Brothers Charles and William Eid from the United Kingdom set up Signature International in 2011 – a production facility making flatbreads in the city of Nashik, 200 miles north of Mumbai. Built to European standards, the vision at that time was to set up twenty factories in India by 2020. While they are a tad behind this target – their second facility will be built over the next 20 months – they have been able to bring the business to the U.K. too, as Signature Flatbreads.
The bakery has four production lines and supplies flatbreads including chapattis, parathas, naans and kulchas to hotels, business canteens, and quick service restaurants. Business is now profitable with revenue of $7.5 million with a 40% rate of growth expected every year said William Eid.
“Disposable income is not high, and when they [Indians] do spend their money they want absolute value for it. And unless you have real authenticity in the breads that you make, you don’t attract the custom,” added Eid.
