The word “Amusement” always conjures up pleasant memories for us and makes us want to have fun. With increasing globalization and rising disposable income, more and more people are spending on experiences as entertainment, placing value in experience and moments that can be captured. This concept of “experimental entertainment” is distributed amongst experiences in festivals, theme parks, culinary adventures, and so forth. By delivering unique experiences, the companies behind the amusements are charting astounding territories of entertainment. Even though the metaverse is poised to lead the next phase of entertainment, both kids and adults truly love a day at a theme park, experiencing the best cuisine, or investing in premium indoor gaming.
India recognizes the significance of such in-person experiences, given that it has seen an exponential rise in location-based entertainment over the last 2 decades. Its market projects growth from $49 billion in 2022 to $170 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 13%. In our entrancing edition, we are giving special coverage to the forces behind these experiences. In that light, we are featuring a distinguished leader of the Indian amusement industry, Prasuk Jain Hospitality and his entertainment arm Snow World Entertainment (SWE), a brand maven and entrepreneur, the company has carved a niche for delivering experiences beyond imagination through a perfect blend of ecstasy and thrills.
The following account details its continual ascent to success and how each of its projects serves as a distinctive example of how change in the market has influenced the world of entertainment.
BEGINGING OF A ROBUST LEGACY
The Idea and vision:
“The entertainment industry is vast and is a reflection of the society we live in.” Mr. Prasuk sought to build on this idea to put India’s entertainment and hospitality industry on the global map. He began his career in the amusement sector, and since then, he has proven to be an expert in building entertainment landscapes of the highest caliber. With a mind that “thinks and inks,” he accumulated strategic knowledge from pragmatic sessions at renowned international theme parks, becoming a unique reservoir. After building an extensive background, he sought to see his vision succeed. He wanted to provide unique, thrilling experiences that not only exceeded expectations but also kept up with international trends. Having known the amusement industry inside-out, he wanted to explore the potential for consumption and penetration with regards to customer segmentation, purchase situations, and direct competition.
Shaping the Idea:
Only an idea isn’t enough to create a business. Mr. Prasuk knew he needed a long-term road map paved with necessary milestones. With a bird’s-eye view, he strategized certain milestones to be achieved at certain timelines. After drawing out the original objectives and budgets for seasons and non-seasons and designating relevant talents for work, a -10°C indoor snow park on an 18000 sq. ft. space was launched in 2012 at Phoenix Market City, Mumbai. This laid the foundation for SWE. The park’s brisk success led to the development of the largest snow park with first-time ski experience within DLF Mall, Noida, in a 1 lakh sq. ft. space. Keeping uniqueness intact and flawless, Mr. Prasuk led the launch of a luxury gaming park that had many new life-size games in the country for the very-first-time. Like his previous innovation, this move saw success, which further enabled him to diversify in the hospitality sector and launch XOXO – The casual lounge. From there, he kept on including one innovation after another:
- The Game Palacio – merging Gaming and Hospitality segment.
- Pink Wasabi – a boutique instagrammable café serving Pan-Asia.
- The Game Garden & Beer Garden – A garden themed gaming & beer center with a terrace golf.
- The Game Ranch – A country side themed gaming section with boutique bowling and a bar.
- Formula 11 Karting – India’s first and largest professional go-karting experiential facility in affiliation with SODI World Series and its upcoming Formula 11 World Karting Championship
- The Game Super Park – fine-dining, gaming, arcade and clubbing all together
- Amazonia – Global cuisine restaurant inspired by the Amazon
As of now, SWE has its entertainment projects built in eminent cities across India. Each of them is an example of innovation, creativity, creativity, and creativity and implementation of state-of-the-art technology while inheriting the personal needs of individuals.
Leading a mission:
SWE is expanding organically and making a noticeable effect with calibrous projects under its aegis. This opens the door for Mr. Prasuk’s comprehensive expansion plan for 2022–2033. With the motto “Make in India, Make for the World,” he aspires to globalize all of his brands and create a winning homegrown success story that will benefit India’s tourism and entertainment industries. His idea is straightforward: “As long as we’re creating awesome stuff, drawing compelling attractions, and enjoying ourselves while doing it, we’re on the right track.” His dynamic educational background, and three decades of diverse business expertise, lend creative and financial vigor to his fast-paced business empire.
STRONG BACKING OF RESEARCH & TRENDS
The amusement industry in India has seen a steady rise in recent years. Even though the country has a shortage of high-end theme parks, it still has enormous growth potential. Amusement parks contribute nearly 40% of the total leisure industry, 30 to 35% of which is attributed to outstation visitors, making them a critical growth-driver of the service sector. The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is a major part of the travel, tourism & hospitality sectors as amusement parks in India and attracts over 3 crore visitors annually. The industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 17.5%, with an annual revenue of approximately INR 17 billion, providing direct employment to over 75,000 people.
