Saloni Brahmachari is an industrious and self-directed individual. Saloni hails from Delhi and is settled in Bangalore. She has extensive hands-on experience in the start-up environment before she finally dived in to be an entrepreneur and started Tandoor Box in 2016.
Tandoor Box brings the delicacies of North Indian food to Bangalore. It is a takeaway/delivery outlet. The Tandoor Box is popular for it’s Dilli Zaika food. Later, they started another brand for Indo-Chinese food named Dragon Box. Today, they cater to more than 300 unique customers daily with a repeat customer base of more than 65% over 4 stores in Bangalore.
In Conversation With Saloni Brahmachari of Tandoor Box
In an exclusive conversation with The Restaurant Times, Saloni Brahmachari talks of her journey in the industry, the story behind Tandoor Box, major challenges, their USP and a lot more.
Major Challenges Faced While Running The Business
Being a takeaway/delivery outlet, there are numerous challenges faced on a daily basis. Tandoor Box’s first outlet was situated in a unique location consisting of a mix of corporates as well as the residential community. According to Brahmachari, back in 2016, 80%-90% of the sales were walk-in-sales and self pickups. Because of the third party delivery aggregators, like Zomato, Swiggy, and UberEats coming in the past three years, walk-in-sales and self-pickups have drastically gone down by 50%-60 %. This was a major challenge for them because a margin of 30% of the total sales is given to the aggregators.
Brahmachari tries to overcome this challenge by encouraging customers to order directly with them by offering discounts and incentives. Self-pickup works best for them.
According to Brahmachari, the second challenge is recruiting the right manpower. Tandoor Box being a takeaway/delivery outlet, recruiting chefs with expertise and experience is a task for them. The majority of educated chefs in the industry want to work in established restaurants and hotels. Due to this problem, they have to compensate the chefs with a higher value than the general industry norm.
Tandoor Box’s USP and Packaging Process
Tandoor Box uses ingredients that are transported straight from Delhi every day. This helps them to keep the ingredients fresh and also maintain the quality of the final product. Also, Brahmachari makes sure that the chefs who are recruited have expertise in making north Indian food, it helps in making the food authentic. Thereafter, the chefs are trained to make their specific recipes.
Packaging in the foodservice industry is not seen as an advantage or selling point, but more as an expense. It is essential to calculate the costs optimally so that the restaurateurs are able to gain.
Tandoor Box delivers food in meal boxes which consist of eco-friendly disposables. Out of the total turnover, 10% of it goes for packaging. Brahmachari says that their economics work by charging an extra five to ten rupees. The costing in the menu is done accurately and the menu prices are revised regularly. This helps them to cover their costs.
‘Customers are ready to pay the extra five to ten rupees as long as the quality of the food delivered is not compromised,’ says Brahmachari.
Technology Bedding
From the cash register to the kitchen, technology is an integral part of how restaurants operate. Between the arrivals of mobile devices on the table, online reservations, social media, and new payment methods, technology has infiltrated the food and restaurant industry like never before.
According to Brahmachari, technology has helped in minimizing wastage by projecting the past sales and closely scrutinizing it. It helps in analyzing what sells on which day of the week and average it out, which further helps in making an accurate prediction of future production.
A good Point Of Sales system can work both online and offline making sure that the data remains sound and the restaurant never stops. It helps in effectively managing Billing, Stock & Inventory, Marketing, Analytics, etc.
“With the digital age, 95% of the sales are cashless, payments are either through online wallets or cards. With Posist, we are able to reduce pilferage and track our products better. The daily reports help us to revise our menus regularly and optimally utilize our resources. The integrations have made the online ordering simpler as well,” says Brahmachari.
Secret Sauce To Success
A successful restaurant is a combination of various factors. The foundation of your restaurant’s culture starts with your restaurant staff. Apart from that, the guest experience and the service provided to the customers are of the utmost importance.
According to Brahmachari, the secret behind running a successful restaurant is keeping the products fresh, maintaining consistency and delivering quick service. Tandoor Box believes in delivering fresh delicious items to the patrons so that they keep coming back!
