UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

PROJECT ON
GROWTH STORY OF JUMBO KING
(STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT)
MASTER OF COMMERCE (MANAGEMENT)
SEMESTER-II
2014-15
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement under Semester Based Credit and Grading
System for Post Graduates (PG)
Programme under Faculty of Commerce
SUBMITTED BY
KARNA VORA
ROLL NO. : 31
PROJECT GUIDE
Dr. Poonam Kakkad
KPB Hinduja College of Commerce, 315 New Charni Road, Mumbai-400004

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. Karna Vora of M.Com Management Semester-II [2014-2015] has
successfully completed the project on Growth Story of Jumbo King under the guidance of Dr.
Poonam Kakkad.
Project Guide

Course Coordinator

Internal Examiner

External Examiner

Principal

Date:

Place: Mumbai

M.Com (Strategic Management)

SEMESTER-II

GROWTH STORY OF JUMBO KING

SUBMITTED BY
KARNA VORA
ROLL NO. : 31

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Every project big or small is successful largely due to the effort of a number of wonderful
people who have always given their valuable advice or lent a helping hand. I sincerely appreciate
the inspiration; support and guidance of all those people who have been instrumental in making
this project a success.
With great pleasure I thank Dr. Poonam Kakkad , Professor of KPB Hinduja College of
Commerce for being an inspiration in the completion of this project. I thank her for the
invaluable help provided during the completion of this project. I also thank her for providing me
guidance and numerous suggestions throughout the entire duration of the project.
Last but not the least I place a deep sense of gratitude to my family members and my
friends who have been constant source of inspiration during the preparation of this project work.

DECLARATION
I, Mr. Karna Vora of M.Com Management Semester-II (2014-15), hereby declare that I have
completed the project on Growth Story of Jumbo King. The information submitted is true and
original to the best of my knowledge.

Karna Vora

(Signature)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER

1.1

INTRODUCTION

1.2

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.4

CHAPTER SCHEME

CHAPTER

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CHAPTER

3
3.1

HISTORY

3.2

STORY OF JUMBO KING

3.3

INTERVIEW AND FUTURE OF JUMBO KING

3.4

FUTURE OF JUMBO KING

CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER

1.1

INTRODUCTION
Jumbo King is a chain of fast food restaurants based primarily in Mumbai, specialising in
the Maharashtrian regional dish vada pav. Established in 2001 by husband and wife Dheeraj and
Reeta Gupta, the company was inspired by the fast food business model
of McDonald's and Burger King. Jumbo King Foods Pvt. Ltd is a franchisee-based company that
operates across many areas of India. From its beginnings in Malad, a suburb of Mumbai, it has
spread across the whole Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), as well
as Bangalore, Aurangabad and Gujarat.
1.2

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.3

To understand the growth story of Jumbo King.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Collection of data
Secondary data:
This information is been collected from Secondary source such as Reference Book and e-data.
1.4

CHAPTER SCHEME

Chapter 1:

Introduction

Chapter 2:

Review of Literature

Chapter 3:

Conceptual Framework

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
DHEERAJ GUPTA
After I completed my MBA in hotel management in 1998, I decided to start my own venture. The
idea was to establish a sweets manufacturing and distribution business. My parents were very
supportive and offered to fund it, but I opted to take a bank loan instead.
I was looking to model my business on the lines of chocolate companies in terms of
manufacturing, packaging and distribution. I leased space, purchased equipment and moulds, and
employed 10 people to kick-start the business. It didn't take off. The market, it seemed, was not
ready to entertain such a concept. But I was not willing to give up. I borrowed more money to
invest in the venture. Still, it continued to bleed. Within two years, I lost around Rs 50 lakh. In
addition to bank loans, I owed money to friends and relatives. It was time to do a rethink.
When I was doing research for my sweets business, I learnt a lot of interesting things. What
caught my attention, in particular, was how successful food chains such as McDonalds, Dominos
and Subway primarily focused on one product burger, pizza, sandwiches and, yet, had a
huge customer base. I decided to do something similar.
Vada pav is a spicy Maharashtrian snack. It is quite popular in Mumbai. I found that there were
hundreds of vendors selling the snack on the city streets. The market was huge but unorganised. I
decided to get into the vada pav snacks business.
I somehow managed to raise around Rs 2 lakh to start the business. I leased space for an outlet
just outside Malad railway station, north Mumbai, and employed four people. The idea was to
outsource the manufacturing of the patties to a vendor for a small fee. We would fry them in the
store and concentrate on sales. There was a lot of wastage in the vada pav business. By cutting
wastage and, thus, cutting costs, I had the option of reducing selling prices. Or, I could offer a
large-sized vada pav and keep the prices intact. I decided to go for the second option. We began
offering vada pavs 20% larger than those being sold in the market. Appropriately, we decided to
name them Jumbo King. It clicked.
We started making money from day one. Opening day August 23, 2001 saw sales worth Rs

