Bhojan, a foodtech start-up dedicated to providing affordable wholesome, home-style meals across the nation, is planning to redefine the way affordable food is cooked for and made available to the masses. Founded by Vaibbhav Arora, erstwhile Country Lead for Food@Work with India‘s top foodtech start-up, Bhojan is looking at turning the affordable packaged meal space in India into a category to be reckoned with. All Bhojan meals will be priced in the sub-INR 100 category.
The start-up has already initiated conversations with thousands of micro-entrepreneurs such as Kirana store owners, corner shops in order to build its national POS supply chain. They are also setting up a sub-brand called Bhojan-on-Wheels, a last mile delivery solution, which they will activate across Delhi-NCR to begin with. Bhojan intends to expand from Delhi-NCR to Bangalore and Pune, over Q1 & 2 of CY2021.
Commenting on the launch Vaibbhav Arora, Co-founder, Bhojan opined, “This pandemic has brought to fore, the sheer importance of health and hygiene with respect to the food we consume. Through our wholesome, home-style, meals sold at sub Rs. 100 prices, we seek to democratise food and make it accessible to just about everyone. We‘re currently serving across the Delhi-NCR region with a small dream and a big vision – to feed Bharat food that is safe, consistent in flavour and based on the food values of a traditional Indian home.”
Adding to which Co-founder and Head of Product, Rahul Khandelwal, said, “Hygiene, trust and speed are imperatives in our business. Our endeavour is to infuse technology into each vertical at Bhojan, be it food, logistics, inventory management, procurement or distribution to deliver superior consistency. Tech and product play a very crucial role in our expansion plans for it’s the only way to build a sustainable long term business while keeping our pricing relevant to ‘the everyman‘.”
According to UN estimates from 2019, 40% of food produced in India is either lost or wasted. With an eye towards sustainability, social responsibility and minimising wastage, Bhojan has already put in place partnerships with leading NGOs across the country to ensure that none of the food prepared goes waste; and finds its way into the hands and stomachs of Bharat‘s poor and needy. Towards this end, the start-up also ensures that micro entrepreneurs who are the final point-of-sales are provided the option of returning unsold inventory at the end of each day.
Aneez Mehta, Head of Marketing & Founding Team, Bhojan added, “India’s relationship with hunger is a quiet but sinister one. The key threat to our food security is affordability closely followed by lack of access. These are the two areas where we, the Jan behind Bhojan, concentrate our efforts. We build operational efficiencies, constantly innovate and use technology to ensure that every Bhojan is hygienic, widely available and affordable – starting at just Rs. 45.“
Bhojan is currently running operations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and is funded by a multitude of family offices who see the potential of entering a market that is yet to be tapped at scale, be it in terms of distribution or technology.
About Bhojan
Launched in the second half of 2020, Bhojan is a new-age FoodTech company dedicated to providing affordable, homely meals to everybody; while simultaneously creating and nurturing micro-entrepreneurship. With Vaibbhav Arora at the helm, the Bhojan founding team comprises of Rahul Khandelwal (Co-founder & Head Product), Aneez Mehta (Head Marketing), Saurav Chaudhury (Head Operations), Shodhan S. (Chief of Staff), and Manu Mohindra (Mentor-in-chief). The brand aims to be Bharat’s largest organised food tech distribution channel, which is trackable and monitored at every step, while serving hygienically made, Ghar ka Khana to the Aam Janta at prices within their reach.
