Over the last four years, Jitesh Vansarya’s first task every morning has been to update the home page of their family enterprise — Sri Gujarati Rambharose Sweet Mart — on Facebook. Finding Rambharose in Badi Chowdi, Ramkote is no big deal; almost anyone in the area can give directions to the store. After an extension of the original shop, it stocks everything from homemade pani-puri masala, green chutney for sandwiches to hara masala for thepla and air-fried bhindi apart from their 100-year-old business of speciality Gujarati sweets and snacks.

When he joined, Jitesh was sure he wanted to develop the joint-family business that his grandfather’s brother had first established. The youngster, who is in his mid-20s, wants to move with the times without diluting the essence of what has made the store a preferred destination for traditional Gujarati savouries and sweets.

“This shop is where all the children in the family have literally grown up, seeing my dad and uncles do business. It is not just about selling, we got our training in HR, procurement, quality control and a lot more on a daily basis by watching our elders do business at work. They may not have used such management jargon, but the essence of the tasks is the same,” says Jitesh.

He shuttles between the karkhana (workshop) and the shop, manages vendors and is strict about timelines of goods delivery even as he strives to update the inventory and meet the demands of customers’ palate. Air-fried, baked, roasted, mac and cheese, cream and onion, organic, millet-based, diet-friendly — these are terms he has introduced in his business that centred around chaat masalas. “On Sundays, this place is packed with breakfast diners. The food walk folk and foodie groups add to the stream of Sunday customers,” says a delighted Jitesh, as a staff member prompts him to speak about the special Vrat thalis and special food they serve to those fasting for Ram Navami.

“We do it every year for every fasting season. During Navratri, orders on WhatsApp keep my notifications abuzz,” he smiles. Jitesh’s brother also manages the store.

His father Manish Vansarya and his uncles are pleased with the changes. “The chaat section started by a team of youngsters in the family is an extension of the family’s original shop. Our customer profile has changed; from being a simple Gujarati mithai shop we have upgraded and are now selling multiple items for all tastes and age groups,” he says, handing over a packet of diet khara to a customer, evidently happy that the younger generation of his family has taken over baton of running the family business in tune with time. Does the family want to develop a plush place or open a branch? Maybe not yet, we guess, as Jitesh says, “Our food is special because of this ambience. The everyday hullabaloo adds to the feel. Our business shows how we can evolve with pride.”

(This column features Gen-Next entrepreneurs who take their family business forward)