Prospering Company: Premier Food Supplies

The year is 2004, and there are some problems with the local Indian food supply chain.

The problem, as Amit Makhecha sees it, is that there is only one large distribution company that delivers to most of the Indian restaurant, grocers and banquet centers in the region.

And this company's delivery and service is inconsistent at best, unreliable at worst, he says. So, as co-owner of the acclaimed Rangoli Indian Cuisine restaurant in Auburn Hills, which had opened in 2000, and Premier Food Supplies, LLC, established in 2003, Makhecha sees firsthand the need for another Indian food distribution company in the area.

"We saw an opportunity to step in and do a better job," Makhecha says. "It was a natural extension for us."

Now, more than five years later, Premier Food Supplies' distribution arm is serving more than 70 grocery stores, including Plum Market in Bloomfield Hills, and dozens of other banquet halls and restaurants. Even before Premier Food Supplies' foray into distribution, the company had already supplied a grocery store that offered high-quality Indian food supplies. So Makhecha thought the conditions were right to move the company into this model.

His hunch is proving to be correct. In just a few years, the Ferndale-based company, which Makhecha co-owns with brother-in-law Jagdish Rughani, has seen steady growth – 40 percent growth each year, to be exact.

And by all accounts, that growth shows signs of continuing. Looking to diversify, Premier Food Supplies recently opened an office in Chicago. Distribution has expanded from Michigan into Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois.

That is in addition to the company's growing presence on the Internet. Makhecha says for the last few months Premier Food Supplies has been increasing its business online, potentially pushing it onto to the national scene.

It's an ascent made even more impressive when one considers that it all started less than a decade ago, when Makhecha, his wife and his sister were thinking of opening an Indian restaurant. Makhecha researched the logistics of such an endeavor and discovered they could get help in their own back yard.

"One of the things I found was Oakland County offered business startup assistance," he says.

Representatives from Oakland County's Economic Development Services helped the budding entrepreneurs figure out what was needed to launch a restaurant and then referred them to a bank, which offered them an Small Business Administration (SBA) loan.

The result was Rangoli Indian Cuisine in Auburn Hills, a restaurant that has garnered consistently good reviews from critics and a loyal following from diners.

After adding Premier Food Supplies LLC to his plate (no pun intended), Makhecha decided to return to the county's Economic Development Services department to participate in its popular Venture Forward program, a 10-week series of training sessions offered by the Oakland County Business Center.

The program, which Makhecha completed last year, helps existing entrepreneurs grow their businesses by developing sound business practices and action plans. The weekly sessions typically include guest speakers, individualized coaching and long-term mentoring from area professionals.

"It was very beneficial," he says, adding that Jagdish Rughani, his business partner, will be enrolling in the program this fall.

Makhecha says the biggest benefit of the program was the one-on-one attention and mentoring he received in helping grow his business. He adds it will help the company adapt as it grows and deals with a changing economy.

Eventually, Premier Food Supplies hopes to take things a little further and get into manufacturing. But for now, Makhecha is happy with what he sees as the right trajectory for the company.

"Of course when you start at the bottom it's not so hard to grow from that," says Makhecha. "To maintain it, I think, is the key."

For more information on Premier Food Supplies, call 248-275-6601 or visit online at www.premierfoodsupplies.com. For more information on Rangoli Indian Cuisine, visit www.detroitrangoli.com.

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