In recent years, these parks have added a variety of recreational activities that contribute to their growth story. The point is – to meet market dynamics and customer behavior, optimization is mandatory. SWE puts a premium on adapting to market trends through various R&D strategies. Mr. Prasuk says, “Continuous R&D is crucial in our sector to develop new concepts and strategies, build new destinations, exploit new services, and enhance the current ones in light of the global market.” SWE keeps up with trends and maintains a quick pace of profitability by introducing innovations and updating existing ones. This reinforces its aim to surpass visitors’ expectations while setting the pace for the industry across all of its experiential verticals.
TECHNOLOGICALLY AMELIORATED
Having an eagle’s eye for market trends also aids SWE in keeping abreast of technological evolutions. Technology is constantly invigorating every industry, and amusement is no exception. For SWE, technology has proven to be sacred in order to improve the customer experience. At its core, the company wanted to explore experimental projects in the amusement sector, which was largely missing in India. This was achieved with Snow World. “Users get to enjoy snow in freezing temperatures in an enclosed space with activities not available to most people,” adds Mr. Prasuk. This introduced a new refrigeration technology in India to produce snow. Shifting to its gaming vertical, every year, they introduce a range of new games that come with face recognition, voice recognition, gesture controls, high definition displays, etc. They add new games to their parks every six months to keep their appeal and visitors growing.
Their adoption of technological integrations has catapulted over the last year. For instance, a partnership with online food and delivery apps enables visitors to order an innovative takeaway. Analyzing visitor feedback has helped gauge which amenities should return or what can be offered as an on-request service. To put it together, what was once an add-on is now indispensable to meet growing demands and SWE constantly scouring the market to adapt innovations and advancements.
PRASUK JAIN – THE FORCE FUELING SWE’S SPLENDOR
“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else has ever thought of,” – Albert Einstein. The quote is a fine reflection of Mr. Prasuk’s competence and leadership. His ingenuity and resourcefulness drive his brands to look into the “next big thing” in their field. But like every entrepreneur, he also had a less-trodden path. At the outset, getting finance and a business license was a real struggle. This took nearly 20 meetings with different banks to get the first line of credit. Another challenge was finding quality manpower, which he overcame through strategic collaboration and seizing opportunities with a strong will.
The journey ahead was not as smooth as anticipated! After the inauguration of the indoor ski park in DLF Mall, Noida, it welcomed a huge quantity of visitors. With a capacity of 500 guests in one session, they were running 7 sessions a day with a duration of 1½ hours. Despite the popularity, maintaining such an advanced facility, ensuring -10°C snow for all 365 days came at a huge cost, along with the necessary equipment like shoes, jackets, gloves, ski and skating shoes, tubes, sledges, etc. A point came when the number of visitors was too low to keep the space running all the time. Instead of shutting down, they removed the ski track and made the space more compact, and things were back to growing again.The experiences surely made him resilient, which was again tested with the advent of COVID-19. The “Black Swan Event” made people and industries go through a trial by fire and forced them to become adaptive and agile for continued success. For Mr. Prasuk, it wasn’t any different. The entire hospitality industry went through a reset, which drove customer behavior to adapt to new circumstances. Despite the setbacks, the founder didn’t give up, and neither did his team. As restrictions were lifted, they prioritized health and safety in every location. By ensuring bespoke hygiene and safety, every location finally saw a ray of hope with a steady increase in visitors.
In conclusion, Mr. Prasuk’s ability to lead has been put to the test at numerous points so far. However, his tenacity, laser-like focus, and commitment to seeing things through have kept the winds in his company’s favor. Because he embraces change, SWE can meet issues head-on without compromising its ability to provide memorable experiences.
A VIGOROUS CORPORATE CLIMATE
The essence of any company, big or small, lies in its culture. It defines a company’s identity, or more accurately, gives it its personality. SWE, as mentioned, embraces change wholeheartedly. It recognizes that diversity is essential and that technology redefines the lines between personal and professional life. Since its beginning, its executives and team have partnered to create a performance-driven culture. To maintain the team’s contentment and satisfaction while fostering constant growth, Mr. Prasuk states,
“We always keep our people motivated.”
Under his guidance, SWE has established open communication channels, a knack for innovations, transparent work ethics, and corporate off-sites. The team holds the belief that happier workers accomplish more and earn more profits, creating a fun and intelligent culture. Their efforts have paid off, as seen by their creative ideas and ability to seize novel opportunities.
ONWARD TO CREATE MANY MORE MARVELS
SWE was founded by a man who had the idea to make the Indian amusement sector a global phenomenon. With two decades of a roller coaster ride, his brands have made a solid footing across India, including Mumbai, Noida, New Delhi, and Chandigarh. Each brand is expanding at nearly 100% Y-O-Y thanks to tailored business tactics and an enthusiastic crew.
With investments planned at an estimated Rs. 250 crore in the current financial year, the company is looking to expand rapidly. SWE seeks to further explore the potential for consumption and penetration in regard to customer segmentation, purchase situation and direct competition. “Our vision is to innovate visitor experience while adding new verticals and diversifying our umbrella accordingly,” says the MD. Some of their most ambitious projects include The Game Mansion, Formula 11 Karting, Sky High, and some upscale eateries called Amazonia, Havana Commune, and many more in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi. Each project will be endorsed by ecological considerations and give fresh angles to the amusement of the Indian audience.
