DELHI CHATS - Reinventing the Food Business in this New Normal

By BWA Envoy
December 14, 2021
2 Minutes Read

Are online home food delivery businesses profitable? Here is one story of a business that made it big from home during the pandemic!

A family that cooks together stays together…

In 2000, the Late Nagarmal Singhal, patriarch of the family that owned Delhi Chats (@Delhi Chats) decided to address the severe financial problems faced by the restaurant. All the adult members of the joint family collectively decided to pitch in to make their small hotel profitable. Delhi Chats was one of the first restaurants in Rajarajeshwarinagar to serve North Indian chat delicacies. The matriarch of the family Vidyadevi Singhal and her daughter in law managed the cooking, while the operations were supervised by the male members.

“Our customers were mostly students”, remembers Pawan Kumar Singhal, the eldest son of Nagarmal, who now manages the business. "This was because, in early 2000, a cluster of engineering colleges were set up in and around Rajarajeshwarinagar".

Adapting to change

To build on their success, the Singhals decided to enter into a partnership to expand their operations in 2019. But they had to break up the partnership after they received complaints about the drop in the quality of their food from loyal customers. In 2020, they decided to reinvent Delhi Chats by ditching the dine-in model and only focusing on the take-away option. This shift took place before the restaurants had to close their shutters due to the Covid 19 lockdown.

Surprisingly, things have been looking up ever since. Despite the effects of COVID-19, their business has been doing better. Thanks to the internet, they have partnered with food delivery service providers like Swiggy and Zomato and extended their reach, raking in more customers from tech parks and colleges. Their profit margin has now increased to 40% with sales of close to One Lakh Rupees every month!

“Another added advantage of partnering with Zomato, is that we can also subscribe to their bulk grocery delivery service Zomato Hyperpure which saves us the struggle of sourcing our pulses, grains and atta’s,” says Akash Singhal, a thirdgeneration member of the family business. The perishable items are brought fresh and daily every morning by Pawan Kumar which is then prepared by his wife Maya Singhal as the orders come in.

The secret ingredient

Uncompromising about their taste, Maya says that they make their masalas, “This way we can maintain the authenticity of the food and the consistency in our flavors”. Surprisingly, the food for their customers is made right in their home kitchen. This is the same food that they make for themselves daily, living up to their legacy of serving strictly home-cooked meals. “At the end of the day, nothing goes to waste since we eat whatever is extra,” she says.

The home food is packaged with a colourful sticker – "Pirated Baniya ". Akash jokingly remarked, "We belong to the Baniya community who are known for their business acumen. My father, Pawan Kumar, wanted our customers to know that Delhi Chats went beyond the bottom line and therefore decided to call ourselves “Pirated Baniya”.

The Singhals have found that the online model works in their favor. They can choose when they work, what they serve from the comfort of their own homes - benefits that could not have been possible without technology and the internet.

When asked about their future expansion plans, Pawan Kumar remarked “no such plans, we are happy making food from our kitchen without it being an exertion. Our customers come to us for this same reason, so we are happy with what we have”.