A hard-core vegetarian, Pratik Jain found it difficult to get a meal of his choice while working for an MNC in Mumbai.

He was ready to shell out extra money on a delicious full-course meal, but could not find a food service good enough to whet his appetite. Though he found some online services that delivered meals at his doorstep, he was not ready to risk his health as he was not so sure about the quality of food. The Management Studies graduate in him scented an opportunity in online tiffin service space, which led him to quit his job and launch Yummy Tiffins, in Mumbai in April 2010. The company, which claims to be Indias first customised online food delivery service, currently serves meals to almost 200 customers every day. Tiffin service is not exactly a virgin space as there were players like MumbaibasedCalorieCare, founded in as early as 2005, offering customers meals packed with the count of carbohydrates, fats, protein and the calories. It now serves meals to almost 1,000 customers in traypacked, disposable containers, which are delivered to the location of the customers choice. But the trend is there is a new breed of food entrepreneurs who are entering this market using internet as an order channeling system and offering healthier, customised and tastier tiffins to customers. In Bangalore, there are at least three players such as Chulha.in, ItsMyMeal and Papastiffin, if not more, targeting students, office goers and others for their daily meal requirements. In Delhi, there isHomecurry.com who has joined the online tiffin bandwagon. All of them are betting on a customers need for healthy meals outside ones homes confinement. While Chulha provides lunch and dinner to its customers, ItsMyMeal supplies evening snacks (for corporate customers and regular bulk orders only), besides lunch to individuals and employees in MNCs in Bangalore. Papas Tiffin the smallest among them supplies lunch, dinner and snacks to homes, offices and companies, apart from undertaking orders for parties and get-togethers. Yummy Tiffins now employs around nine people, and has also tied up with the Mumbai Dabbawala Association to deliver food to corporates. The price starts at Rs 55. Jain claims that the company is already profitable and is now planning to expand to more cities. Our business has a healthy margin. The revenues have doubled from last years figures. We are launching in Bangalore in 3-4 months, where we will operate on our own. We are also expanding to Pune shortly. In Bangalore, Chulha specialises on catering to the North Indian palate customers who relocated to Bangalore from the North for work and live away from their families. It serves 300-odd customers (mainly individuals, paying guests and office goers in the city) on a daily basis, offering them homecooked north Indian food.

Founded in 2008, Chulha charges Rs 50 for a vegetarian meal, while non-veg tiffin costs Rs 60. It also offers veg and non-veg mini meals, which is priced at Rs 45 and Rs 55, respectively. According to Nishant Gupta, the founder and MD of Chulha, the market is too fragmented and highly competitive. There is demand for online tiffin delivery services. Though the customer base is growing day by day, there are some issues that to be resolved. Tiffin delivery is a tedious work that it needs hard work and patience. So it is not easy to get labourers. Convincing people about the quality of food is another headache. He said that customers in Bangalore prefer veg cuisine over non-veg items. ItsMyMeal, founded by Nikhil Gupta, Neeraj Kumar and Anoop Agarwal, is another online tiffin service in the IT hub. It provides Indian and international cuisine to corporates and individuals. The company makes sure that no menu is repeated in the same week or same month for lunch or dinner. The charge varies from Rs 59 to Rs 105, depending on the dishes a customer selects. ItsMyDeal is now planning to open 100 production centers by the end of 2015 and is launching in multiple cities, including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi. Delhi-based Home Curry, which provides both veg and non-veg lunch to office-goers in the Delhi NCR region, finds a huge opportunity in the 15 lakh working population. Many of the families in here hardly get time to cook food at home. So they depend on online tiffin deliveries like us. Though there are number of players in this space, majority of which are unorganised, they fail to meet the demands of this huge population. Here we are much better than others, said Manoj Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Home Curry. He, however, admits that there are some challenges. It is a highly price-sensitive market. Moreover, logistics is another key challenge. Since we take orders online on a daily basis, it is not easy to carry food in long routes and deliver it, added Gupta. Home Curry is planning to expand to Pune and Bangalore in long term, only after getting enough scale in the NCR region itself. Mumbais Calorie Care can be considered the biggest player in this segment right now. It offers international cuisines as well as gourmet soup and salad meals, both veg and non-veg. The company co-founder Parinaz Driver claims: Our USP is that we have around 50 items in our menu for the customer to choose from. We also serve food to customers depending on their calorie level. We have around 900-1,000 customers as of now and we have plans to expand to Delhi, Bangalore, etc.

Driver says that competition is huge and it is not easy to get customers, a view echoed by most other players including Yummy Tiffins Jain. Says Driver: What we provide is premium food. Depending on various health issues, a customer can choose an item from our menu. It can cost a customer anywhere between Rs 180-Rs 300. So it is not very easy to grab customers. Is the business scalable enough to create a multi-million dollar business with a national footprint? We pose the question to venture capitalist Prashant Prakash, who is managing director with Accel Partners. He answers: These are very local businesses, which are focused only on local customers. It is not that easy to take this business model to multiple cities. What I feel is that it needs consolidation that somebody has to bring these businesses into a single platform, which will help them get good scale. If each and every one tries to expand individually, it cannot sustain in long term. Well, that is a challenge and opportunity for an entrepreneur.

