StartupLanes

I’m Shaan Ghosh, founder of Big Bao Express — one of India’s only brands built entirely around Baos, giving us a clear first-mover advantage in an untapped QSR category.

While most QSR brands compete in overcrowded burger and pizza segments, I chose to build where there’s whitespace. We’ve taken the globally loved bao and localized it with bold South Asian flavors and Indian sauces, creating a product that’s unique, scalable, and highly adaptable to Indian taste preferences.

In a short span, we’ve expanded across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chennai, and Odisha and now expanding to Kolkata aswell, proving both demand and replicability of the model. The focus has always been on building a brand that’s not just different, but defensible with strong unit economics, high recall value, and operational efficiency at its core.

I’m actively driving growth across product innovation, brand positioning, and franchise expansion, with a clear goal: to make Big Bao Express the category leader for BAO'S in India.

This isn’t just another QSR brand we’re building a new category, and scaling it fast.