OSK Food and Technology Private Limited: Make your exquisite food available at your doorstep on a click
It’s so easy for us in metropolitan and other progressive cities to think about a food item and get it in minutes at our doorstep. A few years back, we were getting pizzas only, but with a radical monopoly of digitization and technology, we can get a myriad of delicious cuisines of our choice. But, in the Tier 2 cities where there are very limited access to ordering food online, so the people need to go out and purchase under any circumstance.
Rahul Hazarika is a savior for the people in Assam as he launched an app-based virtual kitchen out of Guwahati, on 4th April 2017. He started its services via social media followed by a mobile application for its users. Hitting the crescendo, One-Stop Kitchen is currently one of the leading cloud kitchens in the city. Offering taste-lingering food, the One-stop kitchen has expertise and specialization in Indian meals and Fusion foods. Currently operating from Two kitchens, their Primary kitchen is located in Beltola Tiniali and are planning for expansion both inside as well as other parts of the region. Incubated by The Assam Startup Nest an initiative by IIM Calcutta and Assam government. OSK Food & Technology became the first-ever food tech startup from the region to be VC Funded. With the Onset of the investment and launching of new verticals and kitchens, the Estimated Valuation is expected to increase by 4 X/ Four Folds by the end of the year. Apart from One Stop Kitchen, they have another brand called House of Biryani that specializes in different kinds of Biriyanis and HealthyCo which focuses on providing Personalized Healthy Meals at the customer’s doorstep. OSK Food and Technology Pvt. Ltd. has two more brands coming up. They are DabbaCo and OSK+. The former focuses on end to end Corporate Meals and the latter focuses on delivering essentials at the doorstep. Lastly, they are working on a very interesting concept where customers can avail of the restaurant like services right at their home.
HOW IT STARTED
Rahul Hazarika says, “One day I thought of ordering a burger and then I realized there isn’t a platform where I can go and order food. Amidst of hustle and bustle of the traffic in the city, I reached the burger joint, and there I had to park my vehicle almost a kilometer away and walk all the way to stand in the longest queue ever to have my burger. And there an idea clicked, which said instead of a customer to travel all the way to have food how about if I could take an entire restaurant to the customer’s doorstep and in this way, I started One-Stop Kitchen. I learned cooking from YouTube and started selling those items online. Slowly our orders were increased and therefore we launched our mobile application.”
WALKING WITH THE LATEST TRENDS
For carving a niche in the market, it is indispensable to walk with the latest. The Market is currently Price-Sensitive and OSK’s price ranges are a bit higher because of the impeccable quality and nature of the food they serve along with its finest packaging. So, the challenge is to convey the value of the product to the customers through continuous marketing activities using social media. The market has also witnessed an abrupt escalation in the number of players present i.e. now, they compete with 1000 brands as compared to 300 from which they used to compete during their initial days. They do have a first-mover advantage in this space, and hence they use this opportunity to introduce new dishes with a cyclic menu proprietary to themselves, which cannot be easily replicated. The current need for the market is healthy food and they have a brand coming up in the same space called HealthyCo. to capture the opportunity.
QUALITY AND TASTE CREATE A DIFFERENCE
For serving the clientele in a better way, it is pivotal to cater to its requirements. When it comes to food, the Taste and Quality speaks the most rather than the people involved. They have a lot of repeat customers when it comes to one-time orders on delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. They have a 59% retention rate in the last 3 months. This is due to the value they deliver along with the Food. Biodegradable boxes, wooden spoons and forks also mean that the consumer is significantly contributing a lot to the plastic reduction in the industry. They have reduced plastic usage in the firm by 50%. They are also the few ones that deliver fusion foods at the doorstep.
In terms of Corporate Clients, they are currently limited to bulk orders for conferences and events. They have repeat orders as they channelize their need and deliver. They monitor breakfast and lunch requirements for the same events along with a co-branding opportunity. Thus, OSK Food offers flexibility and apt pricing according to the requirement. Some of their clients include the Government of Assam, IIM-CIP, Sony India, Axom Motors (Mercedes), Benelli and Harley Davidson Showrooms, Bundl Technologies, etc.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
For knowing the core of the market, R&D is instrumental. And, for OSK Food and Technology the process is executed by its founder, Rahul Hazarika. Through a plethora of trending web content on food and TV shows, he discovers innovative ideas to experiment.
At OSK Food and Technology Pvt. Ltd., they have a few advisors (industry experts) onboard that are curating the menu for the top new verticals. It’s essential to have a cyclic menu to be at the top of the game as the taste changes every season here in Assam.
Rahul says, “When it comes to the Market and Strategies, I leave it to my Managing Partner Abhilash, who has a 3-year experience in the Field of Market Intelligence and Research in a premier MNC firm. Our key contributor to growth is R&D.”
FEATHERS IN THE CAP
The Company has shown a remarkable performance because of which it has been accredited with a plethora of accolades and achievements. In 2017, they launched an app on the android platform. In 2018, they launched a campaign “Big Sale Day” and clocked traction of around 250 in a single day. They were recognized by ‘Guwahati Food Awards’ for setting a benchmark through Innovation. Within the same year, they launched their app on the iOS platform. In 2019, they are awarded as the ‘Best cloud kitchen’ in the city, incubated by Assam Start-up Nest (An initiative by IIM-C and Assam government). In 2020, they were awarded as the Best cloud kitchen in the city.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
With the help of the first round of funding, they are focusing on building their core team, which is going to play a significant role in shaping the future of the company. They plan to scale in other parts of the region and beyond. They have learned from their mistake and using that experience to grow rapidly. They are working on different partnership models as well. Besides this they strongly believe in giving back to the ecosystem, therefore some of their plans involve becoming completely plastic-free and generating as much employment as possible for women.
