At 22, US man moved to Bengaluru to sell burritos - now his brand makes $23 million a year

During a study abroad programme in India in 2010, Bert Mueller spent part of his time living with a host family in Jaipur. Alongside fellow international students, he brought along some food from the United States to share with his host family - but the reception wasn’t quite what he hoped.

“They didn’t like it very much,” Mueller was quoted as saying by CNBC. In contrast, one of his classmates had a much more enthusiastic response to the food she offered.

“One of my friends was of Mexican origin and she would make chips and salsa and beans and tortillas,” he explains. “One day I came over to her house and I saw she’d made this food for her family she was living with and they were loving the food.”

At the time, Mueller had no plans of becoming an entrepreneur - his academic background at The College of William & Mary was in music and public policy. But seeing a family embrace Mexican-style cuisine for the first time sparked an idea.

“Something clicked in my head that maybe this was something I could do — I could bring Mexican-inspired cuisine to India,” he told the outlet.

After completing his studies, Mueller, then 22, returned to India and launched California Burrito, a fast-casual restaurant serving Southern California-style burritos. Twelve years on from opening the inaugural outlet, the brand now boasts 103 locations across India.

‘Nothing is predictable’

Mueller says his decision to choose India for his study abroad experience stemmed from his desire to go against the grain.

“I wanted to go somewhere that was radically different than the US and so I decided that India was the place to be given that, first off, I loved Indian food and second, people spoke English,” he explains.

While some peers struggled to adjust to the cultural shift, Mueller embraced it.

“Nothing is predictable,” he says. “Every day is different and so if you find monotony dull, if you find comfort boring, then India is a perfect place to be.”

Following his graduation in 2011, he made the bold decision to pursue his restaurant vision and introduce Mexican cuisine to the Indian market.

Together with two childhood friends — who later stepped away from the venture and returned to the US - Mueller selected Bengaluru as the site of their first outlet. The city’s status as an IT hub made it an ideal location, as many locals had travelled to the United States and were familiar with Mexican-inspired food.

Mueller initially estimated he’d need $100,000 to launch the first restaurant but opted to raise $250,000 from family and friends to be on the safe side.

In its first year, the Bengaluru outlet generated approximately $500,000 in revenue, as per documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That initial funding also allowed him to open two additional outlets.

Since its founding in 2012, California Burrito has expanded to cities including Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi. In 2024, the brand reported $23 million in revenue.

‘I never felt like quitting’

The road to success wasn’t without complications. One of Mueller’s earliest setbacks involved a key hire.

“The biggest challenge was that the person we had hired at the beginning to run our entire operation and help us out was a very crooked individual,” he says.

Mueller had brought on board a former area manager from another chain, whose background seemed promising.

“He was very well educated,” he explains. “He spoke great English, so it was easy to communicate with him. And he was very helpful. He would drive us around to find vendors. He would recommend vendors. It made our lives much easier because we were 22-years-old in this foreign land with no knowledge of how to operate.”

However, it soon became clear the man was exploiting the business. He was charging vendors double, alerting government inspectors, and eventually attempted to launch his own burrito business — which ultimately failed.

Despite the betrayal, Mueller remained focused.

“My mom is a marathon runner, and I have that trait in me,” he says. “You have to keep going until you’ve reached the finish line. And I never felt like quitting.”

Though he initially intended to stay in India for only five years, that plan evolved. By the end of that period, it became evident that the business needed to control more of its own supply chain — including ingredient production.

Today, the company works with five chicken suppliers and has planted 500 avocado trees — though some were unfortunately trampled by elephants. Efforts to cultivate tomatillos in Karnataka were also derailed by severe rainfall.

These agricultural endeavours led Mueller to shift his mindset.

Investing in the farming side of the business prompted him to begin “thinking in decades,” he says.

As for returning to the US Mueller doesn’t see that happening anytime soon.

“I don’t have an exit date planned in my mind. I love India. India feels like home to me and being home, you don’t think so much about leaving.”