A ‘GRAB-AND-GO’ FOOD OPPORTUNITY

Consider this: India is projected to be one of the fastest growing markets in chicken, mutton and seafoodconsumption. And while vegetarianism is often believed to be widespread in India, the data seems to suggest otherwise. In fact, the size of the meat market in India is estimated at a whopping Rs 2 lakh crore, and expected to triple by 2020, according to reports. The Chennai market alone has been estimated atRs 2,500 crore. The market potential for the urban India market is believed to be worth USD 8 billion. However, the flip factor is that as much as 90% of this marketunorganised. Small wonder then that startups are now gravitating towards this space, working to make it more organised.

Capitalizing the Right Opportunity

TenderCuts sells all varieties of fresh-cut meat like chicken, goat, sea food, marinades, lamb, etc. through retail stores, direct orders from its website, mobile app and call centers. Now, the company has forayed into the ready-to-eat food segment with the new brand ‘Envee, which is an exclusive non-vegetarian standalone outlet serving starters and gravies. It aims to provide its customers the experience of eating delicious freshly prepared starters made from high-quality, antibiotic-free, hygienic and healthy fresh-cut meat and fish with Zero preservatives

Talking about the rationale of launching this brand, Chandransays, “Given that 40% of the restaurant business is from take-away orders alone, Envee provides the ideal ‘grab and go’ for everyone desiring delicious starters, gravies, maincourse” adding, “All our menu items are centrally prepared with all ingredients, hence outlets needs to simply open and grill/fry without hassles, also every menu items are packed individually for easy stock taking and avoiding wastage or pilferage

The Way Forward

Currently, the company has nineoutlets of TenderCuts in Chennai and plans to expand to about 30 outlets in the city, and eventually move to Hyderabad and Bengaluru by early 2018.“Demographically we want to focus on Chennai for the next few months, and will expand to other major metros as the next step,” he shares.Talking about Envee’s expansions, Chandran says, “We plan to have 200 Envee outlets in South India by the second quarter and then would expand to North India for the third and fourth quarter of this year.”

Envee is looking at FOFO (franchise-owned Franchisee-operated) model for growth. “We are confident that Envee will pick up fast since the ready-to-eat segment is a lucrative arena for us and being the first in India to offer Antibiotic Free Chicken/Mutton and Seafood Starters and Gravies with “Zero” Pilferage/wastage model,” he adds. Chandran also feels that since the model is a completely scalable model with minimuminvestment, the company is confident of garnering a good response.Overall, the company aims to hit a topline of Rs 100 crore in two years.

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