For those late-night hunger pangs

NiteAppetite delivers freshly-cooked food from its restaurant partners to students, late-shift employees

August 17, 2017 12:54 am | Updated 08:01 am IST

Goodbye to unhealthy food: NiteAppetite offers its customers hot, freshly-cooked food late at night.

Goodbye to unhealthy food: NiteAppetite offers its customers hot, freshly-cooked food late at night.

Mumbai: In their student days a few years ago, Smitesh More (25) and Shriyog Dhande (25) faced what every Mumbaikar who works late goes through: it’s virtually impossible to find affordable, healthy food of their choice at that hour.

“As managing director of a software solutions company, I had to stay late in office. Finding food at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. was a tedious task. While a few food stalls would be open, these were either far away or the quality and hygiene were not up to the mark,” says Mr. More.

Mr. Dhande says getting good food was a task whenever they partied with friends till 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. “Further, we saw how difficult it was for our college friends who lived in rented apartments to get food after midnight. They used to either order food before midnight, the usual closing time of restaurants, or depend on bread and butter.”

The duo decided to fill this gap and start a midnight food delivery system that would deliver fresh food at customers’ doorsteps from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

In August 2016, they unveiled NiteAppetite — Midnight Hunger ki Vaat (the destroyer of midnight hunger) after an exhaustive survey that involved understanding the preferences of students and professionals, choosing the locality, timings and so on.

Back then, Mr. More had started his own software company in Airoli while Mr. Dhande worked in the purchase and marketing department of a petrochemical company in Delhi. “However, we both realised this was not our calling and that we wanted to venture into an unexplored field,” says Mr. Dhande.

With expertise in their respective fields, duties were spelt out clearly. While Mr. More looks after the execution as CEO, Mr. Dhande concentrates on operations as COO.

The business

The venture took off with an initial investment of Rs. 2,000 towards printing 500 copies of the NiteAppetite brochure and pasting and distributing it in areas nearby. On the very first day, they received two orders. Initially, the partners delivered food on their motorcycles. “To keep costs low, we bought a postpaid Airtel sim card (these were then free). It was the only number on which we took orders by call or on WhatsApp and took care of the customer care as well,” says Mr. More.

They began from Mr. More’s office in Airoli and by December, shifted to a rented space. The condition of a minimum order of ₹150 and delivery charge of ₹40 was removed within a few days. “The location was carefully chosen as it connected areas like Vitava and Thane,” says Mr. Dhande.

The startup now caters to more than 550 orders per month and operates between Airoli and Ghansoli. By the end of this month, they are launching an Android app too. In July 2017, NiteAppetite received angel investment of ₹15 lakh for scaling up the business and marketing it.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing though. “Customers often doze off after placing an order and don’t open their door when we take deliveries to them. This has resulted in financial losses,” says Mr. More. To overcome this, they insist on online payments or payments through Paytm.

How it works

Their business model is simple: NiteAppetite doesn’t have its own kitchen; instead, it has tie-ups with five restaurants who keep their kitchen open for them and stick to quality standards that the startup lays out for them, says Mr. Dhande. NiteAppetitte pays its partners 65% of every order.

The menu offers a variety of dishes such as biryani, omelette, vegetable-roti, rice dishes and Chinese food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. There is a plan to include pizzas and burgers. “Since we serve food hot and fresh, cooked in licensed kitchens, it is healthier than street stalls,” says Mr. Dhande.

Prices begin at ₹110 — the food is 10% to 20% costlier (or by ₹30-40) than a daytime menu, as an incentive to what they call their ‘NitePartners.’

On receiving an order, the nearest NitePartner is intimated and the food is delivered within 45 minutes. Five delivery boys have been hired for the purpose and have been given motorcycles. There is no minimum order policy and payment is accepted online or in cash. A new customer has to pay through Paytm. Once a relationship is built, he/she is allowed to pay through cash on delivery.

“We are influenced by Uber’s asset-free business model,” says Mr. Dhande. Their employees, too work or study during the day and work for them part-time. “We are technology and service people and focus only on the operations, quality assurance and technology. We leave everything else to the restaurants as they are the experts in that domain.”

What customers say

As of now, customers seem happy with the service. Amey Joshi (27), who runs a transport business and works late nights, learnt about NiteAppetite through a friend three months ago and ever since, has been ordering from them atleast three times a week. “I have always received food within 30 minutes of placing the order. I love their vegetable biryani and Chinese dishes the most.”

Sandeep Gaikwad (27), who supplies construction material, also works odd hours. “It is really difficult to find food late at night and that too, what you want to eat. NiteAppetite not only provides quality food, but also has a wide variety to choose from. Further, their delivery is prompt. I have ordered food even at 4 am and they have supplied within 20 minutes,” he says.

Kevin Joseph (26), a professional who works at Lower Parel, also orders on a regular basis. “My office timings are erratic and by the time I reach home at Airoli, it is very late. NiteAppetite is a good option for professionals like me. I love their chicken fried rice the most.”

The founders wish to expand their venture to cover all of Navi Mumbai and parts of Mumbai by December 2017.

The venture distinctly represents Mumbai, a city that never sleeps. “The name has a Bombay flavour, as we belong to this city,” says Mr. More. “Logically, everyone who feels hungry at night is our client. Our customer base comprises students, night-shift employees, bachelors, and people who party late into the night.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.