When he thinks of the time he played cricket for the under-17 and under-19 Tamil Nadu team, the most vivid memories Chef Nishant Vijaykumar has are of the food. “In a way, I always knew that I wanted to get into the food business; as cricketers, we always had good food, and whenever we landed anywhere, the first thing I would do was check out the menu,” he laughs. Now, the young founder of Brownie Heaven — which, in a matter of 11 months, has three outlets across the city — has plans to go beyond just his flagship product.
At 18, he made a career switch, moving from the cricket field to the kitchens. After interning at Cornucopia under Chef Anand and at Copper Chimney, he went on to study hotel management at the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal, graduating as a gold medallist. After a stint with ITC Hotels at Delhi and Gurgaon, he was posted to ITC Grand Chola in Chennai. “That’s when I decided that it was the right time to take a risk and set out on my own. I knew that working in hotels was not my cup of tea. Anyone could replace me in the job I was doing; I wanted to make a difference by creating some value,” says the 25-year-old, adding, “I didn’t want to look back and ask myself why I didn’t take that risk. Whether I failed or succeeded, at least I took that step.”
Within a week of Nishant quitting his job, Brownie Heaven was up and running. He says, “It’s not so surprising, actually. In between college and joining ITC, I had a two-month break, when I sold made-to-order brownies from home as an experiment. I sold over 200 kg. So, in terms of product and capital investment, this was the least risky, as there is no wastage. You sell what you bake.” What started on a by-order basis slowly grew into the outlet that we are at, on Peters Road, Royapettah. As he looks around the space, he says, “I didn’t think of the outlet immediately. But we had sold 2,500 kg in three months. In that way, I was lucky. I had my savings, and my father helped with the initial investment. This place also belongs to us, so I was able to use it.”
“Chennai is still a very conservative market when it comes to food. I really want to do something here; but I know it will take some time. Even though brownies can be considered a premium product to work with, at least it is familiar to the consumers,” says Nishant, on why he wanted to work with this particular product. That is what he sees as his way forward.
“All the brands I am working on are product-centric; so it’s easy for people to connect,” he says. Recently, he had experimented with Midlis, to “try and understand whether the Chennai market is ready to try different things, especially with a product that is very close to their heart”. He realised that people are not willing to pay a premium for an idli. “Even if 20 to 25 per cent of the market accepted this product, it was good for me, because I intend to take it up North. I know it will sell like crazy there,” he says, detailing his plans for expansion to Delhi and Chandigarh.
While he considers himself an entrepreneur in the food business, he is just as proficient at putting together flavour profiles. The avant-garde ‘Heaven on Earth’, which is brownie soil and a fresh fruit melange with a quenelle of citrus mascarpone is quite divine. “It comes naturally to me. On chocolate, anything you put will be good. The challenge was in the presentation: different concepts and colours on the plate were essential.”
Soon, Nishant will launch a macaron brand. “It’s not something that a lot of people are familiar with. So, they might think before shelling out Rs. 50 for a macaron, or compare it to a Thoothukudi macaroon. That’s because they don’t know how difficult it is to get the moisture, batter, humidity and baking right; obviously, there’s a price to pay for it.” But that hasn’t stopped him from coming up with plans for brands around dim sum, samosa, gelato and more.
Although he has a team of eight executing orders (the outlets in T. Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur are franchises), most of the work is done by Nishant, which he admits, can get a little difficult at times. He says, “I haven’t spent anything on marketing or advertising. It has just been word of mouth. Every time I think of spending, I get stuck with a lot of orders!” As of now, he’s taking his brownies across India by tying up with Blue Dart for 24-hour delivery: order before noon and you will get your brownies the next day in any part of India.
A horde of kids from the nearby school descends on the place as we leave. Nishant smiles as he watches the clamour, and explains, “We have mini brownies which we sell for Rs. 20, so the kids can afford it. It makes them, and us, happy.”
