Pico Masala
How I Built a Restaurant Empire—Then Gave It Away for Free
A fully-built, step-by-step masterplan—from naming and branding, to interior design, viral storytelling, and a data-backed roadmap to acquisition.
📄 Read the full masterplan on Substack
So a while back, the owners of this upcoming grab-and-go restaurant reached out. They had leased a space but had literally nothing else—no branding, website, marketing plan, or vision for selling the concept.
They were starting from absolute scratch.
They asked me to figure it out.
So I took their blank slate and turned it into what you’ll see below—a complete end-to-end masterplan covering:
- Market Analysis: student demographics, competitor research, peak hours, customer behavior
- Customer Personas: clearly defined, data‑driven customer profiles, targeted segments, marketing strategies
- Branding & Naming: Developed a memorable name: Pico Masala, culturally‑rich logo design, visual identity, color palette, typography, and symbolism
- Physical Space Design: multiple interior concepts for store layout and aesthetic themes, cost breakdowns, and built‑in virality
- Digital Experience: mobile‑friendly website, branded app, subscription model, entire tech stack
- Immersive Storytelling: Created an original narrative/story, multilingual fusion song & music video concept, detailed visual storytelling ideas to build emotional connection and customer loyalty
- Marketing Roadmap: strategic launch timeline, campus activations, creative campaigns like the “No Biryani for B’s” GPA guarantee, and other high‑impact marketing campaigns
- Scalable Business Model: subscription strategy, expansion plans, clear exit strategy
- Additional Revenue Ideas: international snacks, fusion drinks, future market expansions
It’s detailed, honestly, maybe too detailed, but I wanted to write down everything needed to make this a standout business that people actually care about, remember, and talk about.
Well, in the end, we didn’t move forward working together. But that’s okay! I had a ton of fun working on this project, and since I genuinely enjoyed creating it, I thought, why not share it with the world?
So, here it is.
If you’re working on your own business and feel like it could use more personality, a clearer vision, or just needs to be more exciting so it actually sells, reach out, maybe we can work together.
Or honestly, if you just want to steal some ideas from here, go right ahead, the name, the branding, whatever you like.
And finally, if this whole Pico Masala idea grabs you and you’re thinking, “Wow, someone should seriously make this happen,” well, also happy to help.
Anyway, enjoy!
Two friends of mine made a podcast episode about this masterplan. You can listen to it here: