Caked by surprise!

Vineet M. Benny tells Payal Chhabria why he started an online cake delivery service that takes orders even at the last minute.

“Caked is a term that someone might use if they were high on cakes,” says Vineet M. Benny, co-founder of Caked.in, the latest online cake delivery service in the city.Apart from this, Benny is also the Director of St John’s Dr Rajakumar International School, Injambakkam; the Founder of Design Embassy, a design and content creation firm; the front man of The Terrorists, a Chennai-based band; a partner in Harvest Futures Consultants India Pvt. Ltd., a trading company; Founder of Dessert Safari, an exquisite dessert parlour. Caked.in, his latest venture, is co-founded with Ekta Grover. Excerpts from an interview:

Why Caked.in?

Though we had come up with the idea, we were not sure what to call it. We wanted an energetic name; something that sounds enthusiastic yet simple and conveys what we do in a single word. Caked was ideal because it sounds fun, and also directly depicts what it does. It’s a term that someone might use if they were high on cakes, like sloshed or hammered.

Where did the idea of Caked.in come from?

For starters, we saw a huge market for a midnight cake delivery service in the city. We live in a context where Facebook reminds us of an occasion — sometimes even a best friend’s birthday. More often than not, the reminder comes in just a few minutes before the occasion or after the clock strikes 12. We often find ourselves panicking because we are constantly battling for time to pick up a cake or plan a party. In most cases, we are too late in getting things organised in time. It is amazing how much of our business happens at midnight. So, the idea is really to offer a wholesome birthday surprise package.

Midnight cake delivery services have been happening for a while now. Why is this special?

Well, there are a whole bunch of people who deliver cakes at midnight; we wanted to go one step ahead and deliver smiles too. You can call us at the last minute, and we will deliver a cake wherever you are or wherever you’d like us to. In fact, we’ve reached cakes to their destinations within 12 minutes from the time of order. That should break some records! Apart from a long list of cakes, we deliver flowers, teddies, balloons, chocolates and, our all-time favourite, cake pops. You can even request for a music man who will go along and sing songs. Along with a new menu, we are soon launching a scheme that will enable you to spruce up an occasion or event, any time, any where. Whether it is a flash mob or a concert, we can save the day!

Is the city warming up to the idea?

Oh yes, of course! We’ve had an overwhelming response. For a start-up online company to be delivering 30 plus cakes each day is surely a mighty feat! The music man is most welcomed and appreciated. People love him…

What’s it like to ring random doorbells at midnight?

I must share this with you. Once, we had to deliver a cake and a bouquet to someone on Valentine’s Day. The boy had also given us a gift to go with it. He came along with us and, when we rang the doorbell, this boy ran away and hid behind the car. Exactly when the girl’s dad opened the door. We had no idea what to do. Thankfully, we didn’t get arrested.

What’s your personal best on the menu?

Our cheesecakes are the best. Period.

What’s next?

We currently deliver anywhere in Chennai from our current kitchen at Mandaiveli. We are planning to set-up a couple of more kitchens at Velachery and Nungambakkam, and another at Mandaiveli. We are also expanding to Bangalore, and are exploring other metro cities as well.

Reach them at >www.caked.in .