Abhijit Gupta: Built A ₹200+ Crore Homegrown F&B Venture (Founder of 3 F&B Brands, 100K Followers)

Abhijit Gupta Interview

We acted before we felt fully ready-and every turning point came from that

Q. Every founder has that one defining moment where things either clicked or took a wild turn. What was that moment for you? 

For me, the defining moment happened in the most ordinary way. At a friend’s wedding after-party, someone ordered Fat Lulu’s, and when I opened the door to receive these large, beautifully designed sourdough pizza boxes, something shifted. But we’d never seen anything like it in Bangalore. It instantly felt like a gap waiting to be filled.

The next morning, we started building the idea. We even signed a Fat Lulu’s franchise lease -and when the deal collapsed, we were left with a commercial space, no F&B experience, and no brand. Instead of stepping back, we moved forward: found a chef, ran trials, and built The Pizza Bakery from scratch.

Paris Panini came from the same mindset. Nicholas had a great product but an unstable food truck setup. We combined his craft with our operations and opened Paris Panini in a small unused space.

In hindsight, there was no single defining moment. Every major leap-The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini, Smash Guys-happened because we acted before feeling ready. Clarity always came after taking the first imperfect step.

Q. Sourdough pizza wasn’t exactly an obvious path in India. What gave you the conviction to go all in-and what were people telling you back then?

In the UK, we saw sourdough pizza booming across London and loved its flavour, texture, and authenticity. But when we returned to Bangalore, the market was still ruled by Domino’s and Pizza Hut. People were travelling and curious, yet gourmet pizza barely existed-so we took a bet. At first, most people didn’t get it. Some said the pizza looked “burnt,” questioned the black spots, or compared it to a tandoori roti. 

It was nerve-wracking because we weren’t sure India was ready. But the customers who did understand it really loved it, and that early validation kept us going. Then COVID hit, sourdough went global, and people became more aware of why it’s healthier and more artisanal-which sped up acceptance.

We didn’t choose sourdough because it was obvious. We chose it because it was different. And that differentiation mattered.

Q. Looking back, what were the most important decisions (or mistakes) that helped you scale from one outlet to a beloved brand? 

The most important decision was learning to stay optimistic when there was zero external validation.We worked 14–15 hours a day with no visible milestones-just trials, meetings, hiring, and training-and it often felt like nothing was moving. 

Plus, there was social pressure, friends growing in corporate jobs, parents worrying, even my mom asking how we’d run a kitchen when we barely cooked at home.

What kept us going was controlled optimism-not blind positivity, but trusting that taking the next right step would eventually lead somewhere.My failed tech startup also became a huge teacher, I’d focused on logos over customers, built an MVP no one wanted, and assumed investors fund ideas without revenue. Those mistakes grounded me and prepared me for F&B.

In the end, early failures and stubborn optimism became the real foundation of what we built.

Q. Food brands often focus only on products, but Pizza Bakery feels like a 'vibe.' What do most brands still get wrong about customer experience and brand emotion? 

Most brands over-index on branding and under-index on the product. They obsess about names, logo colours, typefaces, brand guidelines, and forget that customers come back for one reason: the experience attached to the product. 

When we started The Pizza Bakery, we didn’t have a branding agency. Our logo was created in one evening at our dining table. Our interiors were built on instinct, a Mona Lisa mural holding a beer mug because I saw something similar on Pinterest. 

The geometric patterns on our walls came from our freelance graphic designer who designed our pizza boxes. None of it was planned in a boardroom. But people connected with it because it felt authentic. 

The biggest thing brands get wrong is assuming customer emotion comes from visuals. It actually comes from: 

• the taste and quality of the food 
• the warmth of the service 
• the ambience that makes them want to stay longer 
• the feeling of “this place just gets me” 

Branding matters, but only after you have a product worth branding. 

Q. As an MBA student passionate about marketing, if you were starting today at 22 again, what would you focus on learning first? 

I would focus on learning by doing. When I was younger, I thought my first startup would blow up because I’d analysed the idea enough. But we didn’t even know what an MVP was. We spent a year building something no one wanted.  Business school teaches frameworks, not instincts. It teaches you to plan, not to test. 

If I were 22 today, I’d focus on: 

Solve real problems: Start with something that bothers you-and 10 others you know.

Prototype fast: Build a few rough solutions and see what sticks. Seek feedback, not perfection.

Charge early: If people won’t pay, it’s not a business.

Build resilience: The key skill is staying on course when early ideas fail. Create + execute: Treat your first startup like a low-stakes project and learn through mistakes.

My biggest learning: Your results don’t give you conviction. Your conviction gives you results. 

Q. Your vlogs are such an unexpected and fun part of your storytelling. What made you start doing them, and what have they taught you? 

The vlogs started almost by accident.  I’ve always had a creative side, and I wanted an outlet for it. Smash Guys was our third brand, and I didn’t want to build it the conventional way. So I thought: what if I build it in public? 

We put one video out on YouTube. Great feedback. No idea if I’d make a second. Then people wanted more behind-the-scenes, how we make decisions, how outlet visits work, how we test burgers. To me, these were boring routines I’d done for 8 years. But when we filmed a Saturday outlet visit, it went viral. That’s when I realised that what’s ordinary for us is fascinating for others. 

My biggest lesson is that  people don’t just want polished storytelling, they want proximity. They want to see the messy parts, the vulnerable parts, the human parts. 

Q. Founders becoming content creators is the new norm. How do you balance authenticity with strategy when people expect you to always be “on”? 

I balance it by not creating content-I just document what I’m already doing. I never wanted 'content creator' to be my identity. My philosophy is: “I don’t want content to be what I do; I want what I do to become content.”

So I simply record my real work-outlet checks, tastings, meetings, and problem-solving. People think it’s a strategy or a stunt, and yes, it works like marketing, but it wasn’t designed that way. The camera just follows the life I already live, which keeps it authentic.

What really helped was involving the community early. Our burger-tasting pop-ups made people feel like co-creators. Those initial 200 supporters grew to 800, then 3,000, and eventually a movement. The brand wasn’t built by content-it was built by community.

Q. Is there something you wish more people understood about entrepreneurship or about you beyond the business? 

I wish more people understood how deeply failure shapes founders. I wish more people understood how much failure shapes founders. Everyone sees the success and the 200-crore story, but the real growth comes from failures that expose your blind spots and insecurities. Failure makes you more humble, self-aware, receptive, and intentional. It doesn’t hold you back-it prepares you.

What I want people to know about me is that everything I’ve learned comes from being in the arena, not from theory. I’m not a polished strategist- I learn by doing, experimenting, listening, and getting back up after falling. Entrepreneurship isn’t perfection. It’s resilience, conviction without evidence, and the courage to keep moving through the fog. Success is simply the by-product of that mindset. Success, when it finally comes, is just the by-product of that mindset. 

Bio:

Abhijit (AB) Gupta is the co-founder of The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini, and Smash Guys - three brands that have reshaped Bengaluru’s dining landscape under Popo Ventures. From bringing authentic Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas to India with The Pizza Bakery, to crafting French-inspired gourmet sandwiches at Paris Panini, and introducing bold, flavor-packed smash burgers with Smash Guys, AB has helped create some of the city’s most beloved food experiences. A singer, traveler, and entrepreneur, he transitioned from managing his family’s travel business to building a ₹200+ crore homegrown F&B venture rooted in quality and innovation. 

AB also documents his entrepreneurial journey on YouTube through “Building a ₹100 Cr Burger Brand,” giving audiences a transparent look into the making of Smash Guys. 

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Interviewed by: Gunjan Joshi