How difficult is it to get quality, fresh and piping hot food and affordable prices while on the move? Tough to imagine isn’t it? No worries. We have Frshly to make things possible for us.
Nested away beyond the city limits of Chennai, Frshly is a venture which is known for its unique concept of Food Vending Kiosks. Providing quality, fresh, hygienic and hot food to its customers has been its USP since inception.
Well known in the railway circuit, this company has been working towards making good food accessible to the working class and for those on the move. It is evident from their presence in the railway stations, airports and IT parks across the city.
For people who have no idea of what I am talking about, here is the deal.
- Go to a Frshly Food vending machine installed nearby.
- Choose your option from their generous spread from renowned eateries.
- input your order and choose your preferred method to pay, from their touchscreen installed at the kiosk.
- Make the payment.
- Prepare to enjoy hot and fresh food within 90 seconds from punching the order.
“It all began in 2013. The problem that I wanted to solve was the lack of accessibility to quality food for the people in transit” , says the CEO Mr. Satish ChamiVelumani.
He also adds that Frshly helps the organisations avoid the heavy initial capital outlay in the form of buildings, furniture, interiors and staffing. All the space that the kiosk requires is about the size of a small booth.
I happened to get a chance to visit their office and check out the real deal all by myself and I was impressed. The office was cozy and gave a warm feeling.
The kiosk that I had a chance to see was the one at SP Infocity, MGR Salai, kandanchavadi, Chennai. It was a fully automated process from placing the order to taking the food out to eat. No touching squishy squashy business out there! It was slick!!
They also have an app which can be used to reserve your food from your work-desk and then picking it up when you finally reach the food court. It is fully at your convenience. No strings attached.
The food is packed extremely well and the particulars, including the time of packing and the centre for which it is packed is mentioned in the packet, easy for the consumer to identify and be aware of.
“Any food packet that is loaded is not older than six hours from the time of packing. A minute beyond the designated six hours, the food will be trashed and not sold” says the Head of Marketing and Brand Management Ms.Dhivya.
So essentially it is just like our good old Dabba food that we pack from home.
The machine, that does all the work- from identifying the order, to microwaving the food and finally delivering it at the counter, is fully automated and is the brainchild of the CEO.
Behind the success of the venture is a young and upbeat team that is working tirelessly. The team ensures that the technology behind this idea is up-to-date and the quality of the food served is world class.
“We are in the process of tying up with more restaurants and kitchens for food and we have also had many prominent ones approaching us for tie-ups. We, at present have outlets like Anjappar, Madrasi Biryani, Delhi Highway etc collaborating with us in providing quality food”
Frshly has been on a major growth mode and has also presented the concept during the Rail Vikas Shivir, organised by the Union Government , in the presence of our Prime Minister. They are also in talks with IRCTC to secure licenses to operate the kiosks in the Railway stations across the country.
Frshly is now on a scale of expansion and is hoping to begin its Singapore operations in March 2017, with the help of the Government of Singapore.
This could be a revolutionary idea in the area of food technology and who knows, this could even solve some of the major problems that the industry is facing these days!
