The Mumbai-born sourdough pizza chain has appointed retail veteran Gaurav Sachdeva as Chief Operating Officer at a time when the company is scaling rapidly across India’s urban foodservice landscape.

“43 stores, 12 cities — aiming to take it to 200-plus restaurants in the next few years,” says Sachdeva, summing up the ambition driving the brand’s next phase of growth.

But Si Nonna’s story is not merely about expansion. It is about building an entirely different pizza culture in India.

Beyond Conventional Pizza

Founded in 2022 by Ayush Jatia, Si Nonna’s entered a market long dominated by value-led, delivery-heavy pizza chains. Instead of competing on discounts or speed, the company built its identity around slow fermentation, artisanal preparation and immersive dining experiences.

The brand’s core differentiator lies in its sourdough philosophy.

Its pizzas are crafted using long-fermented dough, inspired by authentic Neapolitan techniques, creating a lighter, airy and flavour-forward crust that stands apart from conventional commercial pizza bases. The company has consistently highlighted craftsmanship, fermentation science and ingredient quality as central to its proposition.

Si Nonna’s also became India’s first pizzeria to receive certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), the globally recognised authority that preserves authentic Neapolitan pizza traditions — a milestone that significantly elevated its credibility in premium culinary circles.

Building a Menu Around Craft and Freshness

Unlike mainstream chains that rely heavily on standardised mass-market offerings, Si Nonna’s menu has evolved around artisanal combinations, fresh ingredients and elevated comfort food.

The menu spans:

• Classic Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas
• Burrata-based pizzas
• Truffle-infused variants
• Fresh mozzarella and ricotta-led combinations
• Roasted vegetable toppings
• Pepperoni and gourmet meat selections
• Handcrafted appetisers and sides
• Desserts inspired by Italian café culture
• Specialty beverages and coffee pairings

The company has also built strong appeal through its open kitchens, visible dough preparation and wood-fired cooking processes that turn pizza-making into a theatre-led dining experience.

In many ways, Si Nonna’s operates closer to a modern lifestyle café than a traditional QSR chain.

Its outlets are designed to encourage community engagement, long-format dining and social sharing — a strategy that resonates strongly with younger urban consumers seeking experiential food brands rather than transactional eating occasions.

Dine-In Energy with Digital Reach

While dine-in remains central to the Si Nonna’s experience, the brand has simultaneously leveraged digital platforms to expand accessibility.

The company is available across major food delivery platforms including Swiggy and Zomato, allowing it to participate in India’s rapidly growing premium delivery economy without diluting its experiential positioning.

This hybrid strategy — combining artisanal dine-in culture with digital convenience — has helped the company scale faster across markets.

The brand now operates across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Surat, Indore and several other cities, largely focusing on premium malls, high-street destinations and affluent urban catchments.

Why the Brand Is Scaling Fast

Si Nonna’s rise reflects larger shifts underway in India’s foodservice industry.

Urban consumers today are increasingly willing to pay more for:

• Authenticity
• Ingredient quality
• Better fermentation and healthier formats
• Open kitchens and transparency
• Instagram-worthy dining spaces
• Global culinary storytelling
• Community-led food experiences

The premium pizza segment, especially sourdough and artisanal formats, is emerging as one of the fastest-growing sub-categories within organised foodservice.

Si Nonna’s has managed to position itself at the intersection of premium dining, café culture and modern lifestyle consumption.

Its rapid expansion from a single Mumbai outlet to 43 stores across 12 cities in a short span underlines the growing consumer appetite for differentiated food brands.

Enter Gaurav Sachdeva

As Si Nonna’s prepares for its next expansion phase, the company has brought in a leader with deep experience in scaling consumer-facing businesses.

Sachdeva joins after serving as Chief Retail Officer at BlueStone and brings over two decades of experience across Bestseller India, Puma, Hero Cycles, VF Corporation and Genpact.

Originally from Shimla, he often speaks about resilience as a defining influence in his life.

“Hailing from Shimla, my school was a 4 km uphill walk every day. I did that for 12 years and resilience is my biggest gain from there,” he says.

An alumnus of Pearl Academy of Fashion, LDT Nagold and INSEAD, Sachdeva believes strongly in people-led leadership and brand-building.

“At work my biggest kick is when someone I worked with gets promoted to the next level. At home the same kick comes when someone loves what I cook,” he says.

That blend of operational scale, consumer understanding and passion for experience-driven brands could prove critical as Si Nonna’s attempts to transform from a fast-growing premium pizza chain into one of India’s defining modern foodservice brands.

The post Si Nonna’s: Crafting India’s Sourdough Pizza Movement as Gaurav Sachdeva Joins Growth Journey appeared first on Business of Food.