An investment banker who was just a step away from becoming the youngest partner/director ever at PwC, runs one of the biggest catering companies in India – Cater Ninja. Passion for food and the urge to do something on his own pushed him to leave his comfort zone and follow his heart.
Being the youngest partner would have been like in the Forbes list. “I was one shot away from being a partner at PwC as a director before I resigned. I felt like I peaked too early. I don’t know,” says Anup. “Maybe I mean, those lives… where I draw a huge salary etc… don’t matter to be very frank with you. What matters is the kind of impact you create on society around you. Creating bigger impact and that’s when the thought came more with, you know, that I can create a bigger impact on a wider canvas.”
Why catering? “My grandfather, who had a retail shop in Kolkata, used to say roti-kapda can never be out of fashion. They are recession proof, they were not pandemic proof, but they were recession proof,” he says. And I am kind off impressed by the philosophy.
Cater Ninja has quite big portions and they primarily serve Indian food. “We do serve pastas, pan-asian and some other starters,” Anup corrects me. “Our menu changes with each city/town,” he adds.
Do you customise? “Of course, it’s a completely customizable experience that’s catering, right? I mean, people want 2 items to be less spicy, so we can do all of that, and that’s where the competition doesn’t come from the restaurants. Money is just one aspect of it, the convenience and comfort of a home the second. You can be loud and boisterous, and you want to socialize, talk to your friends, talk to your relatives, have a good time. And the quality of food can match any high-end restaurant.”
The food comes three layered packaging that ensures it is hot for a long time and with disposable cutlery and crockery. “The idea is to make the entire experience hassle-free and enjoyable. Quite a few households, especially bachelors staying away from home, do not have sufficient cutlery, plates etc. for guests. We send sustainable and disposable tableware that they can easily dispose of.”
Where does the name Cater Ninja come from? “So, we joined the two words, catering some catering. The word cater came and India is to show the precision, professionalism, fitness of everything and then India is a very implement proper guy who does everything like to be the Ninja!”
Entire logistics from procuring raw material to cooking to delivery is managed by Anup and his team, no outsourcing. “We want to ensure quality and that can only happen when all controls are with us.”
Anup comes from Kolkata but has travelled the world before settling in Mumbai. Does he call himself a Mumbaikar? “Oh yes, surely. I can even speak the language – not fluent, but I get by.”
+What do you find a better place – Kolkata or Mumbai? “Difficult choice… For food I would probably go back to Calcutta every time. But Mumbai has its own buzz. Like, you know, once you are in Mumbai, I mean, even after Mumbai, we are now operating in many other cities. I don’t think I can look at myself in another city after so long. My wife for sure doesn’t want to move out of Mumbai. Same for me,” Anup answers with a laugh.
When it comes to business, do you think the vibes of Mumbai food business are better than the Kolkata food business? “Don’t mind me saying that it’s a wrong question and I’ll tell you why. So when we started catering, our first thought was, hey, do we think, like Domino’s, that I give the same pizza everywhere in the country, whether you are in East, West, North, South or Center… then we realise that catering is not that. It’s a very regional experience. So if you have a biryani, biryani experience that my customer expects in Chennai is very different from a biryani that the customer expects in Bangalore. That’s why we don’t have many Pan-India players.”
Having said that, Anup’s next step is to penetrate the market so well that Ninja is a household name that everyone thinks of when they want to host party.