5,000. We did a lot of innovation with our product and its presentation. Hygiene was a priority.
The staff wore kitchen gloves and sold the vada pav properly wrapped just like a McDonalds
burger. The customers loved this. We made it a point to thank every customer for providing us
the business. Soon, through word of mouth publicity, our business began to grow. We
concentrated on selling just one kind of vada pavs. In the first year, our turnover touched Rs 40
lakh. I repaid the debt from my earlier venture.
In 2003, we launched our second outlet at Kandivili another north Mumbai suburb. By 2005,
we had five outlets in Mumbai. Around that time, we started receiving franchise-related queries.
In 2006, we decided to set up our presence in Surat, Gujarat. But, we lacked a sound supply
chain and had to shut down the outlet. Our manufacturing base was in Mumbai. This meant
either starting a new manufacturing base at Surat, or transporting patties from Mumbai. From a
cost and quality perspective, neither was feasible. We started looking at options to help sort out
this problem. In 2007, I met a manufacturer who was providing ready-to-fry food options to a
leading multinational food brand. They would manufacture the patty and freeze it at sub -18 C.
The patties would then be transported by a freezer van to various outlets. This sorted out our
biggest problem.
We started expanding our presence via franchises and, by 2009, had 38 outlets. Meanwhile, we
closed down most of the company managed outlets to concentrate on expansion via franchises.
In the same year, we introduced several Jumbo King vada pav variants. Today, we are present in
12 cities and have 65 outlets. We have a staff of 15 that manage operations across the country.
We recently sold our 100 millionth Jumbo King vada pav. We aim to set up at least 500 outlets in
the next five years. But there are several issues that need to be resolved. We have a centralised
kitchen in Pune from which frozen patties are transported to outlets across the country.
We cannot set up centres where the cold storage facility is not present. We have around 200-250
franchise-related queries with us, but we are very cautious in handing them out. It is a question
of brand image. We are hoping that infrastructure-related problems will be resolved in the next
five years. Last year, we crossed a turnover of Rs 25 crore and are hopeful of revenues of Rs 45
crore in 2014-15.

CHAPTER 3
3.1
HISTORY
An earlier franchisee of Burger King, the Guptas, on their visit to London, realised that fast food
could also work in India. Vada pav was the their first idea, as the food had to be portable. In 2001
the Guptas opened their first restaurant at Malad, with an initial investment of
200000 (US$3,100), which they borrowed from his family. The outlet was initially
named Chaat Factory (Snack Factory), and vada pav was sold at 5, despite street vendors selling
the same product for 2. The name was later changed to Jumbo King. Gupta faced opposition
from his family, who thought he was wasting his MBA by selling vada pavs.
Vada pav is a popular vegetarian dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra, although it has
been losing its reputation in past few years. The places where the food is now cooked and sold
are often polluted, and it is considered a "poor man's food". The people of Mumbai
and Thane consume about 18lakh (1.82 million) units of vada pav, with stiff competition
mainly from the unhygienic street vendors in the city. In contrast, Jumbo King cooks and sells
the food in hygienic conditions.
As of 2010, the chain had 30 outlets in Mumbai, selling an average of 40,000 vada pavs
everyday, priced between 8 and 16 apiece.
Timeline

2001: First outlet of the chain at Malad in Mumbai was opened on 23 August 2001.
2007: Received Award for New Concept Franchising and Award as Innovative Franchisee
model.

