Harry Potter star Rupert Grint bought an ice cream truck with his movie earnings. He’d always dreamed of it and so when he could, he did. Thane resident Parin Gala is only 21, and he owns one too. And he’s just getting started.
In fact, his ice cream truck was Mumbai’s first when he launched it about a year ago. It has been doing so well that Gala, a Class XII dropout, has been getting franchise enquiries and hopes to have seven trucks with his brand, Snowbirds, all over Mumbai by the end of this year.
Gala operates the truck in and around Thane’s Lake Upwan and Hiranandani Meadows with his friend and the truck’s co-owner, Rajas Jog. The two connected over a shared dream birthed by excessive cartoon-watching. “We grew up watching Oswald , and the ice cream truck in it sort of stayed in our minds,” says Gala.
When Gala dropped out of college, he wanted to spend time travelling and doing wildlife photography. But he realised these were not pursuits that made money. Ice cream making could be, though.
And so he started Snowbirds. Jog joined him later, but his parents insisted he complete a degree in computer engineering.
“My teacher taught me how to make ice cream,” Gala says referring to Google. “I had no idea how to make coffee or even Maggi, let alone ice cream. Operating a truck and working a freezer were beyond me, but I asked Google teacher and thankfully, it assisted me very well.”
The truck he works out of is a second-hand vehicle. In its previous life, it was an ambulance. When Gala tried to buy it, its owner did not take him seriously, seeing only a kid, not a businessman. He did not know that Gala had already collected over Rs. 1 lakh by organising treks and photography camps.
Gala got a new phone number from a friend and decided to work the deal on the phone, so that he would not be judged on his appearance. He managed to bargain with the ambulance owner and bring the price down to Rs. 1.90 lakh from an impossible Rs. 3 lakh. He borrowed money from his father, who took a lot of convincing. “The business needed more investment and finally, my dad lent me Rs. 6 lakh.”
It’s no back-of-the-truck operation, though. Snowbirds has over 50 flavours and was a hit right off the first lick. His first batch of ice cream was for a bunch of college mates, who could not believe their friend was churning out the ice cream. Says Gala, “They were drooling. Nutella-mint was the first flavor I served, and the second was strawberry. They really boosted my confidence. So many of them have helped me run the truck in the past year, including my good friends Manjit and Bhavesh. But they all had their studies to complete. Then I met Rajas while trekking, and we had quite a few shared enthusiasms. He was the only guy who showed keen interest in making and selling ice cream.”
Jog explains, “I too had seen Oswald when I was a kid. And while talking to Parin, I thought, why not do something new in life? People tried to talk me out of it, but I was convinced this was right. I only had to promise my parents that I would complete my graduation and I am at the end of that year now.”
They had to get 13 licences for the truck. Gala says he was helped out by the Food Truck Association of India. But the street smarts they needed to cultivate were of another level. From pacifying and dealing with local law enforcement agencies to figuring out the area with the highest footfall, from working out a schedule that would allow them to make enough ice cream with a single hand-churned machine to feeding hungry customers in five hours of evening traffic, from finding a non-residential place to park their truck (18 km from Gala’s home) to doing several runs back and forth on an Activa, they did it all.
The result? Snowbirds crossed the Rs. 20-lakh earning mark in the first 10 months alone. Their success inspired seven more food trucks to open business on the same stretch as theirs.
A major component of Snowbirds’ earning comes from catering for private events and parties. They have attended to business from BKC to Ambernath, at no extra charge except for a guaranteed sale of 15 litres of ice cream. Their weekends are always booked.
And all this is happening to a boy who sold shoes. Correction: all this is happening to a boy who was once the guy crouching in storage lofts in shops and throwing down shoes. And, whose relatives thought he was a waste. And who now order tubs of sweet, cold, creamy treats from him. And who life has made tough, but not bitter. And, whose heart is committed to wildlife in general, and snakes in particular. “They’re misunderstood,” he says. This is something he identifies with.
Snowbirds operates in and around Lake Upwan and Hiranandani Meadows, Thane. To place a special order, call 9920715525
