Every Pizza is a personal pizza at La Pino’z

Ed Sheeran once said Pizza is a circle. Pizza is my life. Pizza is the circle of life. Love for Pizza is undefined; it is the only love triangle in our lives we love so much. There’s is no mood that a pizza can’t fix. Originated from Italy, Pizza is usually round, flat base topped with cheese, tomatoes, and whatnot. The Indian twist with paneer on pizza is often appreciated by Indians.

La Pino’z Pizza is an Indian franchise-based pizzeria that started its journey back in 2011. This homegrown brand was founded by Sanam Kapoor in his hometown Chandigarh. There were many pizza brands by the time local pizzeria started but what made La Pino’z special is the concept of making fresh Pizza on demand. Today the franchise has over 350 outlets pan India and soon plans to go international.

La Pino’z started it’s journey from the north, but this story is about the man who left a mark on the brand in western states like Maharashtra. Mr. Harsh Kotak, who hails from Gandhidham - Gujarat. Ever since he tasted one of the La Pino’z pizza in Ahmedabad during his college days, he couldn’t wait to flourish the brand. As his father was in the FMCG business, it helped a lot in shaping his basic skills in business accounting and development. 

Pizzeria across India with big names serve the Italian taste, what makes La Pino’z special is their ingenious, delicious pizza which is specially made to cater to the needs of the Indian taste palate. Harsh started his entrepreneurial journey along with his business partner Rajana Singla back in the year 2018. Today they run about 33 outlets in Mumbai city, Mumbai Suburbs, and Thane. Passionate to achieve successful heights in the F&B sector

Before starting his journey with La Pino’z, Harsh was in the stock market as a broker. He was quite young when he started his journey in F&B    industry, with the intent to create something unique. ‘After successfully running 33 outlets, the next step looks like an investor with a potential franchisee mindset. We look for passionate, dynamic, and hard-working franchisee partners, who can work in tandem with us and believe in vision of La Pino’z brand,’ says Harsh Kotak.

Started by Sanam Kapoor, the La Pino’z family has flourished over the decade. Intending to start a venture in the IT sector, Sanam left his job just to end up giving people one more favorite food to love. La Pino’z takes care of all the little details that make a difference i.e. from making the hand-tossed dough, daily fresh sauces, healthy toppings made with fresh veggies, quality meats and cheeses. La Pinoz takes care of all the little details that make the difference between something you like and something that’s worthy of being called your favorite.

Starting 33 outlets in a cosmopolitan city isn’t easy, you face different difficulties along the way. Government regulations, finding and retaining skilled labor, high-end rent is some of them. Marketing expense is also higher compared to other cities. Talking about Government policies around the F&B sector, Harsh says various issues around GST need to be taken care, i.e. input credit should be allowed and the regulatory framework needs to be fine-tuned at the state level for getting various licenses. Also, labor laws should be simplified and monopolistic tendencies should be avoided.

"Good Food may touch the taste palate, but Best Food touches the Soul" – Harsh Kotak

The F&B sector took one of the worst hit during the pandemic. It changed most of the business dynamics from dine-in centric model to the QSR model ,which focuses on takeaway and home delivery. However, after being stuck in our houses and now going back to normal, F&B Industry has seen the taste cravings sky-rocketing the sales more than the pre-COVID times. The financial year 2022-23 would be a good year after all those troubles. During the pandemic, they faced a lot of trouble including labor, rents and supply chain management. As this pandemic seems to be slowing down, these issues are expected to resolve soon. One of the biggest concerns looking to the current situation is ‘Inflation’. With increasing energy and raw material prices, this is a bigger concern for those in this sector.

Once you are determined towards your goal with patience and clarity no one can stop you from achieving it, says Harsh. F&B is a sector where consistency in quality and taste play the vital role. If you master in managing the same taste over and over, foodies will keep coming back for the quality and taste. Being creative and lively communication can be your key to achieving success in your field, as it made wonders for Harsh! 

"If you are cheating on your diet for the food we serve, We make sure to be worth the cheat" – Harsh Kotak

Note: This Article is published solely by Profectus Magazine after conducting the interview with concern person. All details published are based on true facts and discussion with concern person of the organization