there are good things in store for the baking industry in India. In conversation with BakeryBiz he lets us in for a sneak peek into his world and tells us about the future plans including opportunities for strategic investments and association with business partners to take the brand to other cities.
The horizons of the baking industry have seen a tremendous change. Please tell us about the current state of the baking industry in India, in light of the COVID 19 situation?
The pandemic has caused irreparable damage to the hospitality industry and the effect has been very hard on individuals, restaurants, hotels, bars, banquet halls and other hospitality related businesses. Bakery industry is the only one with a silver lining on the horizon and has performed much better than anticipated. People would still want their fresh loaf of bread and even in times of adversity, we are celebrating birthdays and events. The demand has actually gone north and lot of bakeries have done better business than normal times. People also trusted the comforting fact that baked goods are much safer to consume when fully baked.
Tell us about your journey? When and how was Star Anise conceptualized?
I always dreamt of becoming a doctor but fate somehow had other grand plans for me. On my father’s insistence, I gave the Diploma in Hotel Management entrance exam and cleared the interview as well. My culinary journey started with IHM Chennai and I was inclined towards Continental kitchen. Landed my first job in 1997 as a Kitchen executive with The Leela Mumbai but never got to work in the continental kitchen.
Expat pastry chefs influenced us greatly in those times by their skill and talent. That’s how my love for patisserie and baking started. Got an opportunity to work for several brands like Fairmont, Kempinski, JW Marriott’s, Hyatt Regency, Six Senses in several continents as Executive Pastry Chef. All this while seeds of entrepreneurship were sown in my mind and I wanted to return back to my homeland and start something of my own. Star Anise was born in the year 2010 when I returned back to India for good. Since then we have been dishing out thousands of desserts and baking an equal amount of baked goods.
You have been involved in industrial and other forms of catering. How has the growth been? How have the market dynamics for that changed since the pandemic was announced?
We started the B2B way when we launched Star Anise and went on to accomplish many feats in curating multi cuisine food and dessert stations for large caterers, banquet halls and corporate clients. The company has successfully catered a variety of a la carte plated desserts to very large gatherings up to 4,000 people and more. Pre covid we were growing at an impressive rate of 20-30 per cent a year because of the quality and presentation we brought on the table. Post pandemic the dynamics have certainly changed for the entire industry and we were no exception. With the restrictions on number of guests, it has been a case of beating all odds and surviving. Most banquet halls and caterers are just about surviving catering to small numbers of guests.
Moving out from the corporate parks, in the recent past, you have got into the retail segment. Tell us about how the response has been?
Since corporates closed their gates in the 3rd week of March 2020, we also had to shut our cafes in corporate parks until things reopen. There was not much happening in other verticals of our industry, that’s when I decided for a retail outlet. Investing in a brand new patisserie store wasn’t viable for the company so we decided to look for business partners. It was quiet difficult since we had no retail presence and our business partners wanted a
physical store.
The goodwill that our company had over the years helped us seal the deal for 2 premium locations (Lokhandwala and Colaba). Retail is a different ball
game all together and one needs to adapt quickly to guest needs and requirements. The experience has been great and people have really liked our products and services. We are coming up with SIS (store in store) concept in Bandra and are scouting for a retail space in Powai as we speak.
A large number of bakers, especially bread manufacturers have reported growth in business during the pandemic. What has been your experience?
Absolutely yes. Many bakeries and bread production units tasted success in the pandemic owing to the surge in demand for bakery products. targeting a market that knows its food a bit, a market which has travelled a bit and can relate to the product we offer. COVER STORY 20 bakery biz MAY – JUNE – 2021. Since our core business is patisserie and breads, we also did decent numbers. We adapted quickly and introduced various new products as per the market demand.
What do you foresee as the future of the industry, now that the vaccine is available?
I can definitely sense better times ahead for the world since the public slowly and steadily is getting vaccinated. Most of us need to have some patience and stay put for some time before the market opens. I am very optimistic for the baking industry and foresee a good growth.
Would we see your brand spread out to other cities outside Mumbai soon? What are the target markets?
We are consolidating ourselves in Mumbai at the moment and tying a few loose ends before we venture to other cities and B- Towns. We are targeting a market that knows its food a bit, a market which has travelled a bit and can relate to the product we offer. Television and social media has played its part to perfection and we want to make use of that medium to reach to newer pastures over a period of time.
Are you going to be taking the franchisee route to augment brand growth across the interest markets?
We are open for strategic investments as well as looking for business partners to take our brand to other interesting cities and towns. We do have enquiries for franchisees but due to the pandemic, everyone concerned is having a wait and watch policy. There will be a lot of clarity in the coming months and I think 2022 is going to be a good year for brand “Star Anise Patisserie”.
Training has been an integral part of your business. Your Master Class has been greatly followed not just by home bakers, but professionals as well. Would the future see this activity convert into some institutional format?
I have always believed that knowledge is meant to be shared with as many enthusiasts as possible. I love interacting with students, home bakers and industry professionals alike and hence the online master classes from our studio at our central kitchen, Kurla. There have been talks with a few individuals to take the master class concept on a large scale format and we are keeping our fingers crossed.
What is going to be next for Chef Anees?
We have already started an Oriental cloud kitchen facility from our central kitchen at Kurla by assembling a team for the same and are actively pushing sales on the online space. I would certainly love to take “Star Anise Patisserie” pan India and would want to set up a large baking kitchen in Odisha and expand Star Anise in my home state which has given me so much.
What would be your word of advice for members of the fraternity?
It is easier said than done, but I would urge my baking fraternity not to lose hope and keep innovating and come up with concepts that are relevant to the times. We need to stay alive by cutting down our overheads, reduce wastages as required and save for the future which looks promising. Better things are in the offing and stay positive would be my mantra.
