A meals startup founder shared a uncooked and ‘honest’ submit on Grapevine, detailing his six-year journey from a small kitchen in Galleria, Gurgaon, to working 78 cloud kitchens throughout India. The submit, captioned “I’m writing this from our Bangalore central kitchen at 3 AM, looking at next month’s projections, and for the first time in 6 years I’m scared,” presents a sobering take a look at the challenges of scaling too shortly and changing into depending on third-party platforms.
The founder’s journey started in 2018, when he was working in a tech job in Gurgaon.(Representational Picture/Pexel)
The founder’s journey started in 2018, when he was working in a tech job in Gurgaon, pissed off by the dearth of wholesome meals choices within the metropolis. “Every salad was either wilted lettuce drowning in mayo or overpriced fancy leaves that didn’t fill you up,” he shared. This frustration led him to start out making contemporary, healthful salads for himself and his coworkers. What started as a easy answer to his personal drawback shortly blossomed right into a full-fledged enterprise.
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Ranging from humble beginnings, he rented a 180-square-foot basement kitchen in Galleria Marketplace for Rs. 28,000 a month. With simply Rs. 8 lakh in financial savings, he invested in fundamental gear and started providing eight salad varieties. “The unit economics were terrible to say the least,” he admitted, highlighting how the preliminary every day orders of simply 12–15 salads barely lined the prices.
Regardless of the challenges, the enterprise took off as clients appreciated the contemporary components and beneficiant parts. “People loved our portions and fresh ingredients. Reviews started pouring in about how we were different — no wilted vegetables, no dry chicken, no drowning in dressings.”
By 2019-2020, the enterprise had grown to 180-200 every day orders, and the unit economics improved. “The unit economics improved with scale,” the founder mirrored, noting that they’d launched premium objects, struck higher offers with suppliers, and managed prices extra effectively. Orders jumped even additional because the pandemic hit, with demand for wholesome meals hovering. “While others shut down, we exploded,” he shared. By this time, company bulk orders had additionally began coming in, notably as firms sought to maintain worker morale up in the course of the lockdown.
Nonetheless, because the enterprise scaled, so did the challenges. “Everything I built is starting to crumble,” the founder famous, pointing to the rising prices, competitors, and growing reliance on third-party platforms. Within the submit, he detailed how his platform commissions had climbed to 32% (plus 18% GST), whereas algorithm adjustments and “suggested substitutes” pushed rivals into the highlight. Regardless of these setbacks, the startup’s dependency on these platforms stays excessive, with 92% of orders coming from them.
Cons of scaling too quick
The founder expressed deep remorse concerning the speedy enlargement, stating, “I pushed for scale when I should have focused on building something sustainable.” The expansion led to greater operational prices and burning by means of Rs. 80 lakh per 30 days. “We got caught up in the startup narrative of hypergrowth and raising more rounds,” he mirrored, including that they had been now contemplating shutting down 40% of their kitchens.
As he writes from his Bengaluru kitchen at 3 AM, the founder is dealing with a pivotal second in his entrepreneurial journey. “I’m scared. Not just for my business, but for everyone rushing to scale without questioning if they should,” he confessed. Trying again, he now believes that beginning small and worthwhile might need been the higher route. “The food was better, the team was closer, and we actually knew our customers’ names,” he recalled concerning the early days when the enterprise had simply 8-10 kitchens.
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In his closing ideas, the founder shared a message to fellow entrepreneurs, notably these within the meals and beverage sector: “Sometimes the best way to build something big is to stay small enough to survive.”