Opposed
to the use of preservatives in their products, yet deeply committed
to the production of fresh wares having a shelf life of about 24 hours,
Croissants etc. is set to wrest the initiative from its competitors
purely on the basis of quality and service standards. Croissants has
12 outlets in Mumbai and 6 more are in the offing. While the outlets
are the favourite haunts of college students, Croissants is also the
official caterers at many formal functions. “When we began, there was
no place exclusively for teenagers to hang out. Our outlets provided
such an opportune location. We put TV sets in our outlets, although
earlier we used to play recorded music like MTV. Croissants etc. provided
an identity for the young,” says Suresh Kutty, general manager.
How
it began
“In 1987,
‘Ambassador Sky Chef’ decided to open an outlet in Bandra as a side
business to the flight kitchen, under the banner name – Croissants etc.,”
says Kutty. “The flight kitchen had its own bakery. It was felt that
the bakery should be used to the fullest possible extent. After having
seen this concept work abroad, we decided to Indianise it.”
“Croissant
is the French name for the crescent-shaped bread made from puffed pastry.
We modified the crescent croissant and made it straight, and also stuffed
it with a variety of fillings to suit the Indian palate. Savouries like
samosa are popular in India, so we thought of this new idea of having
a baked item with the same relishing fillings,” Kutty said.
Operations
manager Margaret D’Souza adds: “Today, we have reached a stage where
we handle huge orders easily. When we were asked to cater for the Zee
Awards Show, where 17,000 persons need to be served, it was no problem
for us. We provided snack boxes containing perishable items, all freshly
made and served within a few hours of preparation. All the boxes were
separately packed and delivered to the venue. This was possible only
because we have state-of-the-art infrastructure in our flight kitchen.”
Although primarily a cold supply chain, Croissant lays stress on HACCP
(Hazard Analysis and Critical Central Point) standards at every stage
of the production, packaging and delivery system. It has, therefore,
been able to maintain the freshness of its products while restricting
its shelf life to a mere 24 hours.
Maintaining
quality
A well-equipped
in-house laboratory checks the raw material as well as the finished
product. Samples of each ingredient, including fresh cream, milk, meat
and vegetables, are drawn at random and analysed. An account of the
bacterial count is also required to be kept under the HACCP system.
All raw
material procurement is contracted with companies of repute that are
able to comply with certain stringent specifications. Chocolate comes
from Cadbury’s. Flour of the required gluten content is obtained from
Shaw Wallace. Legumes come from Trikaya Agriculture at Talegaon. “We
obtain chicken products from Venky’s, which is a reputed brand, and
boneless chicken comes directly from Venkateshwara Hatcheries,” says
Kutty.
Every
item procured is subject to laboratory tests to ensure that it adheres
to company specifications. Samples are also taken at random from various
outlets and analysed to check if the products are safe for consumption.
The quality control staff submits its report straight to the directors.
In order to ensure uninterrupted provisions, Croissants enters into
year-long contracts with various suppliers. This also conforms to its
contracts with various airlines, which are also for a period of one
year.
