There are several food ventures out there but only a few that really cater to the needs and tastes of people. Homechefs on Wheels is a new venture that aims at bringing together talented Home chefs and delivering to your doorsteps the best of all cuisines. The preference for homemade food is growing in cities all around Kerala as people have become conscious about what they eat and how it will affect their body. Homechefs on Wheels was founded by two Kochi based entrepreneurs, Neeta Vijayakumar and Jiss Victor. With a highly positive response from its start, Homechefs on Wheels is making its way to success. In conversation with Team Homechefs on Wheels, we get to know more about this venture and all the delicacies it has to offer!
Tell us about Home chefs On Wheels. What is it about?
Homechefs On Wheels is all about getting homemade food delivered in the most economical manner. We cater to address the appetite of Kochilites with exquisite dishes like Kizhi Porotta, Kappa Biriyani, Pothichoru etc, that are homemade. We also aim at a quicker process of pre booking unlike other prebook services. Our startup is based out of Kochi, focusing on delivering the best of homemade goodness, by procuring variants of food from different homechefs. The aim is to eliminate the gap between the demand and supply for homemade food, although the business follows a pre booking system. We follow a simple system of delivering homemade food by using Whatsapp and Social Media marketing. (Instagram and Facebook). What we have realised is, only a niche audience prefers homemade food in Kochi, since almost everyone stays along with their family. What we folks fail to realize is that, homemade food may not be necessarily simple meals, but also a healthier and more hygienic version of whatever is received in restaurants. At present, we have gone viral for our Kizhi Porotta, and our exclusive Kameera and Cashew Chicken Combo. Although Kameera as a dish is aware by a few in the state, we have been able to launch it to the market on a wider scale; making us the first team in Kerala to establish Kameera as a proper dish.
What made you start this venture? What gave rise to the concept?
The pandemic situation has brought us all closer to our homes, especially homemade food. Nothing satisfies a person more than a simple plate of homemade food, at the end of any given day. While the restaurant market had taken a hit in the last few months, the homemade food industry had been able to boom due to the high demand for hygienic and homemade food. The city of Kochi follows an immense food culture, and the majority follows flavours over health. This also made us realise that, why not cater to both flavours as well as the health factor, by delivering something exquisite like a Kizhi Porotta, but which is homemade. In short, we aimed at delivering food which is not just homemade and flavourful, but also which appeals to the crave factors of a typical Malayalee foodie.
Where is your startup based out of? Why do you think that is the best place for you?
We are based out of Kochi since Kochi is one of the fast moving hubs in Kerala, yet also predominant with foodies. As mentioned earlier, the city of Kochi follows an immense food culture, and the majority follows flavours over health. Homechefs On Wheels have been able to achieve both in one by procuring restaurant style food from homechefs, which makes it both homemade, as well as matching the taste standards of the foodies in and around Kochi. The team follows a simple fixed menu for an entire week, which features a range of food, starting from simple working meals to exclusive dishes. We follow a simple system of delivering homemade food by using Whatsapp and Social Media marketing. (Instagram and Facebook). What we have realised is, only a niche audience prefers homemade food in Kochi, since almost everyone stays along with their family. What we folks fail to realize is that, homemade food may not be necessarily simple meals, but also a healthier and more hygienic version of whatever is received in restaurants.
How do you manage logistics? Could you briefly explain the working of Home chefs On Wheels?
At the moment, we have our own logistics team to handle the delivery and other operations. By Homechefs On Wheels, we mean that our food is delivered and our homemade food is always ready to hit the road. We procure the food from our homechefs and we deliver it to our respective customers.
How do Home chefs associate with you? How do the chefs become a part of Home chefs On Wheels?
Any homechef who holds an FSSAI and a passion to cook, can partner with us; and also we ensure daily payments. We are always a call or a message away from our homechefs, and we follow a systematic process with each homechef in terms of delivery timing, menu, tastings etc. The homechefs need to only undergo a tasting process prior to cooking for our customers, and we also ensure that they maintain a hygiene protocol.
How are people responding to the launch? How do you plan on marketing your new venture?
People have responded really well within a short span. It’s only been a month although we have surpassed more than we expected in terms of orders. We have also noticed that we have a lot of recurring customers, and word of mouth has really helped us.
In terms of marketing, we primarily use Content driven and Social Media Marketing. We are yet to enter the Digital marketing and SEO world.
Tell us about your team and how did you meet each other?
We have known each other for 5 years! Jiss and I met when he first launched his magazine, wherein I could contribute as a fashion blogger. From there, our friendship had bloomed, and now we have entered into a business together; looking forward to its successes.
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