California Burrito takes pride in serving authentic Mexican cuisine to the Indian crowd. In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, Bert Mueller, the co-founder of the popular chain discusses California Burrito and how he plans to steer multiple restaurants amidst inflationary pressures.
Amartya Smaran
Bert Mueller is the co-founder of California Burrito, a popular chain of restaurants that take pride in serving authentic Mexican cuisine to the Indian crowd. Bert set foot on Indian soil for the first time in 2010. He landed in Jaipur and signed up for a programme to dig deeper into the Indian culture.The young music and public policy student stayed with an Indian family for over six months.
One fine day, one of his contemporaries cooked some delicious Mexican food and the Indian family took a liking to it. The family’s reaction to Mexican food planted the idea in his mind to perhaps start a business and introduce Mexican cuisine to Indian nationals. Thus, he opened the first outlet of California Burrito in Bengaluru in October 2012.
In conversion with The Pioneer, the co-founder discusses California Burrito and how he plans to steer multiple restaurants amidst inflationary pressures.
“Honestly Good,” remarked Bert when asked about the company’s motto. “For us, this means we serve simple, quality ingredients that shine by themselves without any gimmicks. It also means we seek to promote a sustainable food culture where all stakeholders are treated with respect (customers, employees, suppliers, and our great planet!) Our commitment to sourcing only the freshest and most high-quality ingredients is unwavering, as we endeavor to provide customers with food that is not only delicious but also honest and wholesome.”
Bert says he saw tremendous potential for the country while he was studying in Jaipur, and he really appreciated what was happening in India. “I studied in Jaipur, the pink city– Is anyone here from Jaipur? I love Jaipur. I love the people of Rajasthan – it’s a tremendous place and I loved studying there but when I was studying there, I was amazed: no Mexican food? None! There wasn’t a single Mexican place in the entire city. But thinking about it, why would there be? Mexico is very far away! So no one was serving Mexican food,” shared the restaurateur while talking about what pushed him so hard to start a company in India.
He further explains that Mexican food was really popular in the US. More so than the Americans, the Indian diaspora really loved it. So, Bert thought, why not bring Mexica food to India?
Well! his friends felt he went crazy and to prove them wrong, he got a job at one of the largest Mexican chains in America. He shares, “I did a lot of research on Indian food trends and wrote a business plan, and then started asking people for the investment. The money came in slowly – most people we asked didn’t feel 22-year-old Americans would do very well starting a food business in India. But we moved to India, set up a Tumblr blog, and started posting pictures of us looking at kitchen equipment, testing corn chips, visiting bakeries, and inspecting properties. And people were impressed – and then started asking to invest!”
Having done his research, he figured that Indian and Mexican cuisines surprisingly share similarities and draw the attention of those who enjoy bold flavors. He appreciates us Indians for our adventurous palate and willingness to try new and different types of food.
Bert adds: “With a diverse array of regional cuisines and a long history of culinary experimentation, Indians are no strangers to bold and complex flavors. In fact, many Indians take pride in their love of food and are always eager to explore new tastes and textures.”
Speaking of the time when the company went through a turbulent period during Covid-19, he shares, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost everyone in the QSR industry was negatively impacted. We pivoted quickly and focused all our energies to hero the delivery business- menu, portion, packaging, prep time etc. We bounced back stronger than ever and have just had our highest sales month ever this month!
I attribute this success to the incredible dedication and hard work of our outstanding team, who weathered the storm with us and never gave up. Their unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality food and exceptional customer service has been crucial in our journey to recover from the pandemic’s impact. I couldn’t be prouder of our team and am excited to see what the future holds for us!”
With inflation posing a real major challenge to the food and beverage market in particular, the founder says most brands have opened many stores in the past 24 months and the real estate competition is high. “Despite inflationary pressures and an over-saturated quick service restaurant market, we have managed to differentiate ourselves and build a loyal consumer base that values our commitment to serving fresh and real Mexican cuisine. My view is by staying true to our values and listening to our consumers, I am sure we will weather any challenge we face!” avers the passionate businessman.
“We are focused on opening stores in the cities we are in, promoting Mexican cuisine to more people in all our micromarkets and fulfilling our ambitions of real Mexican flavors and honestly good food. The outcome of this will be approximately 50 new stores opening over the next 2 years,” ends Bert Mueller.