Two outlets were opened in Ahmedabad on 17 August 2007.

2011: First outlet in Bangalore at Koramangala.

MENU

A Jumbo King vada pav consists of a batata vada (a spicy deep-fried potato patty) in a pav (bread
roll), similar in size and shape to a Quarter Pounder. Jumbo King is considered Mumbai's first
branded vada pav, and is the largest selling brand. The pav used by Jumbo King was designed by
Salim Malik, who dropped out of college to help run his father's bakery. Thanks to work with
Jumbo King, their bakery has become the largest dealer of pavs in Borivli. They offer Lassi, a
popular and traditional yogurt-based drink of the Indian subcontinent, as well as Pepsi products.

3.2
STORY OF JUMBO KING
If you live in Maharashtra, then dont forget to pick up your daily dose of vadapav today. Even
better thing to do is to buy a vadapav for someone who inspires you or someone you take for
granted. While yes, I love my street food, especially vadapavs, today you should all bite into this
humble food, because Jumboking is celebrating its 13thFounders Day, also known as the Vadapav
Day.
This celebration that the brand is having today has a very interesting story of entrepreneurship
behind it.Jumboking was founded by Dheeraj Gupta, a third-generation entrepreneur from his
family. Dheerajs family has been in the hotel and catering business and also had their sweet
shops. Therefore on completing his MBA from Symbiosis, Pune, Dheeraj decided he will export
sweets to markets with heavy India population, like Dubai. However, this attempt at exporting
sweets didnt work out well and Dheeraj had to shut shop.
His second entrepreneurial outing was with streetfood and he opened an outlet in suburban
Mumbai, in Malad under the name of Chaat Factory. As business grew, Dheeraj realized the best
selling item on their menu was vadapav and decided to do a more thorough job with this
particular food product. Thus began the journey of Jumboking.
The experience is like when you get married and you dont know what all is going to come.
You have to keep making improvements, adjustments and you will learn, marriage in the first
five years is different, after children its different and keeps changing. There is no formula. Every
husband and wife figure out a way, and that has been the theory Dheeraj has also followed in
business. Coming from a business family, even when he graduated in 2000 from B-school,
working outside was never an option for Dheeraj. The business family background was an
additional motivation and he plunged in headlong.
Jumboking opened its first outlet in 2001 and priced the vadapav at a premium of Rs 5 when the
roadside offering was being sold at Rs 2. People were very curious to try a vadapav in the shop,
but they did come, says Dheeraj. Being hygienic was their first differentiation. Soon there were
flavours and variety cheese vadapav, butter vadapav, schezwan vadapav that they started

offering. Sales started picking up and the company continued to constantly innovate as it
chugged along.
One of the earliest things Jumboking did was to open franchise stores in Tier 1 -2 cities, in areas
where there were high footfalls like outside a railway station. 200-300 sq. ft. stores that fit well
with the locations, and the customer base was the crowd rushing to catch that 5.45 local back
home, or take the 9.15 train to rush for that meeting. However it was not always that the close to
station, near to heavy footfall formula work. Dheeraj shares with us the instance of a store they
opened near Masjid Bunder railway station.
We got a great location, below the foot over bridge, it was that bang on a location. But over
there we would not do any sales and you suddenly loose confidence on your brand, product,
sales etc. that you are proud of. And at the same place about 50 metres away, there was another
vadapav guy doing brisk business and it is like rubbing it in, reminisces Dheeraj. So deeper
digging told them that the reason for poor sales despite a great location was the crowd that came
to Masjid Bunder station. We realized there is not a single office or college, the only people
going there was factory and mill workers. And for them the Re 1 price difference between a
Jumbo King and the other guy on the road was a big deal. Also when you have this nice clean
store, where a guy gives you vadapav and says thank you, they were getting intimidated, says
Dheeraj. The learning therefore was not all crowded station locations work.
His next lesson in entrepreneurship was about the type of stores. After starting with the franchise
model, in 2007 Jumboking embarked on its journey of having company owned stores. We got a
small first round of VC investment into the company. So people were telling us you should put
up company owned stores, you will make more money and grow faster, so for next three years
we were buying out franchisees and putting up company owned stores. But having done both,
Jumboking could have had a Rs 200 crore turnover, had we not taken the company owned
model. It slowed us down big time, as it took a lot of management time, says Dheeraj.
One of the things however that Dheeraj was very clear on, right from day one was he will not
dilute the brand. So over the last 12 years, Jumboking has stayed core to its food product, viz
vadapav. They have innovated and built variety around the core, but not yet gone into a totally
new product line. For the first 15 years, McDonalds only had burger, fries and Coke on their
menu and nothing else. Even after 5-6 years after they went public, they only had these 2-3
things on the menu. They lavished all the attention on that one product to ensure there is no
surprise when people goto eat that product. At the same time the idea was to build large volumes
around that product, so that they can afford automation, modern technology and give it at a price
which is affordable to the company, says Dheeraj.
Inspirations for the journey

