MOPP Foods
Bringing a Diverse Range of Gourmet Parathas and Crispy Pakodas to Satiate the Taste Buds at MOPP Foods
“Give yourself that one chance with entrepreneurship, either you will succeed or you will learn!” Geetika Anand Gupta
The Business Connect Magazine brings forth the inspirational stories of those woman leaders who took the plunge and decided to follow their dreams. With remarkable efforts, these women have been climbing the ladder of success while making a significant contribution to our society. One of these inspiring women is Geetika Anand Gupta, Co-founder and Chief Pilot of MOPP Foods, who has mentored and supported various start-ups and companies in their marketing efforts to help them uplift their brand value and company profile.
She holds a gold medal in MBA and a scholarship from the prestigious Amity Business School, and she is a shining example of female leadership. Along with an infectious zeal and a charismatic persona, she also has a beautiful heart. Geetika has more than 20 years of expertise and has directed the marketing departments of multinational corporations (MNCs), including Sony, HTC, and an oil and gas company to raise its brand profile.
In the year 2016, she returned to India as an entrepreneurial call and became a part of several F&B ventures, including a beer brand and several restaurants. While in India, she, once, was looking for hygienic parathas and pakodas but she found that there was no trustworthy chain or brand serving the same. She decided to fill this gap and capitalize on the opportunity after failing to find any prominent brand catering to this segment and launched her own venture as “Mad Over Parathas & Pakodas,” affectionately referred to by customers as MOPP.
MOPP Foods: Bringing Street Delicacies Parathas and Pakodas
MOPP Foods is a QSR/Cloud Kitchen startup that currently operates 12 online restaurants. It operates out of 4 Cloud Kitchens and has a portfolio of 3 brands: Mad Over Parathas & Pakodas (MOPP), Mealy, and Mad Over Curry. With a GMV ARR of Rs 15 crore, they are currently averaging 35,000 monthly orders. MOPP provides the well-known Indian street delicacies parathas and pakoras in specially designed packaging after they have been produced hygienically.
MOPP plans to launch three more brands over the next six months. New brands will be focused around Biryani, Momos, Tikkas, Rolls, and Kulchas. With multi-brand online restaurants and cloud kitchens operating in a hub-and-spoke model, MOPP has moved from a single-brand QSR strategy to a multi-brand cloud kitchen strategy and plans to build India’s biggest online restaurant company focused on Indian food. This market is expected to be worth $12 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 30%.
An Edge Over the Peers
The biggest USP of MOPP is their unique Pakodas recipe, which keeps them crispy even after 45 minutes of delivery time and prevents them from becoming greasy or messy. MOPP’s second brand, “Mealy,” debuted in December 2020 which is a “meals only” brand focused on pocket-friendly single meals which tastes like homemade food.
“Mad Over Curry,” a third brand that focuses on authentic, rich, and traditional North Indian curries and kababs, was launched in September 2021. With these well-known street delicacies, MOPP is creating a new market segment by elevating them to an organized and hygienic category and create a mid-segment brand. Also, the innovative leader stated, “Our packaging is custom made, and we applied sciences to design the same to keep our food fresh upon delivery.”
“Continuous Research and Development” is the mantra here! They strive to invest time, money, and effort to work more efficiently and to enhance the product selection for the customers. They will soon introduce a biryani band “Biryani in a Bowl” and they intend to disrupt the market with their unique product line.
Geetika’s Journey as a Woman Entrepreneur
Geetika’s entrepreneurial journey has been challenging and fulfilling at the same time! I would describe it as difficult, particularly because I am one of the few female business owners in the food and beverage sector, and the ecosystem has many prejudicial barriers that prevent women from succeeding in this field. However, I overcame all of those challenges as a strong-headed woman and carried forward my journey without being deterred by any barriers.
While the venture’s growth from 1 lac to 80 lac in monthly sales has been rewarding, the first two years of the voyage have been impacted by COVID. Insights on Women’s Involvement in the Entrepreneurial Space I am very happy and upbeat to see many more women taking the entrepreneurial plunge. The ecosystem is a lot more supportive now.
There are woman-specific government schemes, startup accelerators, and VC funds available, which are giving great impetus to women’s entrepreneurship. This also makes it easier for female entrepreneurs to enter this space.
Geetika’s Exclusive Leadership Style
The magnificent woman attributes her success to the 3 Ps, which have worked well for her: passion, patience, and perseverance. She follows them diligently in her daily life, both at a personal and professional level. “My leadership style is transformational. I do my best to ensure that my team is committed to our vision and works tirelessly to achieve it.
This does mean that I have to find the right candidates who are willing to learn and adopt business practices that work best for the business to achieve its vision and in turn give them growth opportunities,” explained Geetika. The Work Culture and Secret Motivation Strategies The workplace of MOPP Foods is the ideal combination of business and family culture, with a strong emphasis on encouraging teamwork and compassion. SOPs are in place for everything, and they serve as a guide for the team as they act and perform in accordance with the SOPs.
Geetika keeps her team motivated by clearly communicating their career and growth paths with MOPP Foods and how they are aligned with the company’s vision. One of the company’s goals is “Inclusion,” where every employee is eligible to be a part of the company’s growth through an ESOP plan. Also, they have an extensive training program to enhance staff knowledge and skill sets.
Feathers in the cap
• MOPP won a deal from shark Amit Jain during the second season of Shark Tank India.
• The company won the Times Group Food Delivery Awards 2020 for trendsetting parathas and pakodas.
• It was nominated for the Times Food and Nightlife Awards 2021 in the Best Packaging and Best North Indian categories.
• MOPP was the winner of the Clarion Call 2022 (IIMC Pitching Competition) final.
• It won Tie the Knot (one of the most coveted start-up competitions). organized by TiE Delhi
• It received Swiggy’s top sales honor in the meals category.
The Future Canvas of MOPP Foods
In the next 5-7 years, they aim to expand MOPP Foods to 3,000 or more online eateries operating out of 300 or more cloud kitchens, with sales exceeding Rs 800 crores. They also plan to take the brands to international markets with a large Indian diaspora. Their long-term vision is also to enter the retail segment with frozen versions of parathas and pakodas distributed across the globe.
Giving Back to the Community
MOPP believes in giving back to society by tying up with various NGOs and has launched an internal program called “MOPP CARES,” which enables various charitable projects by the company. MOPP also hires from the underprivileged community, then educating and training them to create internal job and employment opportunities for those in need.
Words of Wisdom
“Everyone has that one great skill and a spark within themselves. All we need is to come out of the shell, light that spark and brighten the world around us.” “Appreciate each small victory and be grateful for what you have. So, enjoy life and make the world a better place.”
