Thriving On Change

Gurmit Baidwan is Pita Pit’s 2022 Franchisee of the Year

Pita Pit franchisees love the fresh approach to business that provides healthy returns

Saurabh Patel bought his first Pita Pit franchise 10 years ago after working in retail management, including a spell in a service station. ‘From that, I understood how much easier things were with a franchise behind you. There’s proper training, systems and support, and a whole pathway to help you own and run a business.’ Saurabh followed the pathway and today owns four Pita Pit franchises from Warkworth to Tauranga with a couple of partners.

‘I joined Pita Pit because I liked the fresh fillings, I liked the idea of a customised product, and I trusted the franchisors – there was a real family feel about the business. Today, there are 80 stores around the country but that same feel is still there.

‘At the same time, the brand has been very pro-active to keep customers interested. That’s brought us to a great position, and now it’s better than ever with two new sub-brands.’

The first of the new brands is Egg’d®, which provides a simple yet delicious breakfast and brunch menu with a spotlight on free-range eggs as well as free-farmed bacon, smoked ham, halloumi, smashed avocado, tasty cheese and more.

At the other end of the day, Bowl’d® offers a range of warm rice and salad bowls inspired by flavours from around the world, along with side treats such as kumara fries and sesame-grilled broccoli.

Healthy bank balance

‘Pita Pit was very clever,’ says Saurabh. ‘They first trialled the brands via UberEats during the pandemic, which gave them the chance to see what worked and what didn’t. Then they took the most popular options and trialled them in a number of franchisees’ stores, including one of mine, before launching nationally. It was very easy – there were videos and in-store training from the Pita Pit coaches, and we only needed the same staff and equipment so there was very little cost – and it certainly increased our morning and evening traffic.

‘In my Cameron Road store in Tauranga, for example, we’re still doing the same hours but sales have increased throughout the day. The bank balance is looking very healthy.’

Tremendous success

Gurmit Baidwan, who owns Pita Pit stores in Botany Hub and Manukau South, agrees. A pharmacy technician by profession, he found the Pita Pit training very thorough, practical and helpful when he bought his first store in 2016. ‘And it still is,’ he says. ‘I was speaking to my Pita Pit business coach earlier today – they’re always available with suggestions if you have a problem or ideas to make things better.’

Gurmit was one of the first to trial Bowl’d in his Botany Hub store. ‘It’s been a tremendous success there,’ he says. ‘UberEats opened up new markets for us, and customers trust the new brands because they come from Pita Pit. All three brands can be prepared by the same staff and are produced to order, so there’s no wastage.

‘The next innovation is self-ordering kiosks, which are proving very effective – customers can order at their leisure while making staff more productive.’

Gurmit and Satveer with their daughters Rhythm and Eden

An extra 1400 lunches a day

Both Saurabh and Gurmit are involved in Pita Pit’s other big innovation – the delivery of school lunches through the Government-funded Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunch Programme, which aims to reduce food insecurity by providing students with access to a nutritious yet tasty lunch in school every day.

‘This was another great example of the way Pita Pit responds to change,’ says Saurabh. ‘When the programme was launched, we were invited to supply samples. But schools felt that students wouldn’t want pita every day, no matter how good. As we make to order in our stores, though, we can do almost anything. The franchisor developed a special menu of sandwiches, burgers, wraps, rolls and pastas, all designed to meet Ministry of Education nutrition guidelines, and we were in. Last term we were producing 1400 school lunches a day! That makes a big difference to your bottom line …’

Gurmit says the same. ‘It’s really taken off. At the back of our Manukau South store we have a big kitchen. We start doing the lunches there around 5am and finish before the store opens so it doesn’t affect our Pita Pit customers. We’re delivering 1400 lunches a day to 6 local schools, and the kids love our menu – we’re making a difference in the community, too.’ Nationally, Pita Pit is now serving over 11,000 students a day at 75 different schools.

Good returns for hard work

Pita Pit is currently looking for new franchisees for new and established stores in many parts of New Zealand, with smaller towns proving particularly attractive. ‘They offer a great combination of profitability and lifestyle,’ points out director Duane Dalton. ‘If you thrive on hard work and are good at building relationships, Pita Pit can offer very good returns.’

Gurmit sums up: ‘You can’t build anything this big on your own, so talk to Duane. Pita Pit has a great team who are always behind us, always backing us, always listening and improving the offer. I am a very proud franchisee of Pita Pit and very happy with the business that I have built.’

Advertiser Info

Pita Pit

www.pitapit.co.nz

Contact Duane Dalton

P 0-9-486 4664 M 021 355 880

duane@pitapit.co.nz