DR.
RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS- III
BUSINESS CASE WRITING:
SUKANTA THALI: A PROFITABLE PLATE
SUBMITTED TO – SUBMITTED BY–
DR. MITALI TIWARI PRATHAM DHOKA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Enrolment No.- 210101048
(ECONOMICS) B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University 3rd Semester, Section ‘A’
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project report on the topic “Business Case Writing: Sukanta
Thali” submitted by me to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in partial fulfillment required for the award of the degree of
B.A.LLB. (Hons.) is a record of bonafide project work carried out by me under the
guidance of Dr. Mitali Tiwari. I further declare that the work reported in this project
has not been submitted and will not be submitted in either part or full for the award of
any other degree or diploma in this institute or any other University.
Pratham Dhoka
Enrolment No.-210101048
III Sem, B.A.LLB. (Hons)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my gratitude and deep regards to my teacher, Dr. Mitali Tiwari, who gave
me this opportunity to do this project. I would also like to thank her for providing
exemplary guidance, monitoring, and constant encouragement throughout the course
of this project. Without her motivation, inspiration, and efforts I would not have been
able to make this project.
I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my parents and
mentors for providing me with the morals and support for completing this task through
various stages. I am obliged to thank Mr. Upesh Marlecha who gave me his valuable
time and shared his experience and explained in detail about his business, he also gave
golden insights on running a successful restaurant. Without him, this work would have
been impossible.
Lastly, I would also like to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for their constant
encouragement without which this project would not have been possible.
-Pratham Dhoka
BUSINESS NAME: SUKANTA™ ESTABLISHED: AUGUST, 2004
OWNER(S): PARTNERS- TYPE: THALI RESTAURANT
MR. UPESH MARLECHA
MRS. SUSHILA MARLECHA LOCATION: PUNE, INDIA
Do your work with HONESTY, DEVOTION…
Treat your staff like family, handle everyone with CARE…
This way you will not face any problems…
And everything can be MANAGED…
- Mr. Upesh Marlecha
Contents
SUKANTA THALI: A PROFITABLE PLATE .............................................................................................. 1
DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................... 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 3
THE BEGINNING ................................................................................................................................ 7
INITIAL CHALLENGES ......................................................................................................................... 7
MARKETING ...................................................................................................................................... 8
SMILESTONES .................................................................................................................................... 8
THE INDUSTRY ................................................................................................................................... 9
KEY ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................................................. 9
WORK/LIFE BALANCE....................................................................................................................... 10
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................ 10
COMEBACK STRATEGY ..................................................................................................................... 11
NOVELTY ......................................................................................................................................... 11
OPERATIONS & IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................................. 12
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................. 13
HANDLING DILEMMA ...................................................................................................................... 13
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ................................................................................................................... 14
ROAD AHEAD… ................................................................................................................................ 14
EXHIBITS.......................................................................................................................................... 15
It was March 2020, business was running in the pink of health, and the upcoming summer
season was, as always, expected to be a blockbuster with people waiting in queues to have
their delights of unlimited ‘aam ras’ (a public favorite) and delicious veg thalis.
Unfortunately, the unexpected happened. Covid 19 virus cases started appearing in India, the
epidemic gripped India tight in its squeeze. The Government of India imposed an
unprecedented lockdown in the country resulting closing of all manufacturing, hotels, offices,
restaurants, and non-essential businesses.
This meant the restaurant had to close and there was no indication when it could start again.
For a service business, its earnings come on a daily basis, and as a result of the total
lockdown, the inflow of money stopped completely. The workers and staff went back to their
respective villages and towns. The dining, delivery (through providers), and catering services,
which is another unit of Sukanta, all stopped. In this, the whole staff had to be paid
allowances for their subsistence because they could not be left on their own alone in that
difficult time.
The good turned bad initially, then the bad turned ugly when Mr. Upesh, his wife, and his dad
got covid and it became so serious that they had to be hospitalized. The business was already
giving stress and then problems got very personal. His kids and mother were at home and
with them three in the hospital, those days were quite rough.
