In 2022, Vamsi Reddy and Sandeep Nagaiah embarked on their entrepreneurial journey, launching Paper and Pie with their first flagship outlet on Bengaluru’s vibrant Indira Nagar hi-street. Since then, the brand has steadily flourished, expanding with several more compact formats across the city in the past year. Notably, Paper and Pie captured international acclaim by representing India at the esteemed World of Coffee event in Dubai.
The brand attracted attention with the launch of their first café in July 2022, presenting a completely unique look, feel, and design approach compared to conventional café formats. Equipped with a small conference room, a podcast studio, a full-fledged kitchen, and a dedicated brew bar, among other features, it sought to appeal to young entrepreneurs, creatives, and more.
Discussing the concept, Reddy explained that they intentionally crafted the flagship outlet to encompass various elements that appeal to young startup entrepreneurs and creatives. In the early stages, many startup entrepreneurs prefer flexible workspaces over traditional brick-and-mortar offices. They seek places where they can comfortably work while enjoying quality coffee and meals throughout the day. Additionally, such spaces offer the convenience of hosting client meetings, Reddy emphasized.
“Fresh food is the centre piece in our offering. We don’t compromise on that,” Reddy said.
Nevertheless, recognizing that the flagship model may not be universally applicable, the founders adapted their approach when they launched the second store in Whitefield in February 2023. They aimed to streamline operations to enhance cost-effectiveness and optimize returns by adjusting the layout to a more compact format.
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“We feel that the second format is more scalable and goes to multiple locations,” Reddy says.
In addition, they’ve introduced their third format—a kiosk model—at the RMZ Eco World, a prominent IT hub in the city. According to Reddy, this model offers a low initial investment while promising high returns.
The founders’ strategy involves focusing on consolidating their presence in the Bengaluru market before exploring opportunities elsewhere.
“We both are from the city, and we understand the demography of each micro market in the city,” Reddy said.
Reddy believes that by initially testing various formats within the Bengaluru market, they can effectively identify and mitigate potential challenges, thus minimizing errors when expanding beyond the city limits. “Bengaluru is a big city, we can have 15 to 20 stores here,” he informed.
Discussing their targets for 2024, Reddy mentioned that although they have three more stores scheduled to open next month, they primarily view 2024 as a year of preparation for the growth opportunities anticipated in 2025 and 2026.
“Now we are operating with independent kitchens at every outlet. We have to develop a hub and spoke model with minimum logistics as we grow the number of outlets,” he said.
He believes that the growing appetite for coffee as a beverage will create opportunities for all players in the market. “The aspiration is to develop Paper and Pie as one among the leading cafe brands in the country,” he said.
Currently operating as a bootstrapped brand, Reddy stated that they would eventually seek strategic partners or investors. To facilitate this, they have established an advisory committee to initiate discussions within the market.
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