Published: Sep 06, 2016, 13:08 IST    Updated: Sep 06, 2016, 13:17 IST

Riyaaz Amlani Explains Why Social Offline Belongs To Millennials

Riyaaz Amlani Explains Why Social Offline Belongs To Millennials

Back in 2014, Riyaaz Amlani, the founder of Impresario Pvt Ltd, started a trend. It was called Social Offline. Two years later, that trend has become a cult. And it’s only growing. The franchise that started two years ago with its first ever outlet in Bangalore, is all set to stand at number 14 with the opening of Cyber Social—the first Social Offline outlet in Gurugram, Delhi NCR. Situated in the buzzing Cyberhub, a popular food hub for everyone in and around Gurgaon, it was where I met up with Riyaaz Amlani—the man behind the model, himself. As he sat quietly busy with his daily proceedings while the workers bustled about him—setting up furniture, lighting, learning bar tricks and organizing the kitchen space—Riyaaz and I talked about the journey that he began about 15 years ago and how Social came to be a phenomenal part of it.

© Indiatimes

Riyaaz is no stranger to the food and beverage industry. He has seen it grow and change through time and he has risen and fallen a couple of times, himself. “Misreading the markets and the mood, and under and overestimating his customers are just a few of them,” he reveals. But as a constant learner, success and failure is something, the entrepreneur has ever taken too seriously.

Those of you who have even a little knowledge, would know that Riyaaz Amlani is the man who started Mocha—a coffee shop that soon became a favourite with everyone; irrelevant of whether or not they actually loved coffee. But, it was never a venue for the cities of Delhi and Mumbai, he informs. Mocha belongs to the Ludhianas and the Ahmedabads, just as Social Offline belongs to the millennials. At first, I didn’t quite get the concept; it’s difficult to wrap your head around it. But it’s all about the business models—something Riyaaz has learned up all too well. And according to him, Mocha is in a different space to be in such cities.

© Social Offline Facebook

Turn to Social Offline, a fairly new property, when compared to Mocha. Spanning across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, Social draws the young, the restless and the mindful. That’s always been the best part about Social. “People like the brand and feel affectionately about it,” Riyaaz quips. “And that’s our accomplishment.” But it’s more than just about being a favourite. It’s one of India’s first work space models that allow millennials to connect with people offline in a setting where you can work and, at the very same time, order a drink and listen to good music.

© Social Offline Facebook

“There is a joy in offline communities,” Amlani explains. “In offices, you don’t allow too much of serendipity. You tend to meet the same people every time. Sometimes, someone has half an idea and somebody else might have the other half.” Riyaaz also informs me that everyone who has come to work out of Social has, at one point or another, always found someone to collaborate, or co-create with. It’s more than just a bar, or a café, and it works because it separates from the capitalist, closely-knit and tightly controlled economy. Social Offline adopts an open-source, loosely knit and collaborative economy—a concept that is transforming the way millennials in major cities want to work.

Riyaaz reveals that the franchise easily brings in a whopping 50% of impresario’s entire profits, which has risen from around Rs. 50 lakhs in the first year to a good 200 crore in the current one.

© Social Offline Facebook

Given that within the two years of initiation, the brand has already become a fond name in the restaurant circuit and has 13 successfully operative outlets across the three major cities, where does quality and consistency stand for Social and for Riyaaz? “A lot of times people sacrifice quality in the name of consistency; consistently, they’ll give you a mediocre experience,” Riyaaz quips, adding that he isn’t a believer of that, or centralized kitchens. “Fresh ingredients; made to prepare on order, beats the pants out of that, any day; not to mention the carbon footprint,” he says. From preparing everything from scratch to considering the different palates across the cities—Riyaaz issues consistency across the outlets in terms of craftsmanship.

© Social Offline Facebook

The fact that Social, as a brand, doesn’t take itself too seriously is what appeals most to people. “It keeps evolving and shape-shifting; there’s no set formula,” Says Riyaaz. “And the fact that we’ve stuck to handmade, as a credo, has worked.”  The businessman, who started out as a shoe salesman, makes it pretty clear that he isn’t going to expand for the sake of expanding. “By the end of this financial year, you can look forward to around 22 to 24 Social Offline outlets,” he informs. Each of the outlets stands at the centre of a healthy mix of residential, business and commercial hubs; thereby, giving people the chance to combine work with leisure.

And what’s his personal favourite Social Offline outlet? “It’s always the next one,” he signs off.