Redefining Hospitality: A Conversation with Paritosh Ladhani, JMD of Sincere Developers

An interview with Mr. Paritosh Ladhani, Joint Managing Director of Sincere Developers, a real estate development company

Mr. Paritosh Ladhani, Joint Managing Director of Sincere Developers, is a trailblazer in India’s real estate sector. In this conversation, he shares insights into his innovative approach to redefining urban landscapes.

With a focus on sustainable practices and customer-centric designs, Paritosh discusses the challenges and triumphs of shaping modern real estate.

Mr. Ladhani, you have an impressive portfolio, managing companies in diverse industries—beverages, real estate, and hospitality. Could you share your journey and what inspired you to explore such a wide range of ventures?

Paritosh Ladhani: My entrepreneurial journey has been a mix of successes and failures, and I believe both have been equally important in shaping my approach to business. In my 24-year journey, I’ve ventured into multiple sectors, and I’m quite candid about the fact that I’ve failed in a business every 5 years.

However, it’s the combination of learnings from these failures and the success achieved in other ventures that has enabled sustained growth.

One of my biggest learnings has been that success comes when you approach business as “WE” rather than “ME.” Wherever I entered as “WE,” considering the insights of my mentors—especially my father—and my senior management team, we found success. Conversely, when decisions were driven by individual excitement or limited knowledge, we faced challenges.

Our partnership with Coca-Cola, spanning over two decades, has significantly influenced my business philosophy. Working with such an evolved company taught us the importance of not just market growth, but also building sustainability around the business.

We’ve adopted their core values of integrity, respect, ownership, drive, partnership, and being future-ready across all our ventures.

How did you begin your entrepreneurial career, and were there any pivotal moments or challenges that shaped your leadership approach?

Paritosh Ladhani: I started quite young, completing my MBA at 21. After gaining two years of business experience working with my father, I ventured out on my own at 23 to start a snack food business.

This turned out to be one of my biggest learning experiences—while the business did well for the first six months, it eventually failed miserably, resulting in significant losses.

This failure dented my confidence but also made me humbler and more analytical in my approach. Thanks to the support of my wife, Alka Ladhani, I bounced back from this setback.

This experience taught me valuable lessons about business leadership. I learned that it’s not just about taking decisive decisions—it’s about being inclusive and listening to your management team.

In family-run businesses, getting consensus, explaining perspectives, and finding solutions that work for everyone is crucial.

The “know-it-all” attitude doesn’t help; being a good listener does. In a board meeting, it’s not the best idea that wins, but the most balanced one.

SLMG Beverages has made a significant mark in the beverage industry. What sets your company apart in such a competitive market, and how do you continue to innovate to stay ahead?

Paritosh Ladhani: What sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to quality and consumer experience at every touchpoint. Our Values in the business are Integrity, respect, ownership, drive, partnership and being future ready.

I have imbibed the same values and approach to my other verticals. Every single bottle is quality tested, produced in the right environment, and shipped to distributors on time. We ensure that retailers serve our drinks at the optimal temperature to consumers.

Innovation is constant in our business, particularly in distribution strategies and marketing execution. We believe in implementing small but impactful ideas across every vertical rather than focusing on single large innovations.

The industry has immense potential for growth, with our per capita consumption at only about 30 servings. Looking ahead, we’re focusing on innovation in package sizing, distribution alignment, and capturing trade through quick commerce.

As Joint Managing Director of Sincere Developers, you’ve been instrumental in driving growth in the real estate sector when talking about hospitality. What do you think are the key trends reshaping the real estate market in India today?

Paritosh Ladhani: Looking at the current landscape, particularly in the luxury segment, we’re seeing exponential growth.

The luxury home market is growing at more than 70%, and interestingly, people don’t ask for discounts in this sector—they’re actually happy to pay a premium. This trend reflects a broader shift in consumer behavior and growing aspirations in India.

Similarly, luxury hospitality is the new aspiration for every traveller. People want their weddings to be larger than life, and cities like Jaipur, Udaipur and now Agra are on their first choice. Senior leadership conferences, are happening in luxury hotels, not just five-star hotels.

People want to spend their weekend vacays in the most luxurious hotels from an experience perspective. The attention seeking on social media by these travellers, also helps.

However, if you want to sustain luxury hospitality in your hotels, you have to be innovative, you have to offer them something which no other hotel is offering whether it is with food, or arrival experience, or amenities in room.

The engaging events within the hotel also are a must. It is an industry which has the perfect growth potential, and India has just joined the Big Boys Group of countries like China and MENA countries where tourists are looking for such hospitality experiences.

You are the founder of the iconic Hard Rock Café in Delhi. What inspired you to bring this global brand to India, and what challenges did you face in establishing it here?

Paritosh Ladhani: When conceptualizing the Hard Rock Café in Delhi, our primary goal was to introduce something truly unique to the city’s vibrant culture. Hard Rock Café had been absent from Delhi for 3-4 years, and we felt it was time to bring this iconic brand back, right at the heart of the capital—Connaught Place. 

Connaught Place, often referred to as the heartbeat of Delhi, felt like the perfect location. We wanted to create a space where rock music enthusiasts and food lovers could come together to experience the magic that Hard Rock Café is known for worldwide.

It was about more than just a café; it was about creating a landmark, much like the Hard Rock Café in London at Piccadilly Circus or in Los Angeles on Hollywood Boulevard. 

The biggest challenge was to ensure that this outlet was not just another venue but a true representation of Delhi’s spirit—“Delhi ke Dil mein, Dilli ki Dhadkan.”

Today, Hard Rock Café in CP has become synonymous with “Dilli ka Zaika,” blending global flavors with local vibes and carving its own iconic identity in the city.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who are looking to enter the beverage, real estate, or hospitality industries?

Paritosh Ladhani: For new entrepreneurs, I have several pieces of advice drawn from my own experiences:

• Start with minimum capital and be prepared to work 12-13 hours a day
• Don’t get excited by initial success—focus on sustainable growth
• Work relentlessly on quality and product differentiation
• Innovate every month—if you miss out on continuous innovation, your business won’t survive
• Network in the right community where you can add value to your growth
• Listen to your mentors and senior management team before venturing into new territories
• Treat failures as stepping stones to success—every entrepreneur should experience some failure as it makes you humbler and more analytical

Remember Ray Kroc’s words: “It is true that I was an overnight success, but that night was 30 years long.” Every entrepreneur should be unsuccessful, and I may sound cliched but failure is your first step to being successful.

You have to grind it out day in and day out irrespective of the timing of your results. You will be eventually successful, and that’s a given. But for some, that event of success takes ages to come, and for some, it comes early. That’s what destiny is.  

The Ego trips and know it all attitude doesn’t help. The old adage that ‘Be a good listener” always works and if you feel that your strategy/idea will work better than anyone else, back it up with thought provoking evidence to implement it.

Through visionary leadership, Mr. Paritosh Ladhani has propelled Sincere Developers to the forefront of real estate innovation.

His commitment to sustainability, quality, and excellence continues to redefine industry standards, creating vibrant communities and transformative urban spaces.

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