A Culinary Journey Of Flavors And Tradition
On A Mission To Take Biryanis To The World…One Flavorful Bite At A Time
Business Executives In Focus-2024: Thriving Economics & Sustainability
This edition is focused on the significance of business executives in business success. A business leader is responsible for establishing and defining a long-term vision as well as a strategy to grow. Aligning with market opportunities and adding unique corporate values, such business executives make decisions that change their way of living.
From this vast pool, we have picked the story of Mohammed Bhol, a visionary leader who led to the establishment of the House of Biryan(HOB). We have created this narrative to honor his entrepreneurial journey and how he is spreading his culinary experience and teachings across India.
Explore his fantastic journey shared by over a virtual meeting with our team. After going through his story, you will see there is so much to learn and reflect on. We hope our global aficionado will deeply resonate with this exclusive narrative that would slingshot biryani into a global story in the upcoming years.
HOW DID THIS START?
The founder shared his inspiration regarding the establishment of House of Biryan,
“My journey started at the finest culinary school in India, Taj Aurangabad. After that, I was fortunate to learn my craft at Gordon Ramsay, London. I worked extensively abroad while finishing my higher education and returned to India to work on some marque projects in Mumbai.”
Mohammed Bhol’s family has been running a traditional ‘bohri’ biryani business since the late 1950s. With global brands creating scale with food categories such as burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, and fried chicken, biryani was missing. With that in mind, he started his biryani journey back in 2014. Fast forward 8 years and a successful exit later they started House of Biryan in 2022 which became the talk of the town in the world of biryani.
THE BUSINESS VALUES
House of Biryan has been standing firm on the values that revolve around spreading joy to food lovers. Happy and satisfied customers are their focal points. Also, keeping the team happy is their intent to create a cool and approachable biryani brand. The whole management is dedicated to making it ubiquitous with consumption multiple times a week rather than it being once a month Indian food adventure.
Mohammed Bhol elucidated, “Our mission is to spread joy with biryanis to the world and most importantly have a lot of fun doing it. The latter is more important – we want to be known as a platform where an individual can learn, grow, and shine.
We do not judge based on qualifications but based on attitude. HOB aspires to be one of the best places to work. Our motto is at a basic level if there is positivity and happiness, it will trickle down to the consumer experience. Shareholder value is then a given.”
ABOUT THE BUSINESS ETHOS AND IMPACT
HOB has a mantra of being fixated on what the customer expects. Their core value is all focused on learning to optimize it in the best possible way. This one aspect has allowed them to witness resounding success. He further adds that it is something that could be achieved not just by offering a relevant product but by respecting someone’s culture with a positive outlook.
As an organization, they have made initiatives that ensure that they leave a positive footprint on the whole ecosystem they work in be it vendors, team members, and supply chain:
Vendors – Ensuring an in-house accountability audit to ensure all partners have been paid on time. No credits are kept due for more than 30 days.
Team Members – Leaders ensure internal growth through their ‘raise your hand – initiative’. It is a unique way to empower employees who are willing to learn and take additional responsibility. They grow through a series of internal training, deployment, and appraisal.
Supply chain – With a steady expansion through different geographies – they ensure to partner with local small businesses. Here, they support procurement by cultivating better opportunities for smaller SMEs & lower footprints to explore the potential via the supply chain.
STAYING RESILIENT
HOB has been quite perseverant in its approach. It faced economic fluctuations and global challenges in the industry with a resilient approach. In this context, their biggest asset is their sheer capability to create consistent and replicable food items on a larger scale. The ease of ordering and on-time, short delivery time are their key USPs and speak of their approachability.
“We believe as the brand grows with an omnichannel strategy, our ability to create offline experiences matched with our Japanese style accuracy will ensure the brand’s longevity through fluctuations in trends and other global challenges. Keeping the Gen Z younger audience in mind and staying cool is our mantra!,” asserts Mohammed Bhol.
A DISTINCT LEADERSHIP STYLE
Before shedding light on his leadership style, the founder mentioned that he considers himself extremely lucky to be able to leverage HOB as a platform that helps people grow. Evaluating his team while supporting his team’s freedom is how he defines his leadership.
“My goal is to build their confidence constantly with tasks that are increasing in challenges but also support them through that journey. I feel the silliest thing one can do – is to micromanage conscientious smart team members. Also failing is encouraged – as long as objectives are thought through, we have a culture that pushes team members to execute without fear of failure. This has led to hypergrowth in certain individuals, who at first would seem ordinary,” said the CEO.
THE CROWN JEWELS
We asked Mohammed Bhol what would be his proudest accomplishment so far. To this, he replied that his achievements would be two-fold:
1. Creating a tech-based process – which delivers biryani within minutes but cooks it using automation.
2. Understanding consumer needs and cracking PM Fit successfully in different markets.
STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE FOUNDER- CEO
“My biggest reflection and message especially to the younger folks coming up would be to treat their work like they own the business. Whether they are working for a large corporation, themselves, or freelancing on a one-time project – the outcome will be disproportionately positive if treated like your own business.
Secondly – not get caught up with people and politics. Whilst many think this is unavoidable, there is always a choice to channel that energy into exceptional work and let that shine through. This doesn’t mean one doesn’t use the tact to deal with certain negative people or situations, I simply urge you not to prioritize this as your career grows.
Last but not the least – Be extremely patient. There is no race and everyone is on their own time. Comparing and referencing with friends, peers, and colleagues only will make things difficult. Stay true to the process, be positive and success will chase you.”
