Meet The Dessert Diva Who Made it to Entrepreneur India's Women to Watch For Class of 2019

Kainaz scaled her business from a small pastry shop in Mumbai to a retail chain of 35+ outlets

By Mohit Sabharwal

Entrepreneur India

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Kainaz Messman's culinary journey began at home when as a little girl, she helped her mother bake and cook. She says, "Often, when my dad travelled on business, my mother, sister and I had dessert for dinner. We went through recipe books, mum baked for us and we made a meal of it."

At the age of 16, Kainaz went to France as a part of a youth cultural exchange program. That year, she says, changed her life and determined who would she become. "I lived with a family that owned fruit orchards, vegetable gardens and vineyards. I learned to respect ingredients, cook with passion and keep things simple."

On returning home, Kainaz had decided to become a chef. She secured admission at Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Mumbai, and further, went to study at the Oberoi Centre of Learning & Development (OCLD) in New Delhi. Post completing the course, she became a pastry chef at the Oberoi in Udaipur but still missed France's quaint little patisseries.

With a little hope and prayer, she decided to open a small pastry shop in Mumbai, completely unaware of the growth that followed. What started with a single shop in 2004 has now become a retail chain of 35+ outlets across five cities in India. The venture raised money via private equity and is currently clocking profits.

Kainaz says, "Theobroma is primarily a dessert destination. It has evolved over the years and has added sandwiches and savouries as per guest requests. The menu at Theobroma reflects influences from my world travels; offering a diverse range of American, Italian and British products centered on my strong Indian and Parsi roots."

(This article appears in the March-April 2019 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here. You can buy our tablet version from Magzter.com. To visit our Archives, click here.)

Mohit Sabharwal

Former Senior Correspondent, Entrepreneur India Magazine

Related Topics

Lifestyle

4 Ways To Negotiate For A Good Salary

Negotiating a salary can be an intimidating task for many, especially for those who are just starting their careers. However, with the right approach and mindset, this can become a smooth and successful process.

News and Trends

Student Run Startup Plutus Raises $280,000 Pre-Seed Funding

The fund raised will help Plutus build new tools to expand the monetisation potential for content creators

Business News

Amazon Is Starting to Let Customers Know What Products Are Returned Often

The e-commerce giant has begun flagging certain items that were frequently sent back.

Culture

50 Work-From-Home Jobs that Pay As Much or More than Average Salary

If you're tired of driving to an office and would love to work at home, there are plenty of high-quality full-time work-from-home jobs for you.