Dheeraj is a big fan of McDonalds and has no qualms in admitting he is trying to recreate a
similar brand with Jumboking. If you look at the brands around you, almost 90% of them
originate from the US and its not a coincidence, they understand about branding, which Japan
never did. Even Akio Morita had to go and settle in the US, to build Sony the brand, reasons
Dheeraj. Ray Krocs biography has been a bible of sorts for Dheeraj.
Today Jumboking has products ranging from Rs 10 Rs 75, but all are different types of
vadapavs. Recently the brand added samosa to its menu in the form of Jumbosa, which has the
food item in a different look and avatar, but the taste remains the same. Jumkokings
manufacturing plants today have the capability to churn out 1.5 tons of patties an hour and only
because they are able to mass produce the product, they are able to pass it on to the customer,
says Dheeraj. He admits there are many other food categories out there, but just like a specialist
doctor will always earn more than a general physician, Dheeraj is convinced specialization is the
key.
An avid reader, Dheeraj draws his inspiration from a lot of books he reads, some of which
include Death of Advertising & Rise of PR by Jack Trout and Focus by Al Ries. We ask him
how he finds the time to read so much and he has an interesting explanation. It was probably the
need to understand marketing from a book at Rs 200, rather than spending Rs 2 crore with an
advertising/marketing agency, that made me read, he laughs.
Tough life of an entrepreneur
Today Jumboking is growing well and the brand has presence across nine cities in India
Mumbai, Thane, Bangalore, Aurangabad, Mysore, Delhi, Amravati, Indore and Raipur. But
things were difficult in the beginning, and Dheeraj says it is important to be patient. When I
finished MBA, all my batchmates were getting fancy placements, hefty pay packets. Some were
saying, you have done MBA and are competing with roadside vendors, recollects Dheeraj.
Entrepreneurship needs a lot of perseverance, people all around you are making money, getting
increments, where as you are just living a dream, that you and maybe your spouse believes in
and no one else. You dont have anyone else believing in it. Because you want to do something
different, no one has done before. First 3 years is a very lonely time, where you are defying
everything that has been done. People said McDonalds can do it, but vadapav mein nahi ho
sakta. That is the environment you are operating in. Staff tells you, sir how about adding samosa
for variety, recollects Dheeraj.
His constant partner and companion throughout his journey has been his wife Reeta Gupta, who
Dheeraj admits has been a pillar of support. Reeta is also a management graduate from
Symbiosis, and has been instrumental in building the Jumboking brand. Therefore from
marketing the brand, to its positioning and the associations they have done, Reeta has played an

important role. She continues to be involved with the brand, but today is also an independent
communications consultant.
Jumboking started making money from Day 1, but all of that was put back into the business to
grow it. To get new machines, build better efficiencies. As an entrepreneur, 2008-09 was the
time where you open the newspapers and everyday you would read Reliance is acquiring 5000
square feet of retail space, Spencer is opening 500 stores, McDonalds is opening 100 stores. As
an entrepreneur it is very intimidating that I only have 10 stores. So are we not ambitious
enough, you get into the rut of announcing big things, shared Dheeraj. And one such audacious
ambition did get Jumkoking into a financial mess. However when projections and calculations
didnt work out, they also had to cut staff and back track on some of their plans.
The team therefore at Jumboking have been different at different points in time the team from
3-10 store was different, from 11-50 was a different team, the 100 store team will be different.
You have to learn more and become more efficient as a team. I keep telling my team, this is
where we will be in the next 3 years, please get up and start growing, says Dheeraj.
As they celebrate vadapav day, Dheeraj very proudly shares that they sold the 95th million
vadapav earlier this month on August 15 and looking forward to touching 100 million by coming
January. Just like taking up a job was never an option for Dheeraj when he finished his MBA, he
believes there are no shortcuts either to success. His favourite line that keeps him motivated
therefore is: Success comes to those who believe in it the most, and believe in it the longest.
TIPS BY DHEERAJ GUPTA