In a few months, it was time to brush off the dust and reopen the kitchen, people wanted to
taste their favorite thali at their homes, and food delivery was about to peak because the
Maharashtra government did not allow dine-ins until quite later. The situation presented him
a chance to stand up again, a chance to reclaim the glory of Sukanta Thali but it also came
with a whole new set of challenges. This time around there were a lot of restrictions, a lot of
regulations, and a lot of expectations coupled with serious demand from the people of Pune.
How did he put the business back on its feet? How did they (restaurant owner & staff)
manage to cater to a whole new wave of consumer demand? What kind of backups did he
have for such a bad situation presented by lockdown? What did he realize and learn from this
experience? What are my suggestions to face such a dilemma? Let us have a look at the
journey of Sukanta Thali and Mr. Upesh Marlecha and learn the answers to our questions.
We will try and explore his journey and cash on his business insights.
THE BEGINNING
Mr. Upesh was fresh out of college after completing his BTech but did not want to do the
routine 9 to 5 in a company. He had other ideas, that would change his and his family’s life in
a big way. He wanted to start his own venture and had a plan in his mind.
In August 2004, he started a small vegetarian thali restaurant, named ‘Sukanta’, it was the
combination of two very important names in his life Sushila and Kantabai, his mother and
grandmother. How could a business with the blessings and love of mothers taste anything but
success? The family experience of a catering business really helped in dealing with cooks and
other staff and a few other aspects. The word of mouth got spread and customers really loved
the taste and kept coming. The restaurant had a capacity of sixty guests, but the response was
so good that he realized he needed a larger space to operate, all this just within six months.
Luck had its way and a competitor in the prime market area of Pune put his property out for
sale, Mr. Upesh seized the opportunity and Sukanta saw an overnight shift to a new location,
Deccan Gymkhana, Pune it was.
INITIAL CHALLENGES
It was not an easy start because it was a new arena. The new field bought new challenges and
having not much technical know-how of running a restaurant business was a bit bothering but
it was all eventually overcome with great support from his parents, especially his father Mr.
Vijaykumar played the role of a great guide and granted him the fruits of his experience. The
catering background helped as well in this regard.
The funding to start the business was borne by the family itself. They did not need to go to a
bank or creditor. It was quite an amount but recovered and resulted in profit very quickly.
Hiring cooks would have proven to be difficult but the catering links came to the rescue again
in this area. The initial staff strength was 20 something that has now grown to one hundred
plus. There were some big players in the field at that time already but now Sukanta is the big
player itself.
MARKETING
In the start, it was about selling the idea to the public. The concept of a veg thali that had
Rajasthani, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Maharashtrian elements was a very appealing one. A small
restaurant, to begin with, did not require mammoth hoardings. The initial marketing strategy
was focused on small advertisements in local newspapers, some bit on the city radio, of
course, there were no social media at that time to do anything of that sort. Word of mouth
worked like gold because of the food taste, quality, and premium service. People bought their
friends and families along. ‘The goal of the initial marketing strategy was to just let the
people of the city know about Sukanta, people should know there’s a new place in town,’ Mr.
Upesh said. He also told that he had a firm belief that most of the first-timers would be repeat
customers because he did everything from his end to offer the best taste and the best service.
Now, when Sukanta is one of the legendary vegetarian outlets of Pune, the marketing is just
bigger. Mr. Marlecha himself is interviewed on radio shows, and in newspapers, he is a well-
known businessman in the city of Pune. Sukanta also ties up with various public events,
sponsoring them, resulting in public marketing. On the internet front, many food bloggers
have visited Sukanta and made videos and write-ups about the place. Sukanta also has a
presence on Facebook and Instagram where the daily thali menu is posted.
SMILESTONES😊
When asked about milestones, Mr. Marlecha told me that the biggest milestone for the
restaurant has been the love of customers, which is reflected by the sheer number of repeat
customers. The journey from a small restaurant to a thali giant has been another milestone.
