From joining our inKERBator programme in 2019 to slinging their bonafide Indian street eats seven days a week from two different stalls at our first indoor food hall – Seven Dials Market – Curry on Naanstop has exploded onto the street food scene and we love to see them blossom!
Meet Swati, founder of Curry on Naanstop, with Vamsi and Vijay, team members at their Seven Dials Market stall.
New to the street food London scene, Swati started Curry On Naanstop on the side of her 9-5 office job four years ago. She was doing well in her career but felt she lacked something, and KERB turned out to be that missing piece.
We sat down to find out how Swati and her team turned their Mumbai street food stall into a successful multi-site business…
How did you hear about KERB and the inKERBator programme?
I’d heard about KERB being street food market pioneers and I was really intrigued by it. Plus I was sure they could help us to grow. Initially we approached them to be part of KERB markets, and then found out about the inKERBator programme. It was a no-brainer for us, we saw it as an amazing opportunity so we joined and have never regretted it since!
What is your key takeaway from the inKERBator programme?
Get your branding right! KERB is really on it, so I wanted to nurture myself with all the info I could absorb and apply it to my business. The inKERBator course also made me realise how important it is to target the right audience. KERB really helped with our ‘look & feel’ and mentored us in how to sell our business and food better, giving us a great roadmap suggesting which direction we should take our business in.
Top tips for starting a successful street food business?
- Keep it raw, simple and authentic.
- Never let the passion die! There will be good days and better days (I never like to say bad days cause there’s alway a takeaway from everything) but you have to stay put.
- Have your own USP (Unique Selling Point) and fight for it. I know it sounds commercial but it’s so true!
Curry On Naanstop’s hero dish is…
It needs to be Chicken65 (a spicy, deep-fried chicken dish) as there’s a beautiful story behind it.
It is said that back in 1965 British soldiers in a Chennai canteen were presented with a long menu of Indian dishes, all aligned with numbers. It happened that there was a chicken dish as no.65. One soldier couldn’t pronounce the actual name of the dish properly, so would regularly order the ‘Chicken65’ and so it became a part of Indian cuisine history. The flavours are strong and authentic, and Chicken65 is one of our best sellers at Seven Dials Market.
How do you find trading at Seven Dials Market?
We absolutely love it at SDM! The buzz, the ambience, the space… it’s just amazing! It’s great that we’re able to offer our Mumbai street food via Curry On Naanstop at Banana Warehouse but also have our snacks bar Naanstop Express at Cucumber Alley. KERB has always pushed us to do better and bigger!
Who is your fave SDM member?
This is such a difficult question ’cause they’re all amazing but I see Truffle as role models. Tom is such an inspiration and he’s been here since the very beginning and still smashing it, whilst also having opened many other sites across London. It blows my mind, I admire them!
What’s next for Curry On Naanstop?
Having more sites across London for sure! Perhaps even beyond London, we want to spread across the country. So keep your eyes peeled for upcoming news from Curry On Naanstop – there may be some exciting ones soon!
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If you haven’t tried Curry On Naanstop’s Indian eats, what are you waiting for?! Find them seven days a week at Seven Dials Market and at Superbloom ’til the end of September.
Follow their journey at @CurryOnNaanstop
