Sameer Bhatia
Founder and Managing Director, House of Candy
Sameer Bhatia is the Founder and Managing Director of House of Candy, India's exclusive and the only wonderland of candies revamping the conventional confectionery industry. In his current position, Sameer is responsible for spearheading the strategies and ideation concerning the brand's PAN-India growth, overseeing sales and operations across verticals, and ensuring the thorough execution of development plans. He is also accountable for the convenient distribution of imported candies and quality manufacturing of twirly lollipops concerning they are the hero products and the company's continuous expansion. A Delhi-based entrepreneur, Sameer has over 15 years of comprehensive experience and in-depth knowledge of the startup ecosystem and banking industry. After completing his BBA in Finance and Marketing from Texas Christian University, the United States, he started working as Assistant Branch Manager with JPMorgan Chase in Chicago. After staying there for a year, he joined Religare Private Wealth, a financial services firm based in Maharashtra as a Relationship Manager. Realizing that his core competencies are indeed shining in the banking, financial, and marketing industry, he decided to pursue MBA in Finance from SP Jain Management and Research, Dubai/Singapore. Soon after, he accepted the role of Citibank Wealth Manager at Citibank NRI Bahrain. It's a testament to Sameer's spectacular skillset that he got promoted after just 18 months in this prestigious bank. Finally, in 2014 he laid the foundation for building a highly ambitious empire of candies called House of Candy and never looked back. His impressive professional track record and increasing business value brought him numerous accolades. In fact, in 2019, he won VM-RD Retail Design Awards for the Best Retail Store of the Year. The retail store mentioned here is House of Candy's kiosk store in Elante Mall, Chandigarh. Sameer passionately aspires to accelerate brand growth across all verticals. He envisions making House of Candy a national brand with a minimum of 1000 self-owned outlets spread across India. Sameer's entrepreneurial spirit has been time and again boosted by his loyal employees. He firmly believes that each employee is crucial for a brand's growth and expansion journey. He proudly admits that without the support and contribution of his employees, vendors, and other stakeholders, House of Candy wouldn't have reached such incredible heights. Sameer has witnessed many firsts with House of Candy; from inaugurating the first kiosk centre to opening the first high street location store, the brand has come a long way. Through House of Candy, Sameer aims to revamp the conventional candies and confectionery settings in India. His ultimate goal is to make this company the leading Indian confectionary brand that can create significant waves in the international market as well. Outside of work, Sameer thoroughly enjoys spending quality time with his family as he believes that it gives him a power booster to improve and do better continuously. He is also a fitness enthusiast and likes to religiously work out and play squash.