CHENNAI: According to the UNEP report for 2021 — UN Food Waste Index Report 2021 — India wastes as much as 50 kilos of food per person per year. This is a staggering 68,760,163 metric tonnes of household food waste per year. While India’s per capita wastage is the lowest among South Asian countries, the volumes of loss are large, especially considering as many as 27 per cent of Indians went to bed hungry sometimes, according to a survey conducted in October 2020 by Hunger Watch.
Tackling this problem of food wastage can solve most of India’s problems, has been the voice of most environmentalists, new-gen restaurateurs and food activists. This has also been the goal of brand Tovo, which launched its operations in 2014 in Chennai. With minimising food waste being the centre of its philosophy, Tovo’s constant attempt has been to innovate and provide a wholesome experience while keeping this mission in focus. Waziq Abdulla, chief financial officer of Tovo shares the journey of the brand, its constantly evolving values and plans, all while keeping the customer feeling fulfilled with their signature Grill Infused Chicken and other products.
Excerpts from the interview.
Tell us about yourself.
I am an MBA graduate from the University of Greenwich in London. I did my schooling in Calicut in Kerala. I did my undergraduate in Guru Nanak College, Chennai, and then worked here in a BPO company for three years. Then, I went to London for my Masters and worked there for one year. From there, I went to Bahrain and worked in an automobile dealership in Bahrain. In 2018, I joined Tovo.
Arun Prashanth, the founder of Tovo and I knew each other while I was studying in London. In 2013, we conceptualised this idea. He is a foodie and so when he used to go to restaurants, he would feel that we are not able to eat all that we order, and a lot of food goes to waste. So he wanted to start something where the food is so good that the customer doesn’t waste it.
And that is when he started thinking about this idea. Towards the end of my MBA, I used to go to his place and that was the time when he would cook infused chicken. But after that, I returned to India and went to Bahrain. In 2014, with this one idea, he started Tovo in India in Chennai. He’s basically from Tiruchy but wanted to start this in Chennai. It was the birth of Infused Chicken. No one knew about this term coined by him. Also, I always wanted to settle in India. So, sometime in 2018, when Arun and I were chatting, I broached the idea of working for Tovo since the business was also expanding. I have done my Bachelors and Masters degree in Finance. This was a good opportunity for both of us. That’s how I became a part of the brand as well. Since then, we have faced a lot of ups and downs due to Covid, but now we are resurging to our fullest power.
What is the concept of Grill Infused Chicken?
From a customer’s point of view, there’s a flavour inside the chicken and flavour outside the chicken. When we cook the chicken, we don’t even use oil. Chicken has inherent fat and we use that fat to cook it. We have a unique way of cooking it. What happens is that the moisture is retained in the chicken, making it juicy and fresh. Our vision and mission are to provide this healthiest form of chicken.
What is the market like for Tovo in Chennai?
We are currently located in Mylapore, which we always felt is a bit conservative, and has a heavy vegetarian population. But we were surprised when consumers took to the product and we got a good response. After the second lockdown, when we restarted in May 2022, the response has been fantastic. And because of that, we are expanding. We will soon be opening up in VR Mall and Porur. We are also opening in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. All this will be in the next six months. We understand that with the product becoming more popular, there will be similar products in the market. We are ready to face that as well.
So how do you plan to face this competition arising from duplication?
We are not concerned much about that. If a particular product is gaining that much popularity like the Infused Chicken has, there would be people who would want to replicate the same system. Our focus is quality. But the intellectual property belongs to us so we are making sure that is not taken away. We are finding ways to keep it close to us so that others don’t take undue advantage. We don’t want someone else to copy our product, use our name and turns out the product is not as good as what we offer. We don’t want that poor reputation to be associated with us. That’s why we are keenly looking at the market.
How does Tovo manage its food waste on the production front?
At the moment, we have a good footfall and data available. In the last nine years, we have been securing data in terms of how many chickens we’re selling, and accordingly, plan our production. Since we always deal with fresh products, it’s a bit difficult as we don’t have frozen chicken. We have an everyday production quality check and that’s the only way we can ensure there’s no wastage. So our data system is strong to understand the demand. Sometimes there are situations where a product might get over earlier than we anticipated. But again, that is still a work in progress. I feel this is still better than wasting food.
Where do you source your chicken from?
Not only chicken, but all our raw materials are also locally sourced. Our mantra is to go local and fresh. When I mean local, everything is locally inspired even on the menu, and then we have global aspiration as well. For instance, we got to know that there are quite a few Keralaites in Mylapore, so one of our products in Mylapore is Chicken Pollichadhu. You see this in Chettinadu cuisine, but we feel strongly about catering to the local audience and have our twist to it. There will be a localised menu for Chennai, Hyderabad, and Dubai.
What is your current menu and what do you plan to add to it?
At the moment, Infused Chicken is our primary product and multiple varieties of that, including 8-10 toppings. Then there are burgers, wraps and wings. We have the local biryani-infused chicken, idiyappam-parotta etc. also available. We are working on innovation for the menu and production. We try to focus on making the experience better — not only for customers while dining but for the production stage as well. We are trying to prepare it in a much quicker way. Earlier, the customer would wait for 45 minutes but now we’ve reduced the wait time 10 minutes by making minor changes. Every day, we have a meeting to improve the customer experience because we believe that if the customer experience is good, our product will be the best one in the market.
Do you consider yourself a foodie?
I don’t consider myself a foodie. There is a minimum palate that I enjoy but I consume different kinds of food to understand the market.
What is your philosophy of food?
Food has to be simple, too many extra ingredients turn me off. Have clean, natural food that you can digest. Also, after you eat the food, you should experience a sense of satisfaction. Even at Tovo, we ensure the preparation doesn’t make the consumer feel uneasy after eating our food.
What does it take to be an entrepreneur in the food business?
Not only in the food business, but in any business, to become an entrepreneur, you need to have that appetite for taking a risk, and clarity on thoughts and objectives.
Talking treats
Your three favourite dishes
Chicken dum biryani
Chicken wings
Fish Fry
Where do you like to eat in Chennai?
Nair Mess in Egmore
Three places you recommend for food in Chennai.
Nair Mess
Sukubhai Biryani
Multiple shops along the beach where they serve seafood