When you begin something, any project or campaign without any expectations, you just don't know where it could lead you. Something very similar happened to Sahil Vora and Ushra Shah, the founders of MousseStruck.
MousseStruck was born in 2015 and the project did not win the creators many accolades, but the DMs they get today from their customers make up for more than that. It began with making just a few flavours from home for friends and family. The project eventually had gained enough fans in the college through word of mouth, that eventually was enough reason for their canteen to stock their products. What started as a small gig to earn some extra cash led them to occupying shelf space in more canteens and cafes!
In 2017, they decided to add online orders as a sales channel and 2 years in, MousseStruck now sells 13 flavours of mousse, newly introduced cookies, stocks 10 outlets and their very own central kitchen space.
Like every other home run business, MousseStruck started with its own share of difficulties. Having fridges in bedrooms, cartons of chocolate and cups stacked in odd places, family members sacrificing a dinner table and personal spaces of their own, and eventually having building members demand additional payments for the fleet of delivery boys that used the elevator numerous times a day.
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None of the partners have had any formal education in food, but they've realised that being foodies was all they needed to make something everyone would appreciate. The love for chocolate was the driving force behind MousseStruck and the brand name itself is inspired from the words 'Love Struck' but just for someone in love with Mousse!
Talking to Mumbai Live, Sahil Vora, Co-founder of MousseStruck takes us through their journey
Ushra used to make mousse as a hobby and for special occasions like birthdays etc. When we were asked to create a business from scratch and conduct the business inside college campus for a day, that's when MousseStruck was born. Basic planning like raw materials, flavours, stock and menu was made within no time. We needed a logo which wouldn't look amateur so we asked Ushra's family friend who was at that time pursuing a course in designing and branding to help us out with this project and she willingly helped us out with what you currently see as our logo.
The project was a semi success as we got a lot of feedback as well as applause for making an egg less, preservative free and rich mousse without any professional help. That is when we realised that since our beta testing is already done, why don't we try and establish a regular supply of our product in and around campus to earn some extra pocket money. We continued this side hustle till graduation post which most of our friends parted ways to pursue what they wished for. Ushra and I kept this model running post college by taking direct orders, supplying to multiple college campuses and a couple of cafes in our area. From there the model shifted to retail with the growing trend of online ordering and since then there is no looking back
MousseStruck competing with the competition
"Competition has always been fierce in this Industry and specifically desserts. India is still on a learning curve when it comes to desserts but the number of players with established names have managed to secure a good foothold among the consumers. But online food delivery aggregators have changed the market scenario completely. They have not only increased the risk appetite of consumers to try new cuisines and dishes but also invited a lot of unhealthy competition."
Millennials choosing healthier desserts compared to what MousseStruck is offering
"Yes and No. The extremely conscious ones are choosing healthier or you can say less damaging food overall. But we offer those options as well"
MousseStruck's plan ahead and take on using influencer marketing to push brands
"Increasing our physical reach across the city and outside of it and make affordable and yummy dessert varieties to keep our customers happy!"
"Influencer marketing on social media is a blessing for brands like us. We get to create outreach programs which are more effective, data driven and most importantly pocket friendly. Obviously when any medium starts picking up pace, people start cluttering the space which leads to an increase in the pricing by top influencers. That is when data comes to the rescue and help us identify the influencers who can help you grow."
You never know when small dreams take shape and become reality, Ushra and Sahil never imagined their product picking up pace as well, but as you work towards your goal, things happen.
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