How Sharma’s Kitchen built the financial foundations for its Indian market entry

As Sharma’s Kitchen expanded, Bipen set up a separate distribution business, All Asian Foods. Bipen’s son, Akaash Sharma, is now the Managing Director of All Asian Foods, explaining that it has an Australia-wide supply network.

Scaling up to meet global demand

The business today has transformed from its smaller scale origins. Sharma’s Kitchen has long supplied customers in Asia Pacific and Europe from its production facilities in Hornsby, Sydney, and another in Bulgaria. The business is now increasing capacity to keep up with growing demand.

The Bulgaria factory has undergone a major upgrade, increasing output by 5-10 times to serve Europe, the UK, and even the US and the Middle East. A second Sydney facility in Fairfield is about to come online this year to support the businesses’ aspirations to grow in Australia and across Asia Pacific.

Akaash Sharma says the new facilities will increase production speed and volume, leveraging the latest technology and automation capabilities. He notes that once licensing is secured, the Fairfield factory will become an Asia Pacific hub, having been built for export compliance. This will enable growth into markets from New Zealand and Fiji to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Taking on the Indian market

As these facilities ramp up as part of Sharma’s Kitchen’s phased plan, the team is also busy transferring its learnings to its next production site - Amritsar in the state of Punjab. There, a new facility is about 80% complete and engineered to Australian standards. This will serve the enormous local population and is expected to be operational in 2027.

“Sharma’s Kitchen has developed substantial brand recognition and knowledge through our Australian and European operations,” Akaash says. “We are adopting the same very high standards of cleanliness and sanitation in our India factory to meet strong demand from India’s growing middle class.”

“We want to use Indian raw materials but have western experience that allows us to present products in a different, more exceptional way. We understand India has big, well-recognised players, so breaking in won’t be easy. Even so, we are confident in our strategy of introducing an internationally recognised brand aligned to local preferences for higher quality products.”

Fostering local networks and partners

When Bipen decided to enter India, Punjab was a natural choice, given that he had family there. Two of his nephews were initial co-investors in the local operations, helping coordinate early activity on the ground.

According to Akaash, entering any new country is challenging, but having a link to India made a positive difference. In India, Bipen could speak the language and had local contacts. Akaash said that having a good local accountant was vital.

“The hardest part was selecting the site for the factory. This included deciding which location has a good milk supply,” Akaash says. “Punjab has a strong agricultural footprint and reach into large cities, and our family has Punjabi roots.”

Akaash says that while Bipen could draw on his experience to plan the new facility, he needed process engineers and other suppliers. “They provided information on the local regulations for food factories,” Akaash noted.

“One challenge was navigating the bureaucracy. It is worth being prepared for a different way of doing business. There are a lot of requirements for paperwork and documentation when it comes to things like partner approvals and making international payments.”

Freeing up cash flow for expansion

Akaash explains that cash flow flexibility and access to working capital have been crucial as Sharma’s Kitchen scales up its global production operations and distribution networks. Akaash says that as a key lending partner for the businesses’ Australian operations, CommBank has influenced the India expansion.

“CommBank has supported us in building our new Fairfield factory, including financing the new equipment and project fit-out, providing working capital and a loan to purchase the land and building,” Akaash notes. He says this funding helps ensure we modernise the facility and increase capacity and access funding for day-to-day expenses and investments in activities like marketing to help the business grow.”

That backing in Australia freed up capital to fund Sharma’s Kitchen’s Indian facility and operations. “CommBank is a major supporter, and by ensuring we have good cash flow in Australia, we have the flexibility to send retained earnings to India,” Akaash says.

“It makes a big difference knowing you have got the backing of the bank when you are making growth decisions across multiple projects simultaneously. We can spend with confidence and can move quickly on the many opportunities ahead,” Akaash added.