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Still ordering in, though lockdowns are over? You are not alone. As cloud kitchens juggle cuisines and experiment with new dishes from a single space, takeaway in Thiruvananthapuram gets more interesting every day
Still ordering in, though lockdowns are over? You are not alone. As cloud kitchens juggle cuisines and experiment with new dishes from a single space, takeaway in Thiruvananthapuram gets more interesting every day
By about 11 am, 25-old Rohit Shaji’s hands are full as orders pour in via delivery apps for four brands — Supaloud, Pizza Party, Indian Rasoee and Wok Man Chinese, each specialising in a different cuisine. The four kitchens operate from 550 square feet of space at Charachira where two chefs are busy making and packing the food for customers across the city.
Rohit is one of a growing tribe of entrepreneurs running cloud kitchens in the city. Without dining space or waiters, cloud kitchens, also known as dark kitchens or ghost kitchens, are reshaping the food business.
Rohit Shaji runs four cloud kitchens in Thiruvananthapuram
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Says Rohit about his venture: “My target was the Gen Z crowd and millennials.” Supaloud was started 10 months ago, after which he launched his other brands in the same space, about four months ago.
The pandemic and lockdown saw a cloud kitchen boom across the country. While many eateries and restaurants struggled to keep afloat during the lockdowns, cloud kitchens quickly found a place as their overhead costs, rentals and staff requirements were comparatively less.
Barbecue taco from Supaloud
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Bharat Ajith Srinivasan, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, and his partner Thomas Thelly decided to cash in on their experience while working for delivery apps. They launched three brands under one roof — Khao (Mughlai), Kappa stories (ethnic Kerala food) and Samurai Hanzo’s (pan Asian), all of which operate from one kitchen at Poojappura in the city.
Bharat Ajith Sreenivasan, in partnership with Thomas Thelly, runs three cloud kitchens in Thiruvananthapuram
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Says Bharat: “We had studied the market extensively and had a fair idea of what would work and the kind of customers we could expect before we entered the market. We have a team of analysts in Kochi keeping a close eye on the business and analysing how we could promote our brands.”
According to an analysis by Redseer, the cloud kitchen market size in India is expected to reach $2 billion by 2024, as cloud kitchens give customers gourmet food and the comfort of dining at home.
Thomas Thelly
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
For some chefs, the lockdowns turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Ann Mary J, a pastry chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, and Dhananjay, a culinary chef who started his career in Dubai, met at an event organised by Space, an artists’ collective in the city.
They recall: “We were all ready to set up our kitchen in Space when the pandemic stalled everything. However, when the restrictions were eased after the first lockdown, we launched our What’s on Weekend (WOW) menu and that clicked.” Whisk and the Knife, their cloud kitchen, has pastries (cakes, tarts, macarons) and savouries (burgers, pizza, tacos).
Dhananjay V and Ann Mary J run Whisk and the Knife cloud kitchen
| Photo Credit: Aswin V N
Their curated menu on weekdays and weekends ensures they are usually sold out.
Treats from Whisk And The Knife
| Photo Credit: Aswin V N
Some of these start-ups came as a boon to those who lost their jobs unexpectedly as a result of the economic meltdown during the pandemic. Dinesh K Nair and Sunil Sukumaran, general managers with a reputed travel and tourism firm, were asked to put in their papers during the lockdown.
Says Dinesh: “We had to earn an income and also wanted to support staff who had lost their job. That’s when we hit upon this idea and launched our cloud kitchen, The Signature Store, in October 2020. We make a tweaked version of the famous Ambur biriyani.”
Mahesh Sivaraman of Ambi’s Kitchen
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
To overcome the financial blues, Mahesh Sivaraman began Ambi’s Kitchen, selling traditional payasams. “We work through social media and, fortunately, for us, the payasams like our paal ada and pradhaman (jaggery-based payasam) have won the hearts of customers in the city. I have now introduced a few curries as well,” he explains.
Rini Freddy runs the cloud kitchen Khalbile Biriyani with three partners
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Rini Freddy, a former IT professional, quit her job when her cloud kitchen Khalbile Biriyani, which serves Kozhikode’s dum biriyani, began doing well. Now she runs it with three partners — Mohandas, TM Abraham and Joseph Jose. “During the lockdown, we had a lot of time on our hands and so we brainstormed about starting a food-related business venture. We are from Kozhikode and decided to introduce our biriyani into the market,” says Rini.
A chef, trained by the team, prepares chicken and mutton biriyanis. “We started this in May 2022 and have been able to win a pretty good client base, thanks to word-of-mouth publicity,” she says. They recently introduced Kongunadu biriyani, their version of a a popular variety from Tamil Nadu.
Payasam and Boli from Ambi’s Kitchen
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Besides the increasing competition, these businesses also face challenges with delivery. “Food delivery apps charge a high commission. We have to give ads on these apps and offer discounts as well. So it is not easy to make a profit even if the business is good. I have still not been able to break even, though I get a reasonable monthly turnover,” says Rohit.
In fact, food aggregators are all important when orders have to be met within a tight deadline. An entrepreneur who ran a cloud kitchen with a fairly big customer base with three brands says they had to close down once lockdowns were lifted and restaurants reopened. Requesting anonymity, she says: “We had a good brand, especially in Kerala food. But during lunchtime, when we get 50 to 70 orders, we found it extremely difficult to meet our standards for the food we made. How can a fish polichathu (roasted fish in banana leaf) be made in 15 minutes? So, we closed down a couple of months ago.”
Biriyani from The Signature Store
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The nascent industry might have its share of teething problems but cloud kitchens are being touted as the future of the restaurant industry. Bharat says that in cities where space is a constraint, specialising in niche cuisines becomes possible in the case of cloud kitchens, as multiple kitchens and chefs can operate under one roof.
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