INNOVATION FEAST

TINA THAKRAR SPEAKS TO FOOD AND HOSPITALITY ENTREPRENEUR SANNAT AHUJA ABOUT ESTABLISHING A SOLID BASE IN THE INDIAN FOOD SCENE WITH HIS EXCITINGLY PALATABLE BRANDS - SINDHFUL AND SADAKCHAAP

- TINA THAKRAR

One evening in 2021, as I was driving through traffic in Mumbai, I spotted a newly opened eatery across the street. The colourful board flashed the name ‘Sadakchaap’ and I was immediately intrigued by the name. Cut to a year later, and I had the opportunity to speak to its founder Sannat Ahuja, and hear his story about setting up two of the most innovative dining start-ups in India.

Sannat’s fascination with food and flavours started early, in his kitchen at home where his mother often whipped up delectable Sindhi dishes amongst other things. In the outside world though, he chose marketing and business management as his subject of choice, before realising it wasn’t his calling. He turned back to his first love food - and began cooking up ideas to break through the dining industry.

“I didn’t have the capital to start a restaurant, but I did want to hit the market with a unique idea, and that’s when I thought of setting up Sindhful with my mother. Regional Sindhi food seemed like an interesting Indian cuisine to explore, particularly because there was a huge gap in the commercial market for it, and I truly believed that other sects would enjoy it too. Being outsiders in the food industry worked for us because we had an entirely different approach to it,” reveals Sannat, who started the kitchen in 2016.