For many young people, starting a business never develops beyond ideas and dreams. But for siblings Ameya Sneha Smithy and Sankalp Manohar Smithy, it became a practical step, built around a shared interest in food.
Ameya, 18, a second-year college student, and Sankalp, 15, who recently completed Class 10, run SMASHY, a cloud kitchen focusing on smashed burgers and loaded fries.
The idea took shape from something simple. Sankalp’s interest in cooking, especially burgers, became the starting point. “I always felt my brother cooks well, and that made us think we could try something of our own,” says Ameya. What began as trial batches at home gradually turned into a structured menu and regular orders.
The menu remains focused and consistent, which includes options such as classic smash, Nashville smash, Buffalo smash, peri peri smash and crinkled onion smash, along with smashed patty loaded fries. Among these, the peri peri and Nashville burgers have seen the most demand. The burgers are currently priced between `199 and `240, depending on the varieties.
Based in Palluruthy, the venture operates without a dine-in space, offering takeaway and deliveries through food delivery apps from 6 pm onwards.
But the work starts by 5, as the siblings return from the market with fresh stock — chicken, buns, French fries, and other essentials sourced daily from local suppliers.
The process is entirely hands-on. The chicken is cleaned and minced at home before being mixed with a carefully prepared blend of spices and seasonings to create the patties. Each patty is shaped by hand, while fresh vegetables and other ingredients are prepared alongside.
A major highlight of Smashy’s menu is its range of homemade sauces. From Nashville and Buffalo to Peri Peri, every sauce is prepared in-house using custom recipes developed by the siblings. Their signature burger sauce, made with a special blend of different mayonnaises, spices, and secret ingredients, has become one of the venture’s standout flavours.
Most of the recipes, be it of the sauces or the patty mix, have been personally created and perfected by Sankalp.
It is not just them; the whole family has also been supportive throughout the journey, smiles Ameya. Their mother, Suja, is a journalist, while their father, Smithy, works as an assistant director at Akashavaani.
Managing the kitchen alongside studies has been one of the main challenges for the siblings. From handling evening orders to maintaining taste and timing, the siblings have had to work around their daily schedules. Keeping the setup limited to a cloud kitchen has helped them stay organised and maintain consistency.
The response, however, has been steady. Much of their reach has come through social media and word of mouth. Food influencers who tried their menu shared reviews online, bringing in new customers. “Some people have ordered from quite far, even with high delivery charges, just to try our food,” says Sankalp.
Customer feedback has played an important role in their growth. Repeat orders and positive reviews have helped them build a reliable base. For the siblings, this response has been a sign that their effort is working.
With orders increasing gradually, the focus now is on sustaining the same quality and expanding carefully. For the siblings, SMASHY remains a work in progress — one that started at home and continues to grow, one order at a time.