Instafit Cafe
The Newly Launched InstaFit Cafe, Brings an Extensive Range of Nourishing Food Choices with Amazing Taste
The whole world has become more and more hyperconnected in recent years. We now live in a world where the Internet and the services it offers have quickly replaced other forms of communication as our lifelines. Here, businesses and people can rapidly communicate with one another. This level of connectedness has greatly changed the relationship between customers and service providers and has given rise to a plethora of new business possibilities.
In the last few years, persistent evolution in people’s presence on social media has propelled the establishment of a myriad of Instagrammable cafes. Apart from offering delectable dishes, these restaurants and cafes have aesthetically pleasing decor, perfect for that million-dollar snapshot or Instagram story.
Instafit Café, a newly opened gem nestled in Dombivli East, Maharashtra, boasts super-healthy and yummy delicacies for Fitness freaks. Incorporated to bring healthy food without compromising taste, Instafit Café’s palatable and appetizing food options include everything from salads to protein-rich meals, smoothies and detox juices, healthier sandwiches and pizzas, and of course coffee along with the breakfast menu. Along with being calorie-conscious, their delightful menu deeply emphasizes taste, especially using their secret handmade sauces.
THE DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP
Vishal Katyare and Neha Gaikwad Katyare both come from a pure corporate background and each of them carry 13+ years of corporate experience. The leading lady, Neha, has spent 7+ years at Amazon alone across different roles. Working for the world’s most customer-focused company, Amazon, has consistently taught her to put the requirements of the customer first and figure out the best way to meet those demands in an excellent way.
The man behind the business, Vishal, has worked across multiple software consultancies. He has spent seven years at a startup in Dubai. Being the first person in the startup, he has played all the roles necessary to run the company, which is where he has learnt entrepreneurial skills.
“After we returned from Dubai, we realized that there is a great market demand for healthy food but a shortage of supply, and Vishal, always quick to react and with his risk-taking appetite, jumped into it”, Neha revealed when asked about the inspiration behind the incorporation.
THE VISION AND MISSION OF INSTAFIT CAFÉ
The health and fitness sector is expanding quickly in India. People are incorporating healthier diets and exercise habits into their daily routines as they become more and more conscious of the value of living a healthy lifestyle. While maintaining a completely balanced diet is important, it is also important to remember that Indians have specific taste preferences. That’s what their vision is—to deliver healthy food choices with great taste. They want to establish themselves as the go-to brand for healthy food with uncompromising taste.
NEHA’S TAKE ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF R&D
Absolutely. We wanted to make sure we grasped everything before presenting it to the customers because we come from completely different backgrounds. We worked on the menu exclusively for more than six months. It has been a fantastic learning experience, from classifying things into categories to working on each and every recipe, with hundreds of trials in between.
Opening a café or restaurant is one thing, but maintaining it while innovating is an entirely different ballgame. As we serve our customers from the newly launched menu, we are continuously doing trials of different dishes behind the scenes, and we have a six-month roadmap in the pipeline for new dishes to roll out in the market.
THE KEY MARKETING TACTICS
Brand awareness is the single most important thing if you want to expand, and the husband-wife duo is doing everything it takes to go for it. For the creation of content and PR, they have partnered with a renowned production company. They are handling café’s social media accounts really well. Additionally, Instafit Cafe continues to run their offline marketing initiatives. They do not want to miss out on the importance of staying updated on trends.
For instance, the cafe ran a Barbie-themed promotion last month: wear pink and get a certain percentage off. Additionally, they served pink food, such as pink pasta, pink rice protein, pink diamond detox juice, etc. They got a great response and created good hype on Instagram. Being in a gated community, the team also sponsors sporting activities and collaborates with gyms because that is where their target market is.
LEADERSHIP AT INSTAFIT: A COMBINATION OF BUREAUCRATIC AND DEMOCRATIC APPROACH
Despite having differing approaches to leadership, Neha and Vishal perform exceptionally well together. Vishal is a more democratic and empathic leader, whereas Neha is more bureaucratic and occasionally autocratic. Autocratic may seem to be a negative word, but in food industry,discipline for hygiene and food quality is most important, and I make sure there is no compromise in either of them, said Neha. Since they always move with a collaborative approach and indepth discussion, they make the best choice possible regarding every topic, large or small.
EVOLUTION IN THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
India’s startup environment is expanding at an unparalleled rate. With better policies, organized procedures, and better documentation make it simpler than ever to turn your vision into reality. You may actually concentrate more on your business and less on the legal and compliance elements with improved bureaucracy. Because of this, if you see the pattern, India is producing more unicorns than it ever has.
MILESTONES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Within a few weeks of its establishment, the cafe has received a very positive response, and the initial feedback has been overwhelming. People are loving the concept, and it is beyond all the monetary gain when customers speak so nicely about the team and the venture. Instafit Café has successfully gathered 100+ 5-star reviews on Google in less than 2 months, and it is already one of the top-rated cafes in the area.
Additionally, commercially, they were able to control the operational costs from month 1, and it’s an achievement in itself to be profitable from the first month. However, they do not want to spoil the growth by being shortsighted. They continue to invest in the café, which will go into branding, digital and offline marketing, and expansion plans.
ROAD AHEAD
They have just started with their first branch in Palava. While the founders have already received many requests for franchises within Maharashtra and different states, they do not want to rush. They want to streamline their first branch and ensure steady growth before expanding. Their objective is to open the second branch of MMR early in the following year and the third branch by the end of the following year while vigorously pursuing success. Once they have made sure that these first few branches are running smoothly, 2025 will be the year of acceleration as they prepare to expand into other cities and states and take over many branches simultaneously.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Don’t just think too much; act. Make the endeavor that feels appropriate to you while also putting yourself in a position to handle failures if they occur. After all, regretting not taking an action is harder to deal with than failing. Humans are your single most important asset. So, if you believe that someone with a right attitude is a good fit for your company, go ahead with it even if it appears to be costly at first.
