From convenience foods to convenience foodservice — the entire practice of preparing and eating meals at home is undergoing a revolution. As families grow smaller and working professionals get more and more time-poor, convenience is increasingly the anchor of dining solutions.
Technology and digital communication are the drivers of these new-age foodservice formats; some of the promoters of online foodservice start-ups are, in fact, professionals with IT/ technical backgrounds. Meet three of several path-breaking online meal solutions formats springing up across India.
GourmetBnC.com
An online foodservice start-up which delivers 5-star rated signature recipes to its patrons, NOIDA-based GourmetBnC was launched in January 2015. Instead of a meal, the service delivers ingredients that are fresh, ready to cook (cleaned, cut, chopped, boiled, measured in right portions and packed) bundled with a whole lot of experience at customers’ doorsteps within 24 hours of order placements. Consumers simply need to follow the crisp cooking instructions in the package, cook within no time (30 minutes on average) and enjoy a signature dining experience in their private spaces.
Speaking about the uniqueness of the concept, former techie Anand Shenoy, founder of GourmetBnC, says, “What we are trying to do here is create unusual experiences in foodservice. We take the hard work — identifying retailers, sourcing ingredients, learning the modus operandi — out of preparing a gourmet meal. With every box containing every single ingredient of the dish in exact quantities, accompanied by a simple instruction guide, there is nothing that a consumer needs to do, except actually enjoying the preparation process.”
GourmetBnC currently delivers across NCR, and plans to add several menu innovations in the coming weeks, along with expanding its delivery network.
Moving Meals — Heat 2 Eat
While GourmetBnC caters to the aspirations of preparing gourmet meals in the comfort of homes, Moving Meals satiates the need to consume ‘homely’ foods while away from home.
Launched in May 2012, Mumbai-based Moving Meals offers a unique service of savouring one’s favourite meal even while travelling. The food product is cooked and then dehydrated (to extract water content or moisture); the dehydrated meal is then sold in single-serve packets. One can select the products from the menu posted on the company’s website (www.movingmeals.in).
“Vegetarian food is a big worry for people who often travel abroad, but want access to healthy, home cooked food. To make their life simpler, we offer an easy service and products, especially for students/tourists/ professionals travelling abroad. Also a lot of campers and travel junkies also make use of our dehydrated food products,” say Pankti Chheda and Rita Chheda, partners at the company.
The company dehydrates (with no preservatives and no nutrient loss) home cooked foods, including biryani, dal, poha, mixed vegetables, into granules which can be made edible in a few minutes upon the addition of water and microwaving the product.
Currently, Moving Meals is offering 33 items in the menu, with prices ranging from Rs 60 -180, according to the quantity of the product. The products are delivered everywhere in India
Lately, Moving Meals has also begun customisation — dehydrating a meal of choice or a signature dish from a customer’s favourite restaurant.
Brekkie.in
Three friends — Nikhil Behl, Haripriya Raja, and Ashwin Chandrasekaran — decided to set up a one-of-its-kind concept to encourage the culture of eating a wholesome breakfast daily. A Bangalore-based outfit, Brekkie.in serves delicious, nutritious, but slightly quirky breakfasts straight to people’s homes and office desks.
Launched in April 2014, Brekkie offers breakfast packages ranging from weekly to monthly supplies; a week’s worth of breakfast costs Rs 400, an entire month’sabout Rs 1500.
Each Brekkie bag consists of three courses: a main course, for instance, a spinach paratha; a side, such as a honey yoghurt fruit muesli, and a treat, like an oatmeal cookie. The trio changes the breakfast menu every day.
With deliveries currently limited to select Bengaluru neighbourhoods, including Indiranagar, Ulsoor Road and MG Road, Brekkie operates through a customised food cart parked opposite KFC at 100 feet Road in Indiranagar for delivering the orders. Th company is looking to expand to Lavelle Road and the areas adjoining UB City mall in the near future
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