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Sweet Nation BRINGING THE BEST OF INDIAN FOOD TO GOANS

By Team Incredible Goa

Coming from a family that always appreciated great food, Deepak Tripathi, always had a vision to set-up a food store in this tiny state of Goa, something that could take on the might's of top Indian brands, such as that of Haldiram's and others.

After having pitched this idea, nearly two years ago, in 2018, at a dinner with his business partners, Deepak, along with his wife Namita, envisaged this journey w i t h p o s i t i v i t y, a n d a f t e r meticulous planning, “Sweet Nation” was born. Starting from scratch however wasn't an easy task, as along with the business model, the family also had to put in arrangements to set-up a factory that would handle the production process of the food venture. Namita, attributing the concept of this business venture to her husband, said, “Sweet Nation was a dream project of my husband. He always wanted to have a competitor or an equivalent to Haldiram's and other companies. While having dinner oncewith his partners, they sort of came about this idea and he took it upon himself saying that he is going to do it. We have managed to start off now and are doing quite well.” The pandemic obviously was a big b l o w t o s e v e r a l e x i s t i n g businesses, and for Sweet Nation – which was in its nal stage of setting-up – it was no different. Just a few days prior to the nationwide lockdown, the family had all its employees arrive in the state to progress with beginning the venture. They had initially planned to get the business up and running on April 26 – the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. “On 19th March, all the staff came from across India and we were expected to start but we couldn't. They came here just before the lockdown and everything was shut then. We then took care of their ration and food. It would have been very easy to say we can't take care of you as our business had not yet started, and we were well within our rights to say that, but we didn't,” says Namita. After shufing between dates and uncertain times, Sweet Nation was nally launched on 6th August, 2020. At Sweet Nation, the focus is completely on Indian foods, ranging from sweets, desserts, to savouries, snacks and chaat, keeping in mind high quality ingredients which is one of the most important priority at the company. A t a t i m e w h e n m a n y e n t r e p r e n e u r s a n d f o o d businesses are venturing into bakery and other Western food items, at Sweet Nation, the idea was simple – showcasing the best of Indian foods to a very untapped market here in Goa. “The market is very saturated for businesses such as bakery and other items and almost everybody is doing it. Through our business venture, we wanted to showcase the best of Indian foods.There is a huge demand for Indian foods from Goans, as well as from several non-Goans living here,” Namita says. Being focussed on its choice, i.e. Indian foods, the family started off with traditional Indian items, and slowly began adding variants and fusion of food interpretations to its menu. Sweet Nation has successfully managed to mark itself as a respected brand among its regular customers at its Panaji store, and with various innovative chains opening up across the country, many people are looking at such ventures for an appetitive, healthy and affordable meal. With almost all its ingredients sourced from local vendors in the state, Sweet Nation has a very streamlined production, with a semi-automated process at its factory in Velha-Goa. “As the scale goes up, we may automate a little more, but the most important thing about our production is that they are complaint with all safety standards,” she said. With Deepak adding his wealth of knowledge from his business e l d s , N a m i t a h a s b e e n exceptionally good when it comes to dealing with people; and with this duo combination, added with the support of its 30 hardworking and dedicated staff, Sweet Nation has already set smiles upon many. Adding an important tip to young entrepreneurs, Namita says, “Being a team player is very important when starting off a business. It isimpossible to do everything on your own. Selfi m p r o v e m e n t i s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h i n g f o r a n y entrepreneur, and focus on yourself so that you are at the top of your game.” With all safety measures in place in view of the current situation, Sweet Nation has also tied itself with food delivery portals such as that of Swiggy and Zomato, and with its live-counter in the pipeline, the venture only plans to grow in the coming weeks.

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