Shipa Shetty: From film star to food star ....!

Well, Shilpa Shetty is the star of the most sensational story of Bollywood this week. By announcing her 33% stake in London-based food company V8 Gourmet Group, she has set a new trend that many Bollywood stars will surely try to follow in the future. Shilpa has send a message to her fans and entire Bollywood that she is not in a mood to settle down easily. The owner of former IPL Champions Rajasthan Royals now has her eyes set on the food business, which surely is a bold move, specially as the decision has been taken in a situation when the global economy is not in a great shape.

V8 Gourmet Group, which includes the Bombay Bicycle Club Kitchens and TiffinBites is among the most reputed names as far as international Indian food companies are concerned. The company is already having its operation in various parts of the world, and the ‘queen’ of Rajasthan Royals, now plans to help it spread its wings even more. Shilpa and her fiancée has invested 6 million pounds in V8 Gourmet Group and the money will be used for the expansion of Bombay Bicycle’s daily service. Besides, her financial aide is going to help the company expand the number of Tiffinbites restaurants and franchisees in London and abroad. And that’s not all. The filmstar-turned foodstar has plans to launch casual dining and shopping mall dining formats in Dubai.

Rise in the profit earning level for V8 is guaranteed as the name ‘Shilpa Shetty’ will add a lot to the brand. NRIs settled in US, European and Middle-Eastern countries will now show more interest towards V8 which already has a reputation for its long range of authentic gourmet meals. In near future, variety of dishes from traditional South and North India, chutneys and pickles are also likely to be available in Tiffinbites restaurants as Shilpa has decided to add more variety to V8’s food service.

Shilpa feels proud to be associated with V8 Gourmet Group and she should be. And so should we. With her sensational decision she has set a new trend for the businessmen and women in India. Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal and Ambanis are just a few names that people utter while discussing about businessmen in India. We Indian should feel proud that now we have got a woman who has shown the guts to step in this arena. For Indian women, Shilpa should be an icon, symbol of self-confidence and courage.