French foodpreneur makes ₹50 crore selling premium sandwiches in Bengaluru

A Frenchman who came to India to pursue business studies in 2014 offers us all an extraordinary success story in Bengaluru’s food scene.

Belonging to a fairly modest family, Nicolas Grossemy, the founder of the gourmet sandwich chain Paris Panini has built a ₹50 crore empire.

His journey from a student to a food entrepreneur was recently highlighted in a YouTube video by GrowthX, offering a glimpse into what it takes to create a thriving food business in India.

In the video, Grossemy, who studied Mathematics, and economics before setting up the business shared his exciting journey. He says he comes from a modest background in France, where both his parents were teachers.

Growing up, Nicolas developed a passion for cooking while helping his mother in the kitchen—a humble beginning that would eventually inspire his entrepreneurial journey.

At 22, Nicolas moved to India to pursue his master’s degree. A deep lover of bread and sandwiches, he recalls how sandwiches were a staple of his childhood meals.

“I came to India in January 2014 for an internship while I was finishing my Master’s at Kedge Business School. Before coming here, I had worked in restaurants in France for about four years while studying, to make pocket money.” Grossemy was quoted as saying in an interview.

“But I ended up loving the industry and thought of starting something on my own during the internship itself. We (his earlier two French business partners) wanted to start a casual diner but we struggled to find a place, so decided to open a food truck instead, since it was a fairly new concept back in 2015,” he added.

His passion became the foundation for his focus on creating gourmet sandwiches, which set Paris Panini apart in India’s food scene.

Nicolas believes in the power of product-centric branding. He advises aspiring food entrepreneurs to choose a brand name that directly reflects their product and resonates with their target audience.

“Your brand name should make people associate with what you offer instantly,” he says, emphasizing the importance of clarity and relatability in building a strong identity.

He recalled, “The first challenge I faced was for all the modifications we wanted on the school van. We wasted four months as the guy took money from us and didn’t get anything done. After that, we moved the van to a different garage and that guy did a fantastic job,”

Fast-growing food outlet

Grossemy also shares valuable insights into the revenue of running a food business, breaking down the cost structure for aspiring entrepreneurs.

According to him, food costs typically account for 28 % of expenses, rent takes up 10 %, labor constitutes 15 %, administrative costs are around 10 %, and marketing expenses fall between 5-10 %. This leaves a profit margin of approximately 15 %, Nicolas adds.

The sandwiches come with names like Aime, Hugo, Jacques, etc. given to each of the paninis.

Nicolas reveals the logic behind these names. “Yes, all our paninis have French names. They aren’t named after my family members (or exes as some customers assume) but all of them have a story. For example, the Franck panini got its name because it’s a protein-loaded panini and has spinach, and it refers to Popeye the sailor man. Patrick got this name because we literally launched this panini on St Patrick’s Day. Jacques, our prawn and aioli panini, was inspired by Jacques Mayol from The Big Blue movie.”

All paninis are well-liked though the menu now includes desserts and pastas; the most popular are the chicken paninis Hugo and Michel and the vegetarian Estelle and Laura.