Catch hold of the benefits of Tiffin service

Food Articles | October 16, 2012 Some people eat to live and the foodies live to eat. For both the categories to fulfill their ulterior motive they have to take refuge to cookery to fill their stomach. Some people eat to live and the foodies live to eat. For both the categories to fulfill their ulterior motive they have to take refuge to cookery to fill their stomach. For those who despise to even enter the kitchen, let alone cooking, food ordering services is a present. A tired person after hectic working hours always craves for good home made food, so they always order for these services. Tiffin service is an emergent sector, which is extremely well-paid and very much in demand.

Benefits of Tiffin services

Culinary skills are not everyones forte. When added up with hectic life increases the probability of huge demand for food home delivery services.

It is a lucrative business with zero losses. It requires decent investment with great returns.

The business doesnt involve danger or high threats though requiring a hefty investment initially.

The venture always gives you a satisfaction of doing a noble deed of feeding people.

The start up can always begin at home to cater to the taste and requirement of every individual customer.

Prerequisites to build up Tiffin Services business

First-class status of a Tiffin service provider brings in good luck and success for the business. Reputation builds with good quality and service, which multiplies by good word of mouth by the customers. You need to keep your customers happy and satisfied by catering to all their tastes and needs.

You need to amalgamate your culinary skills with tremendous zeal and devotion with the aim of managing the business productively.

The business is incredibly challenging and demanding. You have to be flexible enough to work efficiently under pressure and fulfill customers order.

Lastly you need to chalk out a good plan of action and manage it competently.

Procedures to start with your venture If watching cookery shows and experimenting with cooking is your hobby, then dont even think of taking up this route because it needs lot more than passion to start this business;

To start with you need to decide and settle on your target customers. Once you fix on it, then you need to do little research and survey and chalk out a decent menu for 7 days a week.

After you decide on your plan of action, put a word in the market regarding your service. If your budget allows, promote your service with pamphlets and leaflets. Meet clients and take orders and try to give in best quality food. This is what is required the most.

If you are offering home delivery then make sure that you have done the proper arrangement.

Set up your kitchen with necessary utensils and appliances. See to it that it is perfectly equipped.

Buy raw products to make the desired food according to the number of orders

4. Tiffin services Cook up tasty profits as a chef who can do professional lunch or dinner tiffin services. Those with culinary competence are likely to find a hungry clientele among the ranks of India`s busy working families who need lunch in their offices or dinner in their homes .Consistency can also get you money-making corporate orders or market your business to clients for those special occasions when they have a party or occasion --complete with restaurant quality food and service.

At your servicealways. Yes, todays convenience-craving consumers are seeking ways or people who can do things better, faster and cheaper. Often, that means turning to a service entrepreneur who knows how to get the job done right. Today, service sector contributes 55 per cent to Indias GDP. The popularity of service business comes from the reality that they are low investment start-ups and the entrepreneur is focused to the success of the business, therefore, making him the biggest resource. Being a non infrastructure-centric business in the start-up stage, the break-even happens relatively earlier as compared to other businesses and what makes the business even more attractive is that initially it may require individual performance, but there is no stopping the scaling of business once it grows. We provide some inspirational business ideas for aspiring service providers. Some of the business ideas are conventional, while others are non-conventional. These ideas are not exhaustive, but are indicative of the business opportunity which exists in the service sector. With 40 ideas to choose from, there is definitely no excuse for delaying the start of your own service business. 1. Dry-cleaning business Being a dry cleaner is probably the most overlooked fashion-related career. Unlike being a fashion designer or stylist, a dry cleaner is far from the glamorous Bollywood lifestyle. A dry cleaner is an expert in apparel and fabric cleaning and caring that utilises the latest solvents. Try coupling it with the dry-cleaning-pick-up-and-delivery; that is convenient for busy professionals. Then follow suit by other services like laundry or ironing, etc. 2. Personal fitness training Are you into health and fitness? Then get your business jump-start by training people about health and fitness and advising them how to get the most from their exercise routine? Train People in the disciplines you may have learnt Aikido, Karate, Yoga or simply basic safety-awareness skills for a fee. 3. Travel services Put your service on the road to success by coordinating travel itinerary for people which could include organising or booking tickets, coordinating hotel stay, arranging a car rental, organising travel insurance and foreign exchange. 4. Tiffin services Cook up tasty profits as a chef who can do professional lunch or dinner tiffin services. Those with culinary competence are likely to find a hungry clientele among the ranks of India`s busy working families who need lunch in their offices or dinner in their homes .Consistency can also get you money-making corporate orders or market your business to clients for those special occasions when they have a party or occasion --complete with restaurant quality food and service. 5. Coaching Thought your proficiency in high school algebra was all for naught? Think again: As a coach or tutor, whether it is reading, writing or arithmetic, help students reach the top of their class or conduct English coaching. You could also help others bone up on their personality development. Further the business can be institutionalised to achieve any scale. 6. Windshield repair To find potential clients for your windshield-repair business; simply canvass local parking and used-car lots for cars with cracked, chipped windshields. A basic repair kit enables you to offer clients what is clearly a better alternative to costly glass replacement. 7. Private investigation Blaze your own entrepreneurial trail while following others` footsteps literally. As a private investigator, make your mark in the industry by keeping a keen eye on other people`s activities. Private investigators conduct investigations for individuals, businesses, attorneys, insurance companies, and public agencies within the areas of civil, criminal, and domestic investigations, gathering evidence for a case, or individuals seeking information about a significant other. No special education or experience is necessary to get started in this career. In most states and provinces, all you need to be licensed as a private investigator is to be 18 years of age. 8. Business plan consulting

