After being a cloud kitchen, Samosa Singh, the street food king, has opened its first dine-in outlet in Thane, Mumbai. Co-founder Nidhi Singh and her husband, SV Singh, quit their thriving careers as scientists to pursue their dream of creating an Indian street snack brand. Times were tough, especially during the pandemic. But their hard work and perseverance paid off. Today, Samosa Singh is synonymous with yummy, mouthwatering, hygienic street food.
Here, Nidhi talks about their brand Samosa Singh, its unique name, the transition from being scientists to entrepreneurs and how despite challenges, they managed to thrive and create a brand that’s causing quite a stir in the street food segment.
Excerpts from the interview:
What made you two leave your jobs to start Samosa Singh?
Samosa Singh was started to address the highly unmet need in the market — to bridge the existing gap in the Indian samosa market by providing a hygienic, fresh, and thrilling convergence of types with regional tastes in one location, resulting in a large popular appeal. We quit our careers to pursue our dream of creating an Indian snack brand and what better than our very own samosas and street food? We were sure of our dream coming to realisation and had no qualms about putting in all our savings, and newly-built home into the business. Through Samosa Singh, we’ve found a way to strengthen this bond, and by positioning ourselves as leaders in the under-penetrated and fragmented gourmet snack market, Samosa Singh is poised for immense growth.
What is the story behind the name?
The name throws up so many images. Colourful and eclectic, just like our country. The Singh surname is shared by almost 36 million Indians. It’s a commoner’s surname, the symbol of their roots. So, when we decided to adopt the one snack that bound this country’s cultures, we went a step ahead and decided to surprise ourselves — we didn’t just give it a new look, taste or feel… We gave it a surname — Samosa Singh. And, we made it a part of our family.
Samosa Singh started as a cloud kitchen, right?
India has a huge demand for our street foods and there is a big unmet need in the market. During Covid when movement was restricted the best option was to reach out to the consumers with our street food through online deliveries and cloud kitchens. The response was overwhelming and consumers loved our fresh samosas and chaats.
As a couple in the same business, what are the challenges you faced?
It has been a long and eventful journey of being a scientist and then giving it all up to build a high-growth business. As first-time entrepreneurs, we put everything we made into the business. Truthfully, we have seen it all! There were tough days — including COVID-19, which changed the dynamics and overnight the revenue slumped to almost zero. But we never gave up and worked the hardest during these years. And, today, we have managed to tread the path of building a multi-million dollar business with passion. As rightly said, if you want the rainbow, you have to deal with the rain.
What are the milestones in your journey you are proud of?
From a working couple to entrepreneurs, from a single outlet to a multi-city status, from selling a single samosa to over 80 million pieces and from a two-member team to a fired-up team of almost 180 youngsters, SV and I have crossed our first frontiers as we look at the future with bright eyes.
What’s next for Samosa Singh?
The brand is aiming to cater pan-India in the next 20 months. Growth and expansion are on the cards and Samosa Singh now is foraying into the physical outlets opening across the cities along with international expansion. Our Thane outlet is the first.
