Despite being an engineer with no knowledge of gourmet food, sheer passion is what led Himanshu Chawla to come up with a bakery brand like Bakingo. Bakingo is the second business enterprise started by Himanshu Chawla, who also runs a prominent e-commerce venture FlowerAura, along with Shrey Sehgal. With a background of 6+ years in the online flower industry, he conceptualized the idea of Bakingo with the objective to redefine the experience of ordering cake which has been cumbersome so far.
In Conversation With Himanshu Chawla Of Bakingo
In an exclusive conversation with The Restaurant Times, Himanshu talks about the story of Bakingo, services, USP and a lot more.
“According to Chawla, there are a lot of bakeries coming up, and cakes and bakery items are widely included in gift hampers. The Indian market still does not have a national bakery brand; some setups are coming up which are also successful, but a pan-India bakery brand across cities is yet to be initiated.”
USP Of Bakingo
With services such as same-day delivery, midnight delivery and delivery within 3 hours, Bakingo aims at creating a strong virtual presence which will help in penetrating the target audience and then expanding into the franchise stores that will make ordering cake online a hassle-free task.
“One of our main USPs is delivering freshly baked cakes within 3 hours; therefore, we are striving to build a strong delivery system of our own. We have also partnered with various delivery companies to accomplish this. Our endeavor at Bakingo is to deliver the best quality cakes at every doorstep even at the eleventh hour. We want to establish Bakingo as a synonym to cakes,” says Chawla.
“At FlowerAura, 50% of our orders included cakes. We realized that cakes had become an indispensable part of celebrations, be it a small get together at home, a birthday bash, farewell or anniversary, or a grand corporate party.”
Role Of Website in Branding
According to Chawla, one only gets a single opportunity to make a first impression. With the attention span of people reducing, one literally has seconds to grab the attention of the patrons towards a website to increase the number of visitors and tell them what you’re all about.
High quality pictures of the products on the website should be a priority. The website has to be designed in a way that the overall experience of the brand is poured out. According to Chawla, whether you serve beautifully crafted dishes, you have eye-catching decor, or your restaurant is located in a picturesque setting, showing off great pictures and videos enhances the chance to feature what is best about a brand. A website should be made in a way that helps the business to build a professional image, as it is an excellent approach for assisting customers to get acquainted with a brand.
Oven Efficiency Is The Key To Good Baking
The role of the oven in the baking process is quite obvious, however, it is often taken much for granted.
According to Chawla, when it concerns stoves, gas ranges provide a heat that is a lot easier to manage. When you turn the burner down, the flame recedes causing the heat in the pan to drop immediately. When you reject the burner on an electric range, the temperature of the burner has to drop naturally prior to the temperature level in the pan can decrease. It is really easy to overcook food on an electric range and takes a bit of getting used to before you can time things to excellence.
Importance Of Staff training
Staff training is key to a successful business, proper training, especially for the delivery boys is very important. With cakes, there is a constraint as a single delivery boy cannot carry more than two cakes to maintain its quality, so it is important to devise methods of delivery and train the staff accordingly.
According to Chawla, prior training is necessary, but the type of training and requirements varies depending on the kind of bakery. A well-trained member in a bakery will understand the basics of food preparation, sanitation, and food planning. Some brands also offer executive training programs, which will associate on-the-job actuality with in-class training.
Chawla concludes by saying that expansion is definitely on the plate for his brand. ‘We want Bakingo to be a brand where people think of nothing else except Bakingo when it comes about celebrations. Bakingo will soon have its fully-functioning kitchen in Hyderabad and Pune’.
