Abstract

The case ‘Dishoom: Building a Distinct Restaurant Brand Using Storytelling and Its ‘Seva’ Culture’ describes how the founders of Dishoom, a restaurant chain in the UK, created a distinct brand for themselves in the crowded restaurant market in the UK through a culture of quality and service and keeping employees happy. The case touches upon how the co-founder of Dishoom, Shamil Thakrar (Shamil), decided to get into a business that would rejuvenate the Indian culture in Britain. The case describes Dishoom’s focus on its menu and ambience inspired by the Irani cafés known for their affordably priced and delicious food. The case then focuses on Dishoom’s internal strategy to keep its employees happy by providing training and support to them. This included wellness programs such as total distribution of service charges to employees, a 24-hour confidential counseling helpline, fully training managers in mental health first aid, as well as discounted memberships and classes and yoga sessions from local gyms and studios in the vicinity of each restaurant for the employees. The case ends with the founder’s business expansion plans. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Dishoom diversified into the food delivery business. It also ventured into the meal kit business.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Describe secondary brand associations and their impact on brand value
• Identify the importance of quality of experience in building a restaurant brand
• Examine the importance of creating a values-based culture of caring (Seva) for employees in the service sector
• Describe the effective use of storytelling to communicate company vision and mission to employees
• Recognize the impact of team building on employee satisfaction and happiness

Keywords

Employee Benefits; Organizational Culture; Training & Development; Leadership; Team Building; Entrepreneurship; Brand Differentiation; Service Operations