Springleaf Prata Place, a household name known for its creative takes on the humble prata, is a popular spot for both breakfast and supper in Singapore.
The founder of Springleaf Prata, SV Gunalan, better known as Guna, shared in a 44-minute-long video posted on Saturday (Sept 13) by The Rojak Room about the observations and insights he gathered from years running the business, which now has 12 outlets islandwide.
Speaking to host Jerald Justin Ko, Guna said one thing he noticed was that his customers are primarily Chinese.
“Actually, less than three per cent of my customer base is Indian,” he said to the host’s surprise.
He also revealed that more than 90 per cent of his customers are not Indian.
He said that when the eatery opened in 2003, chicken curry used to be the top choice for customers to pair their prata with.
However, fish curry eventually gained popularity over time as customer tastes evolved.
“Now we do like 70 to 80 per cent fish curry, 20 per cent chicken curry,” Guna said regarding the amount of curry his customers consume.
The business owner also stated that he has never seen Indian customers order fish head curry as the dish is mainly popular with Chinese diners.
Another thing that the Springleaf Prata founder learned from his customers was that Chinese people could take spicy food, he shared.
“People come to me and say ‘You can make your curry spicier. We can take it’,” he said.
When asked if he would consider creating a mala prata dish given this discovery, Guna stated that he is open to it.
Central kitchen mainly operated by PWDs
Guna also spoke about how he hires people with disabilities (PWDs) — specifically those with autism — during the podcast.
“Very proud to say this. Every dough made by Springleaf is made by someone with autism,” he said.
The business’ central kitchen has a team of six to eight people that prepare its prata dough, all of whom have autism. Their dishwashers too, are all PWDs.
Currently, about 35 per cent of Guna’s central kitchen staff are people with special needs, he said, adding that he aims to have about 80 per cent of his staff at the central kitchen be PWDs in the future.
The business has a partnership with the Autism Resource Centre to train and assess those under their care to work in Springleaf Prata Place’s central kitchen.
“I always say, we’re selling prata [so] we need good karma,” he quipped.
The business owner also said that the central kitchen is machine-driven to ensure that that staff with special needs can work without having to deal with fire, as some may have a fear of doing so.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
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