PERTH-based celebrity chef Praveen Kumar has expanded into two new premises following the successful launch of his Praveen Authentic Indian ready meal range earlier this year.
As a result, the team behind Tabla Indian Restaurant and the Indian Cook School will create up to 50 new jobs in Perth.
Boasting complete traceability, the range is freshly cooked with locally sourced ingredients, grown in Praveen’s Perthshire market garden, or imported from the family’s farm in India. Each authentic dish is prepared by hand then blast frozen to seal in flavour and sold online to customers or via high-end retailers.
In order to accelerate the expansion of the business, owner and head chef Praveen Kumar turned to Business Gateway for fundamental support. This included a strategic business plan review, advice on funding and access to intellectual property and marketing specialists.
Praveen stated: “Business Gateway has been invaluable to our growth; the team of specialists offered a broad range of expertise, which we could tap into as we set to expand our offering. Essentially, it was a shoulder to help lighten the load when things started to go astray.
“We were able to unlock funding through Business Gateway’s advice, which enabled us to purchase vital equipment such as larger blast freezers. In turn, this has enhanced our production capacity and we have increased by 400% from 500 portions a week to 2500. Without this expertise, we would not have been in a position to take on the new units, or successfully grow our team.”
Andrew Webster, Business Gateway Adviser at Business Gateway Tayside, said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Praveen and his team as they sought to expand their latest business venture in Perth. They truly tapped into Business Gateway’s full range of available support.
“It can be daunting when, as a business owner, you know you need specific expertise but are unsure of how to access this. Business Gateway can help by providing that vital introduction and a strategic overview of your business operations.”
