How women are turning home kitchens into successful businesses

By Prateek Chakraborty: Every Friday, Sharmi Adhikary returns from work to her apartment in Noida and gets busy arranging a feast. She takes a brief break, tucks in the pallu of her saree and enters her kitchen. She will be conjuring up pure magic for absolute strangers the next two days and she knows she needs to be fully prepared.

Mouthwatering, authentic Bengali delicacies cooked in the clean, cosy kitchen of her 18th floor 2BHK flat are delivered across Noida, Gurgaon and Delhi. As the aromas waft and spread, so does the popularity.

The 40-year-old freelancer lifestyle journalist and social media influencer is one of the thousands of women across India who have commercialised their kitchen. The business of cloud kitchen, which became big during the Covid-induced lockdown, has only grown bigger, thanks to the delivery platforms.

For many homemakers, the kitchen is the route to the bank. Their special touch in every dish, coupled with efficient digital ordering systems, has acquired them a dedicated customer base. The soulful cooking that once fed a family, now feeds dozens who crave authentic home cuisine.

If some women are supplementing their family income, others have tasted success and scaled up their business as a true-blue commercial venture.

In Lucknow, 51-year-old Meenakshi Arya has, too, turned her love for cooking into a small commercial venture. She started ‘Punjabi Kadhai’ amid the pandemic.

What started by offering food services to Covid patients during the lockdown has grown in scope and size today.

The lockdown, which saw many businesses teetering on the brink of closure, gave a boost to cloud kitchens.

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HOW LOCKDOWN BLESSED THE CLOUD KITCHEN

If Noida's Sharmi specialises in shorshe ilish (mustard hilsa) and kosha mangsho (mutton curry), for Lucknow's Meenakshi it is paneer lababdar, poha and upma. Though their recipes are different, their cloud kitchen started at the same time -- the Covid lockdown.

The forced closure of restaurants and subsequent switch to home deliveries or takeouts came as a boon for these businesses. That was the time when people hesitated to eat out and would treat themselves occasionally to home-delivered food.

Cloud kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens or virtual kitchens, refer to professional food preparation and cooking facilities set up for delivery-only meals.

These cloud kitchens proved to be a boon to Indian women wanting to start their own venture amid the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. It gave them a platform to showcase their culinary skills, serve profitable meals, and circumvent traditional barriers within the hospitality industry.

With almost nil capital requirement and operational costs compared to brick-and-mortar restaurants, cloud kitchens catered to the culinary preferences of a diverse customer base. So, if Sharmi's patrons want to try her special katlar tel jhaal (a kind of spicy fish preparation), Meenakshi's customers seek comfort in her homemade aloo paranthas.

BHOLA, UBER HELP IN DELIVERY

When Sharmi had just started off, her husband would go and deliver the meals. She now relies on a person who works with Uber and lives nearby.

Meenakshi too relied initially on her children and husband for the deliveries, but now uses the Swiggy Genie or the Porter app.

But, Shiksha Khandelwal from Agra has to rely more on courier services for the Agra-based home-cook that sells her products across cities in India.

A former IT professional from Kolkata, Shiksha runs a highly successful customised cloud kitchen -- Anishka's Kitchen -- that serves comforting and home-cooked meals.

She looked to commercialise her passion for cooking as there was a lack of career opportunities for IT professionals in Agra. Apart from the regular vegetarian and non-vegetarian fares, she also sells items with a long shelf-life, like pickles, murabba and papad.

Shiksha has made smart use of courier services to deliver her pickles and papads to cities like Kolkata, Chandigarh and Bengaluru. Her venture has now grown into a full-blown business with a line-up of more than 200 items.

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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET STARTED?

But how much does one need to invest and what are the licences and permits needed?

Tasha Lakwara, a home baker from Maharashtra's Thane, said she needed an initial investment of Rs 20,000.

"Being fond of baking, I had an oven and other equipment, I just needed money primarily for packaging materials and bulk buying of ingredients," the 24-year-old, an interior design graduate, stated.

She gets orders for five to six cakes a day on an average. "That's the most I can manage alone," Tasha said. Enthused by the response she has been getting, she plans to employ people and expand her business in January after she completes her pastry course.

Her business is registered and an application for an FSSAI certificate is in progress. Tasha said the process for small businesses getting FSSAI certification is quite simple and can be done online within an hour.

Sharmi from Noida has an FSSAI certificate, but a couple of other women who use their kitchens as a side hustle don't have permits.

And why do people prefer home-cooked meals rather than the order-ins from restaurants?

Rinita Paul from Cooch Behar in West Bengal, a home baker, said home-based cooks are sought after because they are very particular about the quality of ingredients.

“Home bakers do not use any preservatives or chemicals in their products. We always use products which we use at our homes. In commercial shops, eggless cakes, particularly, are prepared using preservatives which are not good for one’s health,” the 21-year-old, who has recently graduated, said.

She gets orders for five to six cakes a day and delivers them to other nearby towns such as Dinhata and Siliguri.

Rewati Rau, who has been running Bikku Bakes in Delhi since 2015, too agrees. "People come to home bakers for healthy products. They trust that we use 100 per cent pure ingredients," said Rewati, whose Bikku Bakes specialises in "healthy bakes", catering to people's dietary needs.

"I bake cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, breads, quiche and tarts. Most of these can be made healthy with alternative flours and sweeteners. People order for birthdays, anniversaries and just when they plan to binge without worrying about preservatives and additives," she said.

Rewati has an FSSAI licence, which she said is not difficult to get. "I am extremely particular about cleanliness and using absolutely fresh ingredients, so I pretty much follow my own guidelines," she added.

Sharmi, Meenakshi, Tasha, Rinita and Rewati all depend on social media platforms and word-of-mouth publicity to spread the word about their products.

WhatsApp groups, especially in gated housing societies, serve as ideal promotional grounds. Several of the home cooks IndiaToday.In spoke to used WhatsApp groups to promote their food.

But how much do these women end up earning through their kitchens?

MA BAKERS MAKE IT BIG

Sharmi, a freelance journalist and influencer, remains busy on weekdays and is only able to offer ‘SharmisHappyMeals’ on weekends or on special occasions on pre-booked orders.

"I generally have four orders a week,” Sharmi said. Through her kitchen business, Sharmi is able to earn a profit of between Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 every week.

Thane's Tasha said her baking gig brings in about Rs 40,000 per month and the figure climbs up if she gets corporate orders. But her Cooch Behar counterpart, Rinita, is struggling in a "highly competitive market".

“In 2020, I had a profit of Rs 40,000 to 50,000 during the lockdown. At that time, shops were closed. But now, I make around Rs 20,000 to 25,000 per month as everything has reopened and there are a lot of home bakers in Cooch Behar,” said Rinita.

But the gigs that begin at home can go a long way. Both Aarti Vaid of Lucknow and Rewati Rau of Delhi are good examples.

Rewati, a mother to a 15-year-old daughter and an ed-tech professional, has rented out space for Bikku Bakes. She employs three people, one who specially handles the deliveries.

Aarti Vaid, 35, has transformed her passion for baking and cooking into a successful business in Lucknow. She started from her small kitchen at home and now operates a café and bakery. It has been an eight-year journey for her.

Included on the café’s menu are a variety of customised cakes, cookies, breads, vegetarian pizzas and salads. The delivery of customised cakes is handled by an air-conditioned vehicle and regular orders are sent through Swiggy and Zomato.

Any icing on the cake? Aarti replied by saying, “We got an order for a 500-kilogram cake for the anniversary of a mall in Lucknow. It was loved by all."

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