Avni Biyani: The Future Is here

- Shruti Venkatesh

The first time Avni Biyani imported tomatoes from the Netherlands to sell at Foodhall, her mother threw a fit. “When I told her they cost ₹2,500 per kg, she thought I had gone crazy. She told my father no one will buy it. But he was so proud of it that he went around telling people. He still does that because, for him, it is value addition at its best,” she says.

You could attribute the words to a fond, indulgent father, but Kishore Biyani surely knows a thing or two about retail. The founder and CEO of Future Group had pioneered organised retail in the country. Under him, the Future Group operated diverse retail formats—Big Bazaar, Central, Brand Factory, Pantaloons (since sold to the Aditya Birla Group)— and was dabbling in a slightlypremium concept, Food Bazaar Gourmet, with moderate success.

But when the Ruias (who own Mumbai’s upscale Palladium mall) wanted a store that would cater to an upwardly mobile segment, Biyani knew he had to look beyond Food Bazaar Gourmet. “The Ruias were encouraging us to do something that was much higher than a Food Bazaar Gourmet and we were toying with the idea where customers could come and shop in an unhurried environment, where ‘deals’ were not available,” says Avni, 27, seated in her tenthfloor office at the Future Group’s headquarters in Mumbai’s Vikhroli.

That’s how Foodhall, a premium food superstore, came along. The first outlet was set up in Palladium mall in Lower Parel in May 2011 and, in 10 days, Avni, who had just returned to India after completing her graduation from New York University (NYU) in sociology and political science, joined the team. “My father chose the colour for the brand, a distinct light blue and brown, and the tagline ‘for the love of food’ and just gave it to a team to handle.”