House of Experts Ep5: Vibha Kagzi in Conversation with Food Bloggers Association, India

We are ReachIvy.com, a premium study abroad and career consultancy headed by our CEO Vibha Kagzi. House of Experts is a show that ReachIvy.com kick-started to help those who are confused about their career choices. We hope that through these sessions with some very successful people, we can shed light on a new career path every week. House of Experts plans to make a collection of interactive sessions with experts from various domains.

Vibha Kagzi, the host, is the Founder and CEO of ReachIvy.com, a premium study abroad and career consultancy organization. Vibha, a Harvard alumna, is a successful entrepreneur herself and believes in helping others chalk out their future careers. In Episode 5 of House of Experts, we were fortunate to host Sameer Malkani, Co-founder of the Food Bloggers Association, India. The FBAI is India’s premier online/social channel for food, drinks, and the hospitality industry in India. The FBAI aggregates and disseminates information about food, drinks, hospitality, food bloggers, chefs, events, and much more.

It has grown over 6+ years to be an influencer, establishing on ground IP properties like the #IFBA Awards (first offline awards for bloggers) #HomeChefMatters (first to organize a conference just about home chefs), #TheStirring, #FBAIReviewBox, #FBAIDialogues, each a leader in its own space.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the session between Vibha Kagzi and Food Bloggers Association, India in case you missed it:

1) What made you decide that you wanted to get into the food space? How did you nurture the community?
Saloni and I have always shared a passion for food, people, and reading. From there, we started building a community, which kept growing so, we moved it online. Initially, it was only food bloggers, but now it’s home bakers, hoe chefs, chefs, restauranteurs, and many more. We add value to them, activate them, and work with brands. We started this as a business only a few years ago when we saw that we were creating and receiving a lot of value. The aim was not only to build communities but also to give back to them. The value is in terms of giving them tips and tricks, organizing conferences where they can meet like-minded people while learning how to build their scale of business, and more.

2) Where is the business behind this platform?
For conferences, we don’t charge for attendance, and we don’t make money on it, but we get sponsorships that cover all our costs. We are quite strong in social media wherein brands reach out to our community as influencers to feature their ingredients or other goods as sponsorship. We bridge the brand to the influencer in this case. We have monetized our work with restaurants as well. The idea is to monetize the brand and not the community or the people. So, if someone wants us to post something on social media, we can charge them for the same.

3) Due to the growing health concerns caused by the pandemic, will the food and hospitality industries take a hit?
The food and hospitality industries have already taken a hit. When the lockdown eases, many restaurants will shut down. I’ve been in contact with our network, and it has been a tough time. How long the lockdown continues, a respite from the government, and help from landlords will determine whether restaurants can stay open. Restaurants will have to spend more on hygiene. Delivery services are growing, and so are home chefs in this situation. Restaurants will have to justify their existence and negotiate rentals to stay in business. I am also worried about street food. We are concerned about hygiene, but there is no way to predict what will happen.

4) What is the difference between a blogger and an influencer in the food space?
Typically, a blogger is someone who uses platforms like WordPress and writes a blog. They create and curate content on their website or blogging platform. Posting pictures on social media is not blogging. A food influencer can be present on any social media platform. PR agencies accept influencers on Instagram as bloggers, but they don’t have a URL or blog to write on. They can still be microbloggers. A blogger is an influencer, but the opposite need not be the case. Brands use Instagram as a norm and even resort to buying followers. There are organic and bought followers whether one resorts to one or the other, it doesn’t matter; the norm is all about the numbers.

5) How do you approach posting negative reviews or feedback for a restaurant or brand on your platform?
There are two cases here:
Plagiarism- Content or pictures are used without consent. We try to mediate and settle things amicably. There are no laws for it. The party involved may take down the post and apologize.
Repercussions- Zomato is the most popular site for reviews where negative feedback can pull down ratings. Some people might use this to hurt their competition even with checks and balances in place. It is a touchy issue, and one can judge for themselves, but they must post negative reviews responsibly. It should be constructive criticism given the hard work that goes in.
It goes both ways involving customers and restauranteers.

Hopefully, this inspired the cook and influencer in you. Go ahead and cook up a storm.

Our next episode on House of Experts will host the financial markets anchor with CNBC TV 18, Sonia Shenoy, stay tuned, and await the next blog!

Did you miss the session? Here is a link to the video on our YouTube channel

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