At 22, he moved from US to India with a food idea. Now it’s a multi-million-dollar business

When Bert Mueller came to India as a college student in 2010, he had no plans to become a restaurateur. More than a decade later, the American entrepreneur has become the founder of one of India’s largest burrito chains, with 103 outlets spread across many cities.

To talk CNBC AwesomeThe 35-year-old recalled how a study abroad program in Jaipur unexpectedly planted the seed of a business that would redefine his future.

During her stay with the host family, Mueller and her classmates introduced the hosts to their home country’s cuisine. While the American dishes he brought didn’t make much of an impact, a classmate’s Mexican-inspired dishes received very different reactions.

“They didn’t like it very much,” Mueller said of the food he brought from the United States.

But he noticed that another student of Mexican descent was doing much better.

“One of my friends was of Mexican descent and would make chips, salsa, beans and tortillas,” she told the publication. “One day I came to her house and saw that she had made this dish for the family she lived with and they loved it.”

A Business Idea Born in Jaipur

This experience sparked an unexpected idea.

“It sparked something in my mind that maybe this was something I could do, that I could bring Mexican-inspired cuisine to India,” he said.

At the time, Mueller was studying music and public policy at The College of William & Mary and wasn’t seriously considering entrepreneurship. However, after graduating in 2011, he decided to return to India and pursue this concept.

Along with two childhood friends who later left the company and returned to the United States, Mueller launched California Burrito in Bengaluru.

The city was chosen strategically. Bengaluru, one of India’s leading tech hubs, had a large population of professionals who had traveled abroad and were already familiar with Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.

From One Store to More than 100 Stores

Mueller estimated he would need about $100,000 to open his first store. He raised $250,000 from friends and family to be safe.

The first restaurant generated nearly $500,000 in revenue in its first year of operation, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The startup funding also allowed the founders to expand and open two additional stores.

Since opening its first physical location in 2012, California Burrito has expanded to cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi.

The company reports revenue of $23 million in 2024.

Challenges Along the Way

However, the journey was not free from setbacks.

Mueller explained that one of the initial challenges came from a senior employee hired to help run operations.

“The biggest challenge was that the person we initially hired to run our entire operation and help us was a very dishonest person,” he said.

The employee, whom Mueller described as experienced, allegedly overpaid suppliers, conspired with vendors and then tried to start a competing burrito business.

“He was very well educated,” Mueller said. “He spoke very good English, so it was easy to communicate with him. He was also very helpful.”

He later discovered irregularities in the way the business was managed, according to Mueller.

“He would call government officials into the store and tell them we weren’t doing X, Y and Z,” Mueller said. “He was colluding with vendors to do things. Then he went and opened his own burrito restaurant, but it failed.”

Why Did He Never Consider Giving Up?

Despite the difficulties, Mueller said he never considered quitting.

“My mom is a marathon runner and I have that trait,” he said. “You have to keep going until you reach the finish line. And I never wanted to give up.”

What was initially intended to be a five-year stay in India gradually turned into a long-term commitment. As the business grew, the company began investing in sourcing and expanding its own components.

California Burrito now works with multiple chicken suppliers and has planted hundreds of avocado trees. Some farming efforts have encountered unexpected obstacles, such as harm to elephants and heavy rains that destroyed crops.

These experiences changed Mueller’s view of the future.

He said he “started thinking over decades” of investing in agriculture and supply chains.

Today there are no more plans to leave India.

“I don’t have a planned release date in mind. I love India. India feels like home to me and being at home, you don’t really think about leaving.”