Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business
Prashant Kumbhar:
Idea for this concept arrived from 2 questions! As a vivid fan of Ice-cream I always thought WHY does strawberry ice cream not taste like actual strawberry fruit and secondly, we as a consumer always emphasize to have fresh products. Like from dairy, vegetable, juices to meat, paneer etc. but WHY do we always eat frozen ice cream. Answer was obvious, lack of awareness about fresh ice cream with quality ingredients. To meet the demand industry has moved towards bulk manufacturing, compromising on the quality of ice cream. Real ingredients or fruits are not used in order to control the cost, rather are replaced by essence, flavors and syrups due to which the ice cream loses its originality and freshness. So, I realized this is the gap in the industry and I shared this idea with my partner and we designed the concept around it.
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by TiB-The Ice-Cream Bakery
Prashant Kumbhar: Currently we are operating at 15 locations as a standalone fresh ice-cream parlor. We have more than 50 products in our menu divided into different categories. Variety ranges from fruit ice creams to dry fruit ice creams, milkshakes, hot chocolates, ice cream cakes, brownies. We have presence in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. We have developed Franchise and Master Franchise model in such a way that its very lucrative for brand as well as for Franchisee. We also sell directly to consumers through company operated outlets.
Great Companies: What makes TiB-The Ice-Cream Bakery from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Prashant Kumbhar:
TiB has taken the concept of Ice cream to the next level by making it fresh in front of a customer and by using actual fruits/ingredients instead of flavor, essence and colors. This results in superior taste, texture and quality in ice cream. TiB is the only brand in India to do so.
Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Prashant Kumbhar: Me and my partner being first generation entrepreneurs had no experience or guidance and literally no financial support for business. But we were passionate about getting into business and with this aim in mind to gain hand on experience we started with small fast-food joints along with our full-time job. We continued to run this business for 5years with multiplying these joints and gained entrepreneurial skills like people management, food engineering, supply chain, branding, marketing, how to handle finances etc. This helped us to gain the expertise and then post 5 years launched our own brand TiB – The ice-cream Bakery.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for TiB - The Ice-Cream Bakery?
Prashant Kumbhar: Our Vision is to become No. 1 premium Ice cream parlor brand in India by expanding branches across nation and globally. TiB aims to penetrate the market with the concept of eating fresh ice cream with superior quality and fresh ingredients. TiB wants to impact the traditional habit of eating frozen ice creams and create awareness in consumers about fresh ice creams using fresh ingredients.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Prashant Kumbhar: Get used to the fact that you will face new challenges every now and then. You should be comfortable in/with uncomfortable situations.
Website : https://theicecreambakery.in/
Franchisee : https://theicecreambakery.in/franchisee/