Sukanta has received many accolades over the years. It has been awarded by the culinary
experts at Zomato as the best thali restaurant in Pune. It has also received the prestigious
Times Foods award for the best thali in the city. A famous Marathi newspaper ‘Sakaal’ has
also recognized Sukanta as a people’s favorite dine-in. The critical acclaim from bloggers has
also landed well and people’s love has never decreased, they keep coming and coming no
matter how much the waiting time has increased.
THE INDUSTRY
Pune is a big metropolitan and has all kinds of restaurants and many in number. There is
healthy competition in the business but Sukanta has the edge of being a vegetarian place.
The top vegetarian thali restaurants in Pune include Durvankur, Asha Dining Hall, Hotel
Shreyas, Rajdhani Thali Restaurant, Mayur Veg Thali, Maharaja Bhog, Poona Guest House,
and Aaoji Khhaoji. Despite the grinding competition, Sukanta has managed to remain at the
top of the game, the secret being nothing but pure consistency.
Here’s Mr. Marlecha’s view on competition: ‘I do not believe in competition; everyone has
their preferences. All have built their brands, and put their hard work behind those names.
People try new places but the taste of a place like ours does not fade away, they come back.’
KEY ACTIVITIES
Sukanta’s first and foremost activity is their dining service which is their best suit as well.
The reason is that a thali is best enjoyed when there is continuous, hot, unlimited food being
served in a royal ambiance. Sukanta’s ambiance is just top-tier, one feels they have come to a
palace, and the interiors have been designed keeping all this in mind. Their service is quick
and smooth. This is the ultimate thali experience.
Other than that, they are also available for orders on food delivery apps like Swiggy and
Zomato. This segment has boomed like anything since the covid pandemic.
They also take catering assignments for big functions, and social gatherings and they serve at
religious festivals at lower prices or for free as a way of giving back to society. Their catering
team is different and not associated with the restaurant.
All this means a lot of work and managerial pressure on the owner, Mr. Upesh Marlecha. He
is always on his phone parting instructions to his crew on some or other things. An
entrepreneur is never totally free, that’s the curse of being one. However, he does everything
with grace, with a constant smile on his face.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Being a father of 2, Mr. Upesh has added the responsibilities of a father and a husband since
he got married in 2010. After the covid experience, the obvious business stress did not go
unnoticed anymore. he has taken certain measures to make life easier and aloof of stress.
These are also aimed at giving him more time with his kids and family.
He has now fixed a daily routine, waking up early and going to bed on time. He has also
started doing exercise in his gym to maintain fitness. He is nowadays exploring self-time,
reading, and watching movies, which is beneficial to mental health.
After bringing in automated billing at the restaurant, he has no headaches regarding
accounting, there is transparency, and no need to counter-check. He says he got more time on
a daily basis after introducing monthly payments to his staff rather than daily wages, the
industry standard. He does not have to go through the trouble of paying all employees every
day. He has divided the responsibilities at the workplace so everybody knows their roles and
there are very less disruptions in the chain of work.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
MR. UPESH MARLECHA
MR.
VIJAYKUMAR
MARLECHA
CHEFS SERVICE
CAPTAINS
HELPERS WAITERS
COMEBACK STRATEGY
Dealing with the repercussions of the pandemic was not an easy task. It disrupted the entire
supply chain. There was a bit of a problem with assembling the staff after the lockdown too.
Land bills and other regular expenses were mounting up. While reopening, new rules and
guidelines needed to be followed strictly, even a single covid case in the restaurant would
mean a red alert.
But as they say, the comeback should be better than the setback. Sukanta came back with new
energy and enthusiasm to serve its customers. All the staff was bought in as soon as it was
possible and they were trained to follow covid guidelines in preparing and serving the food.