Not only a Business Plan is crucial in obtaining bank financing, but it is also an invaluable tool for anticipating and tackling a business`s inevitable ups and downs. If you are business savvy and have adequate spread sheet knowledge, show clients how to present their best-laid plans. 9. Relocation, packing, unpacking service Packing up to move to a new home or office not to mention unpacking on the other end is enough to leave one feeling utterly exhausted. Thank goodness for packing and unpacking entrepreneurs who, with their hassle and timesaving services, make moving seem like magic. 10. Recruitment and staffing services Getting paid to help companies hire and meeting their workforce needs are a matter of finding a niche, and filling it and keeping up with human resource trends. Work your way up in the industry by developing a roster of specially skilled workers, then use your people skills to build your business. Recruitment and hiring services is about placing ads and attracting employees and matching them to jobs within the organisation. 11. Home delivery services: Today home delivery of goods has become pre-eminent requirement of every retail store but not every store will have the resource to build a delivery service either due to lack of expertise or infrastructure and would like to outsource their delivery services to an expert and you could be the one to do it. If you have or can build an adequate fleet of two wheelers, you could be doing this service for several retailers at one time and earning a robust fee for it. 12. Executive search or head-hunting service Take your business to a hire level: As an executive-search specialist, help busy clients find the right qualified man or woman for the job. Your job involves matching the profile and conducting interviews to screen industrys finest employee for clients. Put on your best interviewing suit, and get down to business. 13. Courier or cargo brokerage services Gone are the days of local trade. In its place comes a sophisticated global commerce system requiring a thorough knowledge of land, sea, air and rail shipping rates and regulations. Knowledgeable freight or cargo brokers are indispensable to this burgeoning scene. 14. Fashion stylist Image and personal presentation has become vital in business, personal relationships and social network but not everyone knows how to get it right. If you have a keen eye for fashion, sense of style and good taste, start a Fashion Stylist Consulting Business, dedicated to assisting men or women to develop their wardrobe and identity for events and help achieve their fashion and style goals as well as save their time and money. The services would include fun activities like going on shopping expeditions with clients, being a mentor to improve self confidence and body image of clients, training on the right business/social etiquette, etc. Fashion stylists are either paid per hour or per day. 15. Rent-a-car service Build your passion for cars into a thriving business. Starting with two or more cars and some insurance, you could be the driving force behind a new business venture. Stretch your market by adding more drivers and cars to your fleet. Then, once you have established a reliable reputation, start driving home profits through your car-service sales. 16. Professional language translation services Today`s marketplace is global and falling foreign trade barriers means that businesses are faced with communication, contracts and documents from firms operating in a foreign language. Companies have to rush to hire language translation services. Improved communication technology translates into success for language translators and interpreters. An ear for multiple languages puts you at the forefront of this global movement. 17. Debt recovery services Money makes the world go round. You get paid when your clients get paid by their defaulters with your help. As a debt collector, it pays in more ways than one to have some persistence in tracking down clients` delinquent debtors. You can build a substantial business by collecting both consumer and commercial debts.

18. Catering A caterer`s place is in the kitchen . . . cooking up hot profits. That is, so long as your kitchen is commercially approved and you have got a knack for stirring up some dough you have got the makings for savoury success. Whether you cater events like service weddings, holiday parties or other festive gatherings on a full-time or a parttime basis, it is one of the most lucrative and profitable businesses with a high potential for expansion and growth. 19. Window washing services Tall glass buildings and beautiful glass homes has emerged as eye-catcher in the citys landscape. Today, washing windows has become a time-consuming and tedious task. In some places, without the proper equipment it may not be possible at all. Window cleaning services specialise in