Meet Kewal Ahuja, the man behind Spice Grill Flame (SGF)

1. Tell us about your expertise and experience 

I’m Kewal Ahuja, the man behind Spice Grill Flame (SGF). I’m on a mission to make my brand one of the leading pure vegetarian food chains in India. I’m a Delhi University Graduate, who started with a single outlet in 2015, and now owns more than 54+ outlets all around the country.

I started my journey as an entrepreneur and achieved the heights always wanted. My passion for food and enthusiasm for cooking led me to the thought of providing best-in-class quality and services to everyone. The motivation behind SGF was the lack of options for pure vegetarian outlets in the market. For anyone who strongly prefers just vegetarian food and can’t cope up with non-vegetarian food utensils, finds it difficult to find a restaurant that considers this. The lack of varieties in pure vegetarian food, quality, and the hygienic conditions of food items in some outlets gave birth to this brilliant idea. When I started this journey, I faced a lot of hurdles which includes high rents for the outlets, non-uniformity in taste, quality of staff members, and lack of innovative ideas for market competition. But I never gave up. These complications rather became my stepping stones. To ensure the best output, I never compromised with the quality and hygiene of the food.

Now, I always keep an eye on the process of preparing the orders. With the great efforts of my team, we have managed to maintain our position in the market for so many years.  

SGF and I recently won The Times Food Delivery Icons Award 2020, making SGF one of the best options for vegetarian delicacies. I strongly agree with the fact that everything is possible only with the efforts of the team. I believe that a strong team is the core of any organization and wishes to see my brand expand further in the future.

2. What’s the USP of your brand/restaurant and the range of your offerings?

The motivation behind SGF was the lack of options of pure vegetarian outlets and varieties in pure vegetarian food in the market. For anyone who strongly prefers just vegetarian food and can’t cope up with non-vegetarian food utensils, it is difficult for them to find a restaurant that considers this.

Due to these issues faced by a lot of people, I gave birth to this idea. The USP of the brand is to provide Pure Vegetarian food keeping hygiene and quality at utmost priority.

SGF India offers a wide range of food, starting from Rolls & wraps to varieties of Chinese combos. SGF India is known for a wide variety of chaap, like Tandoori chaap, Malaichaap, Masala chaap, Afghani chaap, Sufi chaap and also, Diet Chaat.

3. Please spell out some key challenges in launching/opening a new brand/restaurant?

SGF India began with a single outlet in 2015 when I realized that the option in pure vegetarian food was lacking. So, we started the work and gradually understood that high rentals, quality, uniform taste, quality staffing, and regular innovation are the top performers for having loyal customers in a market filled with competitors. Currently, SGF possesses more than 300 dedicated employees who are the pillars of SGF and the whole team of experts. SGF specializes in tasty, high-protein vegetarian food which is an amazing substitute for meat.

4. What helped you the most in launching your brand?

I think any business requires a vision, dedicated and skilled staff, and a versatile menu with a multitude of dishes that are tasty, nutritious, and affordable for everyone. The development of meat substitutes in the form of quality soy products has been the cherry on top ensuring health and taste during the pandemic.

5. What according to you are the trickiest issues to tackle these days in the hospitality/food business?

The trickiest issue is to keep your customers with you for a long time. One bad day at work means poor taste and you’ll lose your valuable clients.

SGF India aims to make lip-smacking delicacies at affordable rates so that everyone can afford them. At the same time, ensuring sanitation and safety is also essential and non-negotiable in the hospitality/food business. Ensuring high standards of safety and services is of prime importance.