Expenses such as credit interests and other bills which were piling up were taken care of by
the savings that Mr. Marlecha had made for the hard times. These savings also helped in
taking a head start post covid. On fund management, he says to me, ‘An entrepreneur should
have his money in his mind all the time, it becomes very crucial that it is not spent on
unnecessary causes and is well directed towards the progress of the venture. Having a good
contingency backup is always fruitful.’
NOVELTY
Innovation and freshness are at the forefront of Sukanta Thali, in fact, one of their USPs.
The uniqueness of their dishes is something that stands out. Every day there is a new thali
menu altogether which means the customers never get bored of the same dishes. Dishes like
choco-chip rabdi, cheese kutchi dabeli, and garlic toast add new twists to a thali.
Their menu is thoughtful and totally adaptive to the ongoing season or festivities around. For
example, in the summer, they offer unlimited bowls of alphonso mango pulp (aam ras) which
is a crowd favorite and people come in numbers specially for it, they compete with their
buddies who will have more bowls of it, creating excitement in customers. On festivals like
Mahashivratri, Navaratri, and others, they present guests with special upvas thalis. This
attracts crowds that generally would not even go out to eat. This illustrates their awareness.
OPERATIONS & IMPLEMENTATION
The working pattern at Sukanta Thali is very finely set. Talking of Sukanta Thali’s operations
Mr. Upesh said, ‘we have distributed the work in an optimal fashion among the staff. All
departments are well-settled and everyone knows their duties and responsibilities. There is no
space for anyone to blame the other.’ The margin of error becomes small as a result.
The day at Sukanta Thali begins with the vegetables arriving early morning. Simultaneously,
cleaning work gets underway. The kitchen apparatus is set up to cook big quantity meals.
Hygiene is taken care of very well with all staff wearing gloves, and those in the kitchen
wearing head caps. The vegetable-cutting crew does their chopping work at speed. The head
cooks begin cooking the day’s decided menu. The kitchen is a place full of hustle and bustle.
When customers arrive at Sukanta Veg Thali, they are given waiting number tokens, when a
table gets free, the number is called out in the front area. As they enter, they make the
payment, a thali per person. They are shown to their table by the service captain. The service
captains rock formal attire. As the guests sit, they are welcomed with drinks like jaljeera, and
in the meanwhile, thalis get set for their table. Then arrives a fleet of waiters, all carrying
different food types, starters, salads, phulkas, desserts, curries, snacks, chaat, rice varieties,
aam ras, and whatnot. All waiters take the consent of the guests before serving anything. This
is done to minimize food wastage. The waiters work at the directions, literally just hand
gestures, of the service captains, this makes their work efficient and smooth. The guests have
as much food as they like with a continuous rotation of waiters serving anything they want in
their thali. And when they are done eating, another waiter comes with a big copper utensil
and a jar with water for them to wash their hands. The guests then leave but the taste and the
experience stay with them, and as a result, they come again!
The food delivery orders from Zomato and Swiggy are received via computer and then the
number of thalis to be packaged is intimidated to the kitchen where personnel committed to
the particular cause of packaging are engaged in their work all the time. Hygienic and quality
packaging is done to ensure people receive hot thali without spillages at their homes. The
orders are handed to the delivery partners in the waiting area by a waiter so that do not come
inside and cause unnecessary overcrowding. One can really see by now everything is so set in
order and the processes are, therefore, quite hassle-free.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Sukanta’s finances are quite safe and sound. Mr. Upesh talked about having a sense of
mindfulness about where cash is being invested, that one should have the figures readily in
their mind, there should be no unnecessary expenses, and financial planning must have a long
vision. Backup money just becomes very important when you can get shut down anytime.
About losses, he said that losses are something a business might experience in its initial days
and entrepreneurs should not get disappointed by it, when the firm grows, losses start turning
into regular profit.
On profits, his viewpoint was brilliant. He said that an entrepreneur should not get carried
away by profits. Any extraneous investments should come from the profits only and not from
the cost because a bad investment could then mean a disruption in the day-to-day functioning
of the business, a shortage of funds is never desirable. Therefore, cost and profit must be kept
separate for the sake of usage.
