A vision to provide people with guilt free, delicious snacking options, and at the same time create a platform for many home makers to show case their talent. Goodfud a Chennai based venture aims to do both. Founded by Sundaravalli Balaji and Balaji Prem Kumar this venture is your destination for healthy bites and your midday hunger pangs. Harini Srinivasan, the Marketing Head of this venture spoke to me about their interesting journey and their plans for the future.
A lot of what the team at Goodfud is providing is an extension of their beliefs and practices. Following healthy eating habits for a long time, the founders were surprised by the lack of affordable options in Chennai, where they moved for their engineering studies at College of Engineering, Guindy. Their corporate careers made them further aware of this dearth. Mid-day hunger pangs and conversations between colleagues made them realize that there were many people on the lookout for snacking options that were also healthy respites to their grumbling stomachs. Balaji was also looking out for entrepreneurial ideas that would enable home cooks to showcase their specialties, and work within the constraints of their commitments. A combination of these ideologies resulted in Goodfud. Harini, alumni of the same college, joined them as the Marketing head.
Goodfud was founded in May 2015 and their menu has grown considerably in their few months of operation. Today their website has options like Cakes, Savouries, Laddoo’s and Cookies or should I say Kookies. You can place an order for Finger Millet Ribbon Murukku, Finger Millet Chocolate Cake, Banyard Millet Cake, Kodo Millet Flour Thattai and a lot more.
I asked them a little about their process of finding chefs who dish out such interesting versions of snacks. While taste definitely plays an important role, they also visit them to see how they make these snacks and inspect the kitchens. There are also discussions on what ingredients need to be avoided and what kind of products Goodfud is about. To ensure consistency the team also visits these home chefs every once in a while. Sometimes they distribute samples among friends and their close circles to see how they respond to the taste. If it passes this immediate taste test then it becomes a part of their menu. All their products are nutritionist approved. Goodfud works on a make to order module. Once you place the order the snacks are made and delivered to you in 2-4 days. Currently they deliver all over South India.
The response has been very positive for this new concept. One of the things the team is proud about is that they have gotten thumbs up from many children who are a difficult demographic to please easily. Some of the customer favourite’s include the “multigrain tutti frutti cake” and their taste box which has a mix of their interesting products. Their cookies were something that came on board in their initial days, and still continues to be one of the most ordered categories. On popular demand the team had to include savouries as well. They are now working on bringing out products that are made out of bamboo rice.
No entrepreneurial journey is complete without challenges. For Goodfud a lot of it was to learn to deal with scaling up and taking on multiple orders. The start was easy, Harini confirms. Once they identified a few chefs they set up their site and the business module. A few friends placed orders right away. The team soon had to learn their way through bulk orders, packaging and addressing issues that arise. They have made it a point to personally call their customers if an issue arises and sort it right away. The team also makes it a point to keep tabs on the consistency of products. Not only taste, they also check product shelf life at their end.
They are now working on giving people weekly/monthly subscription plans. They plan to include lunch options on their menu, soon. Through their journey they have never lost sight of one of their major goals, and that is to include and empower as many home chefs as possible, giving them a space to show off their talent. As with their own journey, their advice to all entrepreneurs is to definitely start working on their idea, and making sure they execute it well as they walk down this path.
Goodfud is your destination site if you are looking for options to make your snacking guilt free. They currently take orders from all of South India. Visit their website (http://goodfud.co/) to start placing orders. Do stop by their Facebook page to stay updated on their products and offers.
Ready to place an order with Goodfud? Just use the coupon code TYT10 and get a 10% discount on your order. Offer valid till 21-Sep-2015.
All images courtesy of Goodfud.