Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 16, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 16, 2004 |
||
|
|
||
|
Corporate
-
Announcements Marketing - Retailing Aiwo plans more boutiques, restaurants Nina Varghese
The Aiwo restaurant in Chennai. — Bijoy Ghosh
Chennai , April 15 AIWO, a lifestyle company promoted by Mr C. Sivasankaran of the Sterling Group, plans to set up a chain of gourmet restaurants and health boutiques across 27 cities in India and abroad. The company will invest about Rs 90 crore this fiscal. Aiwo — Chinese for Love Thyself — launched its first health boutique and restaurant in Chennai recently. Ms Thasneem Latheef, Marketing Officer, Gourmet Foods Division, Aiwo, said that today's lifestyle encourages poor eating habits coupled with stress and a lack of physical exercise. Aiwo hopes to address this problem through health foods and exercise. The food at Aiwo will be very different from that of other restaurants, Ms Latheef said. Only olive oil, which contains mono-unsaturated and Omega 3 fatty acids, is used for cookingSugar is not added to any preparations and only 2 per cent of the cuisine consists of rice or wheat. Butter and trans-fatty acids are not used, she said. Ms Latheef said that the company launched the 60-seat restaurant in March for a total experience in healthy eating. The olive oil and exotic vegetables are imported. The restaurant has an island kitchen with a conveyor belt carrying the food in small dishes. She said, "We have created an ambience that lets people care about others. The service on the conveyor belt lets guests choose what they want. This reduces the manual handling of food. The conveyor belt also ensures faster service and provides a new experience in dining." The calorie count of the portions is also monitored with about 45 to 55 calories in each of the dishes. The food at present is vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will soon be added on to the menu. There will be different menus for lunch and dinner with 15 different dishes. Ms Latheef said that they would soon have a bank of more than 1,500 recipes. The restaurant also has a fun food section where soymilk and soda slush is made from imported juice syrups, natural fruits without artificial colouring. The company's 15,000 sq ft health boutique has a gymnasium, steam bath, aerobic studio, beauty salon and relaxation lounge. The membership fee is Rs 50,000 excluding an 8 per cent tax. There are personal trainers to track one's progress, design workouts and schedule appointments with other Aiwo personnel. Besides the regular exercises, there are a variety of massages such as Swedish, Thai and Ayurvedic. Another stress buster available is hydrotherapy or water therapy. The focus of this treatment is to rid the body of toxins that cause joint pain and inflammation. Hydrotherapy treatment is also useful in managing chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
More Stories on : Announcements | Retailing | Hotels | Tamil Nadu
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|