U.S. Expat's Burrito Empire in India: How a $23 Million Mistake Launched a Success Story

I exited the U.S. to launch a burrito eatery in India—and it raked in $23 million annually: this was my gravest error.

To celebrate the launch of its 100th outlet, the burrito franchise based in Bangalore, California Burrito He priced every item on their menu at 100 rupees. According to founder Bert Mueller, the offer became viral.

"They ended up having massive queues at the stores since an unexpectedly large number of people turned up," Mueller states.

Mueller started California Burrito in 2012 when he was just 22-years-old. The idea came to him when he was studying abroad in India for a semester during college. One of his classmates of Mexican origin brought her host family Mexican food and they absolutely loved it.

He mentions that it suddenly struck him that perhaps he could introduce Mexican-inspired cuisine to India.

Today California Burrito has more than 100 locations and last year it brought in $23 million in revenue. But Mueller admits that he made some missteps along the way.

One of them, he says, was not spending any money on marketing. Events like the 100th-location celebration just weren't a priority to Mueller during the early days of California Burrito.

Mueller states, "We completely underestimated our marketing investments and only began allocating significant funds to it after the onset of Covid."

I wish we had started this sooner.

Mueller and his business associates, both of whom were childhood friends that later departed from the company and moved back to the U.S., chose Bangalore—the nation’s fourth-biggest metropolis—for their inaugural eatery. Given its status as a major information technology center, numerous inhabitants had visited the United States and probably sampled Mexican cuisine or similar dishes.

Mueller reckoned that opening his initial store would require around $100,000 USD. To play it safe, he managed to raise $250,000 from acquaintances and relatives.

The initial site generated approximately $500,000 USD within the first year, as per documents examined by Romero.my.idMake It. Consequently, the original investment of $250,000 allowed Mueller to establish two additional locations.

Initially, one of the reasons Mueller refrained from investing in marketing was due to uncertainty regarding its impact on profitability. Recognizing that the pandemic had reduced customer walk-ins, Mueller understood that the business needed an online presence. Currently, he mentions that approximately 4 percent of their budget goes toward marketing efforts.

For its 100th location celebration, Mueller enlisted influencers to endorse the promotion. On that particular day, California Burrito saw eight times their usual volume of business.

He remarks, 'I wish we had initiated the marketing sooner.'

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