If you don't have the money to advertise, don't waste your money on single advertisements
in newspapers. That won't work. Instead, give something back to your customers. At
Jumboking, our first main marketing initiative was to hand out railway passes to our
customers.
Location hunting is crucial. We focused on railway lines -- one each on the east and west.
We have perfected this strategy to a science.

We decided to focus on a single product instead of offering a range of snacks. We passed up

on samosas to improve our cost-efficiency on the vada paav.

Dream big, don't be afraid. Get a team in place that will be able to share your dream.
Share your business plan with a mentor. I was lucky to meet a mentor who asked to me

wind up my sweets business. On that dull day, when you think of winding up, you need that
one person who will say 'let's keep going'.
Do not hanker after aggressive growth on an annual basis. This results in disappointment
when you don't meet your goals.

3.3
INTERVIEW WITH DHEERAJ GUPTA

It all started when he went to London to sell self-owned Indian sweets. Dheeraj Gupta, today the
MD of Jumbo King, carefully observed Burger Kings franchise business pattern and thought to
apply a similar model here. Vada Pav was the obvious food choice as Mumbaikars love it!
Gupta exclaimed. With an aim to serve Indian burger (Vada Pav) in hygienic and organised
manner, Gupta started Jumbo King Pvt. Ltd a dedicated Vada Pav chain company in August
2001.
Today, Jumbo King has about 45 outlets (self-owned & franchise) across Mumbai, Ahmedabad
and Baroda. In an exclusive interview Dheeraj Gupta talk about his current and future steps to

make Vada Pav a globally popular food. Excerpts:

Its almost a decade since you started Jumbo King. How has been the journey so far?
Till date the journey is impressive and fruitful. Initially there were lots of objections, as I had
priced the Vada Pav at Rs 5 whereas small competitors sold it for as little as Rs 2-3 in the market.
Our selling proposition was hygiene. We experimented with two outlets outside a railway station.
From ordinary ones, we started offering Vada Pav with cheese, flat patties, round bread, and
toasted bread.
The prices of Vada Pav have gone up from Rs 5 to Rs 8-10 minimum. Did this affect your
turnover?
Not really. Convenience foods sector in India is very price sensitive. When we increased our
prices, volume tends to decrease but annual sales turnover registered a healthy growth.
How many outlets do you have outside Mumbai. Any plan to take Vada Pav abroad?
Outside Mumbai, Jumbo King has its outlets in Gujarat. At present, we have nine Jumbo King
outlets in Ahmedabad and Baroda. Our Franchisee relations team is in talk with keen franchisees.
We have chalked out drastic expansion plans in Gujarat and Mumbai.
We also aim to reach 100 outlets in the coming 2-3 years in Mumbai. After 100 stores we may
seek to foray into international markets.

Who are your competitors? What is your USP?

In Mumbai there are over 20,000 local Vada Pav sellers. People who eat at Jumbo King will not
choose other Vada Pav and vice versa. We attract newer customers and develop faith among
existing customers through hygiene and quality service. So far, we have been winning customer
trust and hopefully we will groom Jumbo King in a better way.
We give clear instructions to our vendors to buy masala (ingredients) and oil from certified
companies. We also have authorised raw material supplier for all our outlets.
What is your annual turnover, market share and growth rate?
Currently, we have only 38 outlets in Mumbai and Thane area (20 self-owned and 18 franchises).
If we compare this numbers with 20,000 Vada Pav sellers then we have only about 2% market

