If you are a Bengali living in Mumbai, and miss eating Kolkata’s famous KC Das’ roshogollas, you are in for good news. Thanks to Delight Foods, you can now order this spongy sweetmeat from the legendary confectionary company by a simple click of the mouse.
The folks behind Delight Foods are on a mission to bring some of the most unique food products from across the country to your doorstep. Some of the stuff that you can order are Puneri bakarwadis, Karnataka’s favourite Mysore Pak, Lonavla chikki, Amritsari aam papad and more. With a selection of snacks, tea and coffee, bakery items, papads, pickles and spices, you can get an access to regional Indian foods sitting at home.
We spoke to Bangalore-based Shruti Sutwala who along with Ramesh Krishnamurthy started Delight Foods in 2015.
What was the objective behind starting this venture?
Delight Foods started as an idea when we realised that each region of India has some amazing high-quality foods products, which are not available at a national level. There is a latent demand of these products both from people who belong to these regions and live in other places and also from well-travelled Indians who like to experiment with different kinds of food.
Our objective is to bring all the premium regional foods to these discerning customers. The store will be a replacement for everyday foods across 16+ categories like Fine Staple, Jams, Pickles, Cookies, Sweets, Snacks, Masalas, Healthy Options, etc. We have recently launched our Fresh category with the best quality Alphonso Mangoes, which we are sourcing directly from farmers in Ratnagiri.
Also Watch: How to Make Baked Roshogolla at Home
Tell us about the business model.
The business model is very simple - curate the best of best regional Indian foods, which pass our "Best Taste Promise" and build a supply chain model to bring these products fresh to the consumer. We have designed a unique technology-enabled supply chain, which has been built for the specific needs of this business. We pick up products fresh upon receiving the orders and then aggregate all the products from each origin city. All the products that are ordered is carefully packed and delivered neatly in one box.
What were your biggest challenges?
Our biggest challenge is to ensure that we deliver fresh food products from all over India to the customers' doorstep within three days, all aggregated in one box. Also, we have a physical check to ensure that the product does not become stale. Cases of stale food reaching to the consumer are very rare and if something like this happens, then we replace the product.
How do you price your products?
Our products are priced at a slight premium over the equivalent products available in the mass retail market. The products are genuinely of a much better quality and therefore the premium. The premium is charged based on the cost for handling and packaging the product and the cities the products are exported to.
How do you identify the products?
We have a team on the ground that meets local consumers, food experts and travel to research popular food products in each region. We do this scientifically to understand the real reason, which makes these products unique and high quality.
What are the expansion plans?
Currently, we have come up with a new range of fresh food products. A range of fresh fruits such as fresh Alphonso mangoes and apples have been added on our list. Our expansion plans also include adding the delivery service to other cities as well.
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