Leadership Beyond Expansion: Umesh Kumar Agarwal On Sustaining Quality At Haldiram’s

When a food business grows, the obvious changes are easy to see: more outlets, more customers, a bigger operation. The harder part, however, is keeping food and service dependable at every location. That takes work people don’t always see. For Umesh Kumar Agarwal, Director of Haldiram’s Marketing Pvt. Ltd., it is one of the biggest responsibilities of running a large-scale business.

“One of my biggest learnings has been that growth is not simply about opening more outlets,” Agarwal says. “It is about ensuring that every outlet delivers the same commitment to quality, service and customer satisfaction, irrespective of its location or size.”

At the start, a business leader can stay close to most decisions. That gets harder as the business spreads across more locations. Teams have to take on more responsibility, and the systems around them need to work, too. Agarwal believes leadership has to change as the business grows. “The one crucial lesson in leadership is always to stay grounded,” he states.

His decision-making process has also changed over time. People closest to the problems must be able to solve them. Investment, growth, quality, or strategy problems need a holistic perspective. For Agarwal, decision-making is not enough; it needs to be implemented. “A good decision is one which is commercially sound, operationally feasible and backed up by ownership,” he says.

One of the greatest challenges in the food industry is consistency. Standardized recipes and methods can be applied, but they do not go far enough because the ingredients used can vary.  There might be equipment malfunctions. The employees must be able to make the food properly. “The biggest misconception is that consistency can be achieved simply by having standard recipes, operating procedures and training manuals,” Agarwal says. Writing down the rules is not enough. People have to follow them every day.

This depends on the manner in which the various teams interact. The procurement team should be able to procure the ingredients that meet the specified criteria. The production and outlet teams should be able to handle these ingredients appropriately. There is also the role of quality assurance and training. A process that is too difficult to apply in the midst of service will lead to errors.

At Haldiram’s, Agarwal says, customers should find the same commitment to quality and taste wherever they encounter the brand. “Consistency is not created by writing a standard. It is created by following that standard, every day and at every level.”

Not every part of an outlet’s work needs to be controlled from the centre. Food quality, hygiene, product specifications, and portion size should be uniform. The scheduling of a shift by the manager could be influenced by the outlet. According to Agarwal, the team should have the flexibility to make decisions within some boundaries. Excessive centralisation would delay decision-making at an operational level, whereas excessive decentralisation would affect customer satisfaction.

Food safety makes this especially clear. A checklist can show whether someone completed the required checks. It cannot tell you whether employees take those checks seriously. What matters is what they do when no supervisor is there. “A genuine food-safety culture exists when employees follow the correct practices even when no audit or supervisor is present,” Agarwal says.

That includes reporting a temperature deviation, keeping questionable material out of use, and following cleaning procedures. Employees need to know why food-safety rules exist. They should also feel safe reporting a concern. Food safety is not just the quality team’s responsibility. Procurement, production, operations and senior management all have a role. “For me, food safety is not something we prepare for before an inspection. It is something we must practise every single day,” he says.

Much of the work is routine. Check storage temperatures. Keep workstations clean. Rotate stock properly and respect shelf lives. Inspect incoming materials and packaging. Prevent cross-contamination. Clean and maintain equipment. These tasks rarely get much attention when all is well. If they are neglected, the effects can reach both quality and safety.

Agarwal says a product that does not meet the required standard should not be served just because an outlet is busy. Even if the recipe is right, the end product will differ if the equipment does not function properly. “I believe operational excellence is built through hundreds of small actions carried out correctly and consistently, not through occasional extraordinary efforts,” he says.

Keeping track of these details starts with clear responsibility. Audits and performance measures can help identify issues. Technology can help in accessing data. Technology does not take action for you. For Agarwal, a problem is never sorted out by just reporting it. There must be someone to take responsibility and sort out the problem. Accountability has to be fair, though. People need the authority and resources to do the work they are expected to do. “My focus is not on personally checking everything. It is on ensuring that nothing important remains unchecked or without ownership,” he says.

The outlet staff has an immediate impact on the effectiveness of such systems. They will be preparing the food, serving the clients, and solving any issues that may arise during the process. The training process cannot be left at induction. They need practical advice on how to handle their work situations. They must understand the reasons behind the standards.

For Agarwal, engagement is part of the job. Employees will feel more inclined to develop a sense of ownership if they feel supported, if their efforts are appreciated, and if there is space for them to grow. Managers have to follow the standards themselves. “When employees take pride in their work and feel personally connected to the brand, maintaining quality becomes a shared commitment rather than an imposed instruction,” he says.

Trust matters across locations, too. Employees need to believe that expectations are fair, concerns will be heard, and management will keep its commitments. Recognition is important. So is dealing with problems instead of letting them linger. “Trust grows when people know they will be heard, treated fairly and supported, but also held accountable for their commitments,” he says.

Today’s customers go beyond just judging the quality of food. Cleanliness, convenience, speed, and reliability are crucial. Everything should be consistent, whether customers dine in, take away or order delivery. They can also compare brands and post their experiences online. A bad experience may affect whether someone comes back.

Agarwal believes businesses have to adapt without losing the qualities that earned customers’ trust. New products, formats and technology may help a brand keep up. They should not come at the cost of quality or the standards customers already expect.

“For Haldiram’s, our strength lies in the trust built around our products over time. Our responsibility is to preserve that trust while continuously adapting to changing customer needs,” he says.

More outlets and more customers come with growth. But sustaining this growth depends on the activities in these outlets, the teams' decision-making, their compliance with standards, and how they handle issues. For Agarwal, the task is to maintain customers’ trust while meeting their next expectations.

As he puts it, “The future will belong to food businesses that can combine traditional trust with modern convenience, operational discipline and a consistently good customer experience.”