Remember the first time you moved out of your parents’ home? The one thing that most of us miss when we do is homemade food.
Mysuru techie Murali Gundanna is reintroducing the comfort of home cooked meals in the lives of people who live far from home.
With his food delivery startup Food Box, he uses the culinary talents of his aunts and grandmother to make sure that people continue to enjoy homemade food wherever they are.
In 2014, while working with the JSW group as an engineer, Murali’s entrepreneurial instincts began pushing him to start something of his own.
He told his boss about his business aspirations and received positive feedback. “My boss offered me three months of paid leave. He said that if I failed, I could return after the leave was exhausted.”
In 2015, he decided to start a food business in Mysuru with his grandmother Indiramma and aunts Usha and Sandhya.
Food Box was launched the same year. From 15-20 boxes a day, Murali and his family now sell 2,000 boxes a week across Mysuru. The company has 30,000 registered users.
“We do not stock anything; the groceries are ordered daily and received by evening. The vegetables are delivered early in the morning, and spices are prepared the same day,” Murali explains.
Food Box started with minimal investment and had no profits for the first six months. Today, it makes a revenue of about Rs 1.5 crore a year.