Darjeeling Momos: Engineers turned entrepreneurs creating micro entrepreneurship in Guwahati

Two engineers turned entrepreneurs of Guwahati are serving authentic Darjeeling momos in Guwahati.

Refusing to bow down from previous failures, engineer and entrepreneur duo Shahrukh Siddiki and Razaul Chowdhury embarked on a new venture to give Guwahatians the taste of authentic momos of the hill district of Darjeeling. Today, under the banner of Sprengal Food Technology, the duo is creating micro entrepreneurship for many.

The brand is working to make scrumptious food with the least possible human contact.

Darjeeling Momos, now being served in street joints across Guwahati, follows a strict recipe that has been developed after intensive sessions of research and development to maintain consistency in taste.

"We explored not just the city of Darjeeling but also in and around the countryside area to curate the best recipes for the momos," said the founders.

Shahrukh Siddiki and Razaul Chowdhury, struggled to convince their parents to be entrepreneurs. However, their first restaurant, Biryani Hotspot, did not survive long due to the pandemic.

But that could not stop them from creating the magical momos.

Presently they are nearing an automated kitchen concept to limit human contact. “The future of Sprengal is to make different food with different brand outlets with 100 percent automated kitchens,” said Razaul Chowdhury, co-founder.

Talking about creating micro-entrepreneurship, Razaul said " We want to organize all the street vendors with the help of technology and create a hassle-free micro-entrepreneurship”.

Their first venture started with their savings and the money they received from scholarships while they were in college. "After it took a hit by the pandemic, we examined the market cap and planned for Sprengal Food Technology," he added.

Presently they are designing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) which will enable them to monitor sales, actions of employees, opening and closing time, managing inventories and prevention from pilferage, and also ensure that standard operating procedures are being implemented thoroughly. "The system will also enable outlet managers to collect rewards and loyalties. Sprengal Food Technologies have invested around Rs. 35-40 lacs till now including the money of a few investors," informed Razaul.

Darjeeling Momos plans to expand across Guwahati with food mobile vehicles and generate employment with small fast food stalls.

Sprengal Food Technologies associated themselves with Assam StartUp Nest in 2021 during the COHORT 3 ( Cohesion, Operational Readiness and Training). “ The Assam startup nest is a knowledge hub and it has helped them to flourish their ideas with all like-minded people,” said Sharukh Siddiki, Co-founder.

To open a franchisee of Darjeeling Momos, the minimum investment is
Rs.3 Lakh. They have 18 employees directly working in the semi-automated centralized kitchen in Beltola, Guwahati and over 40 employees across the different outlets. Their total revenue is Rs. 7 lacs approximately per month.
The brand has 3 outlet variants- Purple outlet serving pork momos, Orange outlet serving chicken and veg momos, and Green outlet serving veg momos.

They are presently in 7 locations in Guwahati namely Beltola, Chandmari, Silpukhuri, inside GMCH, Panikheti, Azara and Sundarpur. 5 out 7 franchises are profitable and a franchise partner can earn around Rs.70,000 per month by owning their own darjeeling momos. Darjeeling Momos is expanding to 12 more locations across Assam this year.

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