Ruchir's Snackbar: Catering to Hungry Hostelites!
The best things in life happen unplanned.That's the motto that Ruchir Shukla lives by. Here's why:
A first year PGDM student at KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai, Ruchir, like his fellow hostelites, was rather unhappy with the strict rules of their hostel of having an in-time of 10.30 PM.
"After talking to people I realized there is a dire need to have a store for food in the hostel. Hunger can strike any time, and it mainly strikes in the middle of the night! Thus came the idea of a midnight snack store," says Ruchir.
If you've ever lived in a hostel, you would've have definitely blessed this guy for this noble initiative!
Well, wasting no time, Ruchir had the snackbar up and running right inside his hostel room. At first, Ruchir started off with wafers, banana chips and salty peanuts. He struck a good deal with a wholesaler, who provided him 100g packs of each, and he sold these at discounted rates.
"After 2 weeks, Schezwan sticks were introduced. A Cadbury 5 star was given free with each pack. It
soon became the buzz in the college! After a few weeks, corn chips were introduced. They soon overtook Schezwan sticks and today, enjoy the position at the top," says Ruchir.Ruchir's Snackbar, as he calls it, has now become quite a popular respite from hunger for most hostelites. He opens for sales at 10.30 PM everyday and closes at about 3 AM. He sells an average of 25 packs every day, and his cumulative revenues have reached a whopping INR 1,00,000!
"The students of Somaiya have been extremely supportive. Seniors encouraged a lot and now that they have graduated from the college, they are missed dearly. However, we have a new batch and they have been very enthusiastic about the venture so far," says Ruchir.
Ask him about his future plans, and he says, "As I said earlier, the best things happen unplanned!"
We like the spirit, Ruchir!
