Crisp banana chips from Kozhikode, syrupy rossogullas from Kolkata, ghee laden halwa from Tirunelveli… every city or region has a snack or two that they are known for. And while the goodie could be as ubiquitous as banana chips for instance, no matter how many chips you munch on elsewhere, none will match the flavours of the chips from the place it’s supposed to have its roots. That could be reasons why when a relative or a friend comes down from Goa, you request a packet of its famous bebinca or when visiting a relative in another state from Kerala, jackfruit chips top their list of requests.
Preeth Padmanabhan would do the same. Whenever his colleagues go off on a holiday, he would ask them to bring back local delicacies from the places they visit. “So much so that anyone going on a holiday could not come back empty handed,” laughs Preeth. Smelling a business opportunity, Preeth and his friend Smitha Nair, who run Qeros Software Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd., an IT company in Pune, decided to start Flavours Of My City, an online shopping portal that delivers ‘region’ and ‘city’ specific eats at your doorstep.
Says Smitha: “In Flavours of My City, someone from Delhi can order banana chips from Kozhikode while someone from Thiruvananthapuram can order chiwada from Pune. In short, you can order and eat your favourite snack, or try out a new eat that another city or region is famous for, without having to travel all the way for it.”
So, how did they go about identifying the local specialities of the various cities and of course the stores that cater best to them? “We have a team that does the research and prepares a list of popular food items and where you get them. For instance, Lonavala is known for its variety of chikkis. Maganlal, a bakery at Lonavala is said to serve the best chikkis and so we have a partnership with them. Sometimes, it’s our customers who post suggestions on eats we can add to the list and the place that prepares them the best. At times, stores do approach us as they would like to reach a wider clientele with their goodies,” says Preeth.
Products that have a long shelf life like tea, coffee and spices are stocked in a warehouse in Pune, where they are packed and sealed as per order, while snacks that have a shelf life of a month or more are stored as per demand. As some of the goods from Kozhikode and Pune have a short shelf life, offices in both these places handle the packing and delivery. Stores like Ganguram from Kolkata and Kunjus Jam rolls from Kochi package their goods while the site handles the shipping process.
As both Smitha and Preeth are Malayalis and are familiar with the flavours from the cities of Kerala, they started off by introducing Kerala eats on the site. “Preeth is from Kozhikode and I am from Kochi. Some of Preeth’s friends run bakeries in Kozhikode and so we tied-up with them,” says Smitha.
The site was launched last year on Facebook. “We posted ads, posts and contests on Facebook to attract customers. Right now, we have over 1,00,000 likes on our page,” says Smitha.
Customers, says Preeth, start out by ordering a snack they are familiar with. “Many order eats they recollect having in their childhood like bebinca and sarkara upperi. They start out with small orders and slowly increase their order after we have gained their trust. People love to come back and try something new from our site,” says Preeth, who adds that banana chips and jackfruit chips were fast moving goods last month as it was Vishu.
The enterprising business duo plans to spread their wings to the Middle East and Singapore soon. “We have been receiving requests from Indians settled in these countries for goodies such as sharkkara upperi, mixture and the like. We hope to start service as soon as possible.”
