A story of a young dynamic guy Harshal Shroff, who was working in the digital marketing domain and was out-performing in his professional life, he was happy but was not satisfied. So finally, he opted out from his job and started “This Corn – A one of its kind store that serves flavoured corn”. I got a golden opportunity to meet this food lover on the street of Andheri and he shared his experience and journey with me.
“After I completed my post graduation I joined the digital marketing company and was pretty happy with what I was doing. My work was getting me awards and fame but I was not satisfied so I took a break from my routine to decide my what motivates me more”, he said.
Harshal added, “Since I am a food lover and corn being my favorite I started exploring the corn joints in the city. I visited a few places but realized they were all more or less the same in terms of the corn offered”.
“Seeing that I got my motivation that people like street food because they enjoy having it, but what if that same street food turned hygienic! I realised people liked corn so much in this regular taste, so what if it was provided to them in different flavours that were tastier. I then decided to open a unique store that serves healthy & tasty corn, where I ensure that they should eat healthy. I knew a guy named Tapan who was working in the food industry since long, so I got him on board as the store manager and we were all set to open “This Corn”. he added.
We later moved to his shop which is located right in the heart of Andheri bus stop. Harshal has a team of six everyone has a role defined, Sonali who is the brand manager, Tapan is the store manager and the store team members are Nadeem, Sapan and Robin. Harshal looks after the overall management and smooth functioning of the store.
“We started our testing with people around us and it was a really amazing experience to see the response. We have done extensive research in order to make the perfect taste for our corn lovers. Currently, we have 11 flavors of corns which include Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican cuisine” Sonali added.
Tapan said that “It’s around 3 months and we have served over 2500 orders, we have encountered many people who wonder how “This Corn” is different from the regular corn but we managed to make them understand and till date not a single person has left the store without praising the tasty cup of corn they receive!”
Who would imagine having nachos flavoured corn or Biryani Corn? I loved the ambiance of the store, it is pretty amazing where you can see the offers written on the chalkboard. The place looks even more beautiful in the evenings. “This Corn” has many amazing offers such as 15% discount on your next purchase if you show the previous bill and soon they are coming up with combos that include beverages and many new innovative flavours!
“Soon we will be opening one more outlet. The journey was not smooth but I had to take the ownership of my idea” said Harshal. He also believes that if one has to start working on something they wish for, don’t wait for anyone to help you just start and you will find a way. That is certainly a strong message he has for everyone. Good luck to you and your team from us!
