Want a butter masala dosa from Anand in Bistupur, but too lazy to drive down to have a bite? Not an issue, just log in to www.gravycart.com and get your favourite dosa delivered right on your doorstep.
An aspiring entrepreneur from XLRI has made the experience of relishing restaurant delicacies without having to step out of home easier and smoother by floating a website, www.gravycart.com, which enables people to order food online.
Ankit Singh (28), a second-year business management student of the premier management cradle, is being assisted by his friend Nitin Sharma (28), a youth from Bhopal. The project, which started in December 2015, enjoys the support of the entrepreneurship cell, a forum promoting entrepreneurial activities in XLRI.
Three more students from XLRI will support the venture.
Gravycart has tied up with 15 restaurants in the city and is aiming to add 10 more from where food can be ordered. The clientele as of now boasts dining hotspots like Ramada, Hotel South Park, Fortune Park Centre Point Hotel, Pind Balluchi, Chopstick, Kwality and Asian Inn.
The à la carte menus of these restaurants and hotels have been uploaded on the website.
All a customer has to do is register him or her on the website or simply log in as a guest, choose from the menu, place the order and pay on delivery. With the help of an application, the order reaches both the Gravycart office in Adityapur and the restaurant concerned.
The best part is that there is no minimum order value.
"The idea of coming up with on online food delivery portal came from a personal experience. Once we had planned to go out for dinner, but bad weather confined us indoors. I am sure others have also faced this problem. So, we decided to float a website and tied up with a number of well-known restaurants in the city," said Ankit.
Gravycart has so far been getting 30 orders a day.
While the restaurants concerned charge Rs 25 for delivery for 3km, the rate becomes Rs 5 for every kilometre after that. This means that even if the distance of the place of order from the restaurant is 10km, a customer will only have to pay Rs 60 for delivery.
Gravycart isn't committing on the time of delivery as of now.
The team is also planning to develop a smartphone application that can be downloaded for use. The app will have a feature similarly that of to Ola cabs where customers will be able to locate the delivery boys on real-time basis.
"Currently, we are serving in some major localities of Jamshedpur like Bistupur, Northern Town, CH Area, Sakchi, Kadma and Adityapur. Later, we will expand our reach to other parts of the city. We are also eyeing 10 more cities, including Ranchi and Durgapur (Bengal)," Singh said.
Prabal K. Sen, chairperson of Entrepreneurship Development Centre and professor of economics at XLRI, appreciated the venture. "This is a good service that is in demand in Jamshedpur. The boys have done a good job," Sen said.
Hoteliers are happy too.
"We should encourage new ideas and start-ups. It is beneficial for hotels and restaurants too. The website will gradually become popular," said Prabhakar Singh, owner of South Park Hotel, Bistupur.
