CYK Hospitalities: Building Scalable Restaurant Brands with System-Driven Consulting
The restaurant industry is notoriously brutal, with one of the highest failure rates of any business sector. Yet, for Simranjit Singh and Pulkit Arora, the secret to surviving and scaling in the F&B (Food & Beverage) world isn't just about a great recipe—it's about a robust system. As the founders of CYK Hospitalities (Concept Your Kitchen), they are transforming how entrepreneurs launch, manage, and expand their culinary ventures.
Based out of the NCR region, CYK Hospitalities offers an end-to-end consulting solution that covers everything from menu engineering and branding to leasing and expansion. But what makes them truly unique in a sea of F&B consultants? They aren't chefs. Singh is a civil engineer, and Arora holds an MCA degree. This "non-chef" perspective is exactly why they focus on the one thing most restaurateurs ignore: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The End-to-End F&B Factory
CYK Hospitalities operates through four major verticals designed to handle every stage of a brand's lifecycle:
- Conceptualization: Building new QSIs, lounges, or cloud kitchens from scratch.
- Leasing & Expansion: Strategic placement in malls, airports, highways, and high streets.
- Franchising: Helping existing brands scale through franchise models.
- FMCG Solutions: Assisting brands in launching their own consumer products.
The Death of the "Chef-Based" Restaurant
Traditionally, a restaurant's success relied heavily on the head chef. If the chef left, the quality dropped, and the business often crumbled. Simranjit Singh is on a mission to end this vulnerability. "The times of chef-based restaurants have gone. Now is the time for SOP-based, system-driven restaurants," he explains.
By creating optimized systems where every process—from the exact spice measurement to the service workflow—is documented, CYK ensures that a restaurant can maintain consistency regardless of who is in the kitchen. This shift from "person-dependent" to "process-dependent" is what allows a single outlet to successfully transform into a national chain.
"The more time you spend on Excel sheets before launching a restaurant, the more beneficial it will be. You need to be prepared for every expense—CAPEX and OPEX—long before the doors open."
Winning the "65% Game": Location and Leasing
According to Singh, 60% to 65% of a restaurant's success is determined by its property. A premium location with a mediocre menu often outperforms a five-star menu in a poor location. This is why CYK places massive importance on market research and specialized leasing.
The team conducts deep-dive surveys to understand the local clientele. A "mediocre" location requires a completely different concept and pricing strategy than a "premium" high-street destination. By matching the concept to the location's specific demographics, CYK significantly reduces the risk for new investors entering the space.
The CYK Launch Methodology
- Market Research: Analyzing existing competitors and gaps in the local market.
- Menu Engineering: Designing a menu that isn't just tasty but also profitable and operationally efficient.
- Designing & Branding: Creating the visual identity (logo, packaging, interiors) that satisfies all five senses.
- Business Planning: Creating a comprehensive financial roadmap on Excel.
- Chef & Team Hiring: Building the human engine to execute the SOPs.
- Leasing & Launch: Finding the perfect spot and executing the grand opening.
The "One Roof" Advantage
One of the biggest pain points for F&B entrepreneurs is dealing with multiple vendors—architects for interiors, designers for branding, real estate agents for leasing, and chefs for the menu. CYK Hospitalities solves this by bringing everything in-house.
They even have a dedicated R&D Kitchen in their office. "Whosoever wants to enter the F&B industry can test their product in our kitchen first. Once the product is finalized, only then do we discuss the branding and leasing," Singh notes. This "test before you invest" approach provides a safety net for newcomers who have the capital but lack the culinary expertise.
CYK Hospitalities: Key Milestones
- Experience: Practicing F&B consulting since 2016; incorporated in 2019.
- Founders: Simranjit Singh (Civil Engineer) & Pulkit Arora (MCA).
- Verticals: 4 Core business divisions under one roof.
- Network: Managing expansion for both prominent International and National brands.
Navigating the COVID-19 Pivot
The pandemic was a "reset button" for the hospitality industry. While many physical outlets struggled, it paved the way for the Cloud Kitchen revolution. CYK quickly adapted by digitizing their own operations. They shifted their focus to helping brands launch cloud kitchens where branding and social media marketing were the only ways to win customers.
"In COVID, we added business domains like digital branding and social media marketing. Those who were starting cloud kitchens needed logo design and branding more than physical interiors," Singh reflects. This agility allowed them to not only survive the pandemic but also emerge as specialists in the "delivery-first" economy.
Founder's Advice: The Power of Delegation
Simranjit believes the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything themselves. "As an entrepreneur, you should not focus on doing everything. You should be a market leader who makes your executives ready for work. If you can't delegate, you can't scale."
The Meaning of Entrepreneurship
For Simranjit Singh, entrepreneurship is the art of synergy and delegation. It's about finding the right specialized people for each domain and giving them the systems they need to succeed. By applying engineering-level precision to the "art" of cooking, CYK Hospitalities is proving that the most successful restaurants aren't just built on taste—they are built on data, SOPs, and specialized partnerships.
As they continue to expand their verticals—including their recent entry into uniform manufacturing—CYK Hospitalities remains a One-Stop Solution for anyone looking to build the next big name in Indian hospitality. Because in the end, as Simranjit puts it, "The industry welcomes everyone, but it only rewards those who plan on paper before they light the stove."
About the Guest
Simranjit Singh is the Co-founder of CYK Hospitalities. A civil engineer by training, he transitioned into the hospitality sector after running his own successful food ventures for several years. His unique background allows him to approach restaurant consulting with structural and operational rigor rather than purely culinary intuition. Along with his co-founder Pulkit Arora, he has built CYK into one of India's most comprehensive F&B consulting firms, serving both emerging startups and established international brands.
CYK Hospitalities (Concept Your Kitchen) is an end-to-end F&B consulting firm based in Gurgaon, NCR. They specialize in conceptualizing, leasing, and expanding restaurant brands across India. Their services include everything from initial R&D and menu engineering to franchising and interior design, providing a seamless "One-Stop" experience for hospitality investors and brand owners.