share. Vada Pav in Mumbai is a big business. During recession we too faced a setback like other
organised players, but the pre and post-recession period registered 50% growth rate per year.
What are the terms for franchising Jumbo King?
The minimum requirement is 300sq.ft shop/outlet at a prime location, investment of Rs 12 lakh
which will provide back-end service, training, maintenance, control, marketing and system
upgradation for the vendor.
We also offer certain sites for the investors. Currently, our franchisee relations team is
negotiating for 10-12 locations in Mumbai. Two or three people can jointly open a franchise
store.
How many Vada Pav varieties do you offer? Are you planning to add a few more?
Basically, Jumbo King has four Vada Pav recipes, namely Butter, Cheese, Grill and Brown
Bread. Further we add flavours and offer about 16 varieties of Vada Pav. For instance, butter
range offers Butter Jumbo King, Butter Grill Jumbo King, Butter Cholle Jumbo King and Butter
Schezwan Jumbo King.
Our new recipe would be Paneer Jumbo King. In the coming 2-3 months we would be adding
new range of Vada Pav in the menu.
Apart from Vada Pav you have been selling many other products. Tell us something about
food aligned products?
Along with Vada Pav we offer soft drink beverage range. After eating something, Indians have a
habit of drinking something. So we started selling lassi, soft drinks like Pepsi and other optional
beverages.
Urban cities are rapidly catching up with western lifestyle. Do you think this will
change/hamper Vada Pav eating habits of Mumbaikars?
Though our metros are trending towards western culture, I dont think our metro citizens will opt
for western eating format/culture. Today, people are looking for healthy, warm food. With Jumbo
King we have done much more to serve traditional Vada Pav in hygienic and tasty way. Our
sophisticated technology, centralised kitchens at Malad, and bakeries at Vasai and Thane have
helped us bring uniqueness in our products.
I am sure that many in the coming generation will go in for healthy, tasty and traditional food
like Jumbo King.

FUTURE OF JUMBO KING

Dheeraj Gupta is planning to cover Gujurat and Maharashtra by 2008 completely. Then on
the basis of how it works outside the city of Mumbai only then will he decide about going any
further .Every city in India is different from the other, like in Chennai the vada pav is available for
20 rupees, and in Delhi its available for approximately Rs 10 to 15. However Surat, Pune, and
the rest of Mahrashtra are pretty much familiar with vada pav. The pricing pattern in the rest
of Maharashtra is similar to what is prevalent in Mumbai. Outside Maharashtra we will have to
customise and price our product accordingly .As of now we are not planning to diversify into
another product category for sure. If another product category comes up it will be in a different
brand name for example dabheli, it would be a dabheli flavored Jumbo King as Jumbo King
means vada pav. Hence it becomes a dabheli flavored vada pav.We are also planning to come up
with chaat stores but thats just a thought yet because we are unable to fulfill the volumes in vada
pav to even imagine of getting into another product

CONCLUSION
By Reeta Gupta
I come from a very conservative Marwari setup where women are not allowed to work I am
theonly workingwoman in my entire family. It is not at all easy; initially I think people do not
even believe that you truly want to work. According to them its a craze, which will eventually
phaseout. But I feel you believe in yourself and have the confidence to convince them that
workingand being independent really means a lot to you. On the other hand if they are convinced
aboutyour passion and fervor then they will support and encourage you. They have to really
believethat you are adding a lot of value and making the family proud when you are out in the
field. Oneshould not give up hope; if women want they should start work with two hours a day
then extendit to three hours slowly increasing your work time to nearly a full day.Initially I used
to return home at 3 pm but these days I work full day, therefore you have to makeit a step-bystep process. You cannot suddenly wake up one morning and take a decision that Iwant to work

the whole day that does not really work well. In addition to this the work you doshould not be an
excuse for avoiding the responsibilities you have at home. One should fulfill allof those, even if
it is at 11 pm in the night because your work is considered, as the selfish part of you and what
you do for the rest of the people in your family is the unselfish side. So you have to balance
between both of them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.scribd.com/doc/4779456/Jumbo-King-Vada-Pav#scribd
http://www.moneycontrol.com/smestepup/news/vada_paav_meets_mba_degree_the_story_of__jumboking-978240.html
http://www.franchiseindia.com/interviews/emerging/Enticing-flavours-jumbo-profits-592/