New Delhi: A heady mix of dry fruits, ice creams, fresh fruits and syrup - theme based smoothies, scoops, shakes and juices in exotic flavours and combinations are what a trio of young entrepreneurs have brought to the market.
'Lagoon Sip' a recent startup by an enthusiastic trio of Sakeer Husain, Mohammed Aslam and Zahir Mohammed, all in their early twenties offers a range of experimental flavours.
While 'Seven Sisters' uses seven types of icecream flavors, a 'Jamaican Chiku' shake has been specially made to match the taste of Somali people and 'Jungle Gym' is being offered as a juice for the health conscious.
"We wanted to offer something to the people that they never knew existed. We have worked out different combinations of ice cream flavors, syrups and fruits to bring out an interesting mix of quality and variety products," says 25-year-old Sakeer Husain, who has done his Masters in Psychology and has plans to pursue a PhD in the same.
Coming from varied disciplines, the trio of Sakeer, Aslam and Zahir share the common passion of entrepreneurship.
"All of us are poles apart as far our career is concerned but we teamed up for this initiative as we are driven by the passion of creating something of our own," says Aslam, who is a trained pilot.
Situated at Munirka village in the south west part of the city near the student hub of Jawaharlal Nehru University, 'Lagoon Sip' owes its varied products to the heterogeneous population of the place.
"There are people from varied communities living here. From JNU students to people from Somalia, Thailand and various other foreign countries visit our outlet. We have designed most of our products in a customised way to make everyone feel at home," says Sakeer.
Zahir Mohammed, a civil engineer by profession, did up the interiors of the outlet is busy preparing an 'Iftar kit' comprising a bowl of fresh fruits, juice and date palms for the ongoing Ramzan festival.
"We did intensive research for this start up and visited many ice cream parlors, juice corners and other places, but were disappointed not to find quality and quantity. There are places where you are charged exorbitantly just for a cup of tea," says Zahir.
"We wanted to provide the food loving people of the capital an option that is healthy, tasty and most importantly affordable," he adds.
hot favourite among customers of the Lagoon Sip is 'Seven Sisters'.
"I have been frequenting this place since it started two months ago. I am a huge fan of their 'Seven Sisters' and the 'Fantasy Milk', the special items here. What I find amusing is that you can have a nice sip here without burning a hole in your pocket," says Trishna Thakuria, a JNU student.
Anil Kumar, another frequent visitor to the outlet says, "I think this place has experimented with the palate creatively. Apart from what they have to offer, we are also encouraged to give suggestions for the menu."
Encouraged by the response it got in such a short time, the makers of Lagoon Sip are planning to open its branches in other places in the city - Jamia Nagar and INA.
"We are working on a winter menu for the outlet where we will include munchins like cookies, burgers and pastries. We have already got offers for our products from IIT and the nearby DDA flats. Once JNU opens after vacations, we are expecting brisk business," says Sakeer.