HANDLING DILEMMA
It has been discussed how Sukanta Veg Thali dealt with covid in the COMEBACK
STRATEGY section. I will put my word on that issue now.
Dos: When a time like that comes for a business, it is best advised that the entrepreneur
maintain composure, be calm, and think of ways to come back. Hope for the best and prepare
for the best. After a covid shock, it is your backup fund that helps you stand back right on
your feet. Handle your staff in the best manner, and train them to follow certain regulations
so they do not catch the virus. Hygiene takes the top stage in a national health emergency.
Also, self-care is highly recommended for the boss of the business.
Don’ts: It becomes imperative to not panic and remain cool-headed. Do not divert the cost
amount to outside investments, that way it becomes really hard to run the daily routines of the
business. Under no circumstances should rules be broken, that could cause a shutdown for the
restaurant. Do not let the staff away to other places, especially your chefs going to
competitors would be a nightmare because people love a restaurant for its taste above all.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Even though Sukanta Thali is not mandated by any law to do CSR work, understanding it as a
way to contribute to society they engage in social service and help the poor too. On their own
level, the Marlecha family does a lot of social work. They visit orphanages on their children’s
birthdays and make large donations for them and a lot of gifts for the children. They also
have adopted the families of their house helps, paying for the education of their children too.
Other than that, food that is not served on the plates and remains, is distributed to beggars.
They provide free catering services at JITO and Jain community programs many times. Mr.
Upesh is also appreciative of new start-ups and tries to promote them on his level, partnering
with them so their services reach more people.
ROAD AHEAD…
Sukanta, as of today, is one of the top restaurants in a big city like Pune. Being a people’s favorite
since 2004 is not easy. Speaking of the secret behind the success, Mr. Marlecha said, ‘It is a result of
nothing but consistency in quality and service. Our waiters are best trained to serve food and the
captains manage them really well. Our food quality is top-tier and it does not ever fall because we use
only the best ingredients in our preparation. We still use the same rice, for example, that we have used
since the beginning. Even increasing prices do not change our usage of quality ingredients.’
Looking at the future, Mr. Marlecha revealed his ambitions for expansion and venturing into new
domains. He said that they are always looking to introduce new dishes to their thali, innovation is the
keyword here. He further went on to talk about his idea of exploring all cuisines under the ambit of
the vegetarian diet. He explained it better as a full banquet facility with choices for all cuisines to host
functions, basically, he wishes to establish a vegetarian resort in the long run.
From a personal point of view, he strives to give more time to his family, especially his young kids.
And he wants to work on his fitness consistently because if he is not fit, running the restaurant would
not be an easy task for him. He is looking to maintain his physical well-being as well as not forgetting
his mental health at the same time.
The ultimate goal of Sukanta Thali is to ensure every customer leaves their facility happy. They
believe that guests are a form of God and that nothing is better than serving them with smiles on their
faces. The future holds a lot in the store for Sukanta Thali and they understand it very nicely.
EXHIBITS
Pic. 1. Seating Arrangement
Pic. 2. Entry Area
Pic. 3. Sukanta Selfie Point
Pic. 4. More Seating Area
Pic. 5. Cash Counter Wall
Pic. 6. The Famous Sukanta Thali
Pic. 7. A Pune Times Article
Pic. 8. Sukanta Zomato Page
Pic. 9. Zomato Page
Pic. 10. Mr. Upesh Marlecha
Sharing The Stage At An Event
With Former CM Of Maharashtra,
Mr. Devendra Fadnavis
Pic. 11. Receiving The Times Food Award For Best Thali, 1 st (Mr. Upesh),
2nd (Mrs. Sushila Marlecha), and 4th (Mrs. Luckysha Upesh Marlecha)
Pic. 12. Receiving Award From
Sakaal Group (Marathi Newspaper)
