Diksha Pande and Amit Nanwani: Revolutionizing India’s Beloved Samosa

When you think of Intel employees, the first thing that comes to mind is probably microchips, not samosas. However, Amit Nanwani, an Intel employee, had a different vision. Hailing from the snack city of India, Nanwani couldn’t ignore his passion for samosas, and he decided to turn his cravings into a business venture. Born and raised in Bengaluru, he had worked at prominent tech firms like SapientNitro and Digitas before joining Intel in May 2015. In February 2017, while still working for Intel, Nanwani opened a small samosa outlet called “Samosa Party” to satisfy his lifelong love for this iconic Indian snack.

Despite his demanding day job, Nanwani dedicated his nights to running the samosa outlet. His typical day started at 8:30 am at Intel, followed by a grueling two-hour night shift at Samosa Party starting at 8:30 pm. The venture took off with a bang, selling around 200 samosas per day. Beyond brisk sales, it also became a gathering place for friends, offering tea, camaraderie, and, of course, mouth-watering samosas. Within a year, Samosa Party’s daily samosa sales doubled to 400 pieces. Nanwani continued juggling his tech job at Intel with his passion project. Eventually, he joined EY in May 2018, but his dedication to Samosa Party remained unwavering. By this time, Samosa Party had expanded to include another outlet in Bengaluru.

Diksha Pande, on the other hand, embarked on her journey to follow her passion in December 2019. After a decade at Oberoi and two years as the head of innovation at Pizza Hut, Pande was ready for a new challenge. Her passion led her to create a new category in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, which she aptly named the “Quick Samosa Restaurant.”

Convincing her parents about this unconventional career move was a challenge. One Sunday evening, Pande took her parents to one of Samosa Party’s outlets in Bengaluru, and they enjoyed the samosas without knowing what was coming next. She surprised them with the announcement that she was joining Samosa Party as a co-founder. Her parents were initially taken aback, questioning her decision to leave her job to sell samosas. However, her determination won them over.

Pande firmly believed that samosas could be more than just a popular snack; they could become a brand. Her passion and conviction were the driving forces behind her decision. Meanwhile, Nanwani had quit his job in May, six months before Pande’s move, to build a business around his samosa passion. In April of the following year, Vamshi Krishna Reddy recognized the enormous potential in India’s street food market. Approximately 60% of India’s food services market is unorganized, representing a $40 billion street food market. To illustrate the scale of this opportunity, Reddy pointed out that samosas are India’s favourite tea-time snack, projecting a $750 million organized market opportunity for samosas in India by 2025. In December 2020, Samosa Party secured $2 million in Pre-Series A funding from Kalaari Capital, affirming the brand it had built through its great products.

Amit Nanwani and Diksha Pande’s journey with Samosa Party has been nothing short of a celebration. The duo sold an impressive 3.5 million samosas in the past year, marking a significant transformation from selling just 200 samosas per day in 2017. What started as a single outlet in 2017 has now grown to include 20 outlets across Bengaluru and Gurugram.

Their ambitious goal for Samosa Party is to establish 1,000 outlets in ten cities and achieve Rs 1,000 crore in revenue by 2025. Currently, the company generates a monthly revenue of around Rs 1.2 crore, equivalent to an annual run rate of Rs 15 crore. Their vision is clear: to be recognized as the samosa experts. Food experts have lauded the effort to turn the ubiquitous samosa into a brand. Samosas are an iconic Indian dish with mass appeal, enjoyed by people across all spectrums and even beyond India. Despite varying food preferences in different regions, the co-founders are confident that the modern appeal and consistency in taste can transform the samosa into a global favourite.

A journey that started with a tech professional’s love for samosas has transformed into a thriving venture with ambitious goals. Amit Nanwani and Diksha Pande have taken the beloved samosa to new heights, proving that with passion and innovation, any traditional snack can become a global sensation.