CHENNAI: Sometimes, the simple act of placing an order for food and coordinating with the delivery partner can be daunting, especially in these pandemic times. The experience gets more cumbersome when the order has to be picked up from a home chef, who lives across the city. And to that, add the surge in demand for a delivery partner during peak hours.
While the options of ordering-in from home chefs and home bakers are aplenty, we’ve all had our share of bitter experiences with last-minute cancellations and delays. This is where FoodFully ticks all the boxes on our checklist. Founded by husband- wife duo Ram and Archana, this website offers a simplified process, ensuring you don’t lose your cool waiting for your food to arrive. “A few friends and I ordered from many home chefs and bakers during the lockdown.
The home chefs, who were relatively new to the industry, struggled with many challenges, especially logistics and handling customers with smaller manpower. So, I decided to focus on this area to improvise their service,” explains Ram, a foodie himself. The two-week venture has 40 home chefs and bakers from different pockets of the city onboard. Cuisine options such as north Indian, south Indian, Italian, Chinese, Sri Lankan — all FSSAI certified — offer the promise of a satiating meal.
“We are helping 10 more home chefs with obtaining a licence, educating them about the importance of having one and the consequences of not having one. We have also curated the list, after ordering from them anonymously and sampling their food, testimonials from customers, packaging, their way of handling customers and their time management skills. Our USP is our home bakers. While you can always get the regular food from restaurants even if home chefs don’t serve you that variety, your birthday cake requires a certain amount of customisation that may not be up to your expectations at a commercial bakery,” details Ram, who’s glad that the business spiked during Christmas and New Year’s eve.
Ram and his team are working on a sustainable model that eases the pressure off home chefs and helps enhance their communication with customers regularly. With a clientele of 130 repeat customers already, Ram has exciting plans for the fresh year. “We work on a pre-order basis. Every day, I check with customers to ensure their pantry is stocked up with supply for the next day’s orders. They must be prepared to handle a surge in demand and last-minute tweaking. We will help them build a loyal clientele,” he assures. Ram is also trying to make a difference with bulk orders. Instead of reaching out to food pages on Facebook, customers can share their requirements with them.
“We will check with the home chefs and find the best quotation for them. They need not fret over issues like the order being delivered on time. We have inhouse and e x t e r nal collaboration with delivery partners who can do the needful. Alongside, I also help home chefs by assisting them in procuring packaging materials,” elaborates Ram, whose attempt is to make it an affordable model for home chefs. Besides, he also plans to introduce meal subscription packages for clients. “There’s always been a demand in this area, particularly for vegetarian food.
Our option would be flexible where you can order breakfast, lunch and dinner from different vendors after comparing the best prices. We even cater to areas such as those on OMR or ECR where Swiggy or Zomato take time. Our kitchen partners are also spread across the city. It’s overwhelming to get responses from the elderly, who may not be tech-savvy but are gradually adapting to alternate payment methods. Cash on delivery is applicable on select orders but at an extra cost,” says Ram.
With 90 per cent of the home chefs being women, he has planned to begin campaigns to on-board more female entrepreneurs on the platform and empower them to compete with their peers in the food industry. “A few home chefs have approached us to get their kitchen verified. We will visit them personally, observe and film the cooking method and ensure hygiene protocols are followed. Our app will also be launched soon,” he reveals.
For details, call: 9940193133 or visit: www. foodfully.in