Shark Tank India Season 3 frequently meets these entrepreneurs, whose original concept not only dazzles the other founders but also leaves them in awe of their bravery. Raunit Gambhir is one such founder who appeared in Shark Tank India’s third season. In August 2020, Raunit, a 28-year-old Mumbai resident, founded Chefling, a startup that offers consumers ready-to-cook kits. These are kits of specific dishes that are only served in restaurants; they are not your typical kits. Raunit claims that he is pursuing this vision and wants to bring the restaurant closer to home. Raunit graduated with a BBA from Mumbai’s Amity University. He worked in his father’s textile company after studying.
Know about the product
Ready-to-cook meal kits—also known as DIY kits—are sold by Chefling. The unique selling point (USP) of these dishes is that you get the ingredients for international dishes and are also given instructions on how to prepare them. This kit includes a variety of additional items in addition to meat and vegetables. Raunit can deliver his products throughout India and is getting ready to export since there isn’t a single item in this kit that spoils easily. Mexican tacos and enchiladas, Italian lasagna, and the well-known sushi and mochi from Japan are all included in their kit.
How it all started?
Raunit states that everyone was confined to their homes during the initial lockdown. When he visited a friend’s house during this period, the friend mentioned that he was craving sushi. He considered preparing it at home. After that, they brought ingredients for sushi making from a nearby international premium store. The total cost of bringing all the goods was around Rs 8000. It was then that the first idea for a ready-to-cook kit originated, and eventually, this business was launched.
The business model of Chefling
The company’s current business model is either B2C or D2C. Under this, customers place orders via the company’s website and Instagram account, and the order is delivered to them. The company currently only makes money from product sales, but it is getting ready to launch a subscription service as well. The business now offers nine different kinds of kits. Six new kits will eventually arrive, to focus on exporting Indian grains. Raunit promises to keep the cost of this kit at about Rs 100.
Mother Helped with 50 crore rupees
Raunit explains that he borrowed fifty thousand rupees from his mother to start a business after his father’s company closed. He later took an additional one lakh rupees from his mother. In the last three years, the company he founded with that money has brought in Rs 60 lakh in sales. Only 150 kits were available when Raunit started the business, but every kit was sold that day. Over 5000 kits have been sold by this startup thus far.
Obstacles in the Business
Raunit’s business is beset with numerous obstacles. The costly nature of the product is the main obstacle. For this reason, they have made improvements while maintaining the typical kit size, which serves three to four people and costs about Rs 1200. This is more expensive than the second kit, which serves roughly two people. A trial kit with just the necessary ingredients and a suggested retail price of approximately Rs 499 is also being introduced.
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