From Pune Eat Outs to Pune Orders In — The Evolution Of A Beloved City Community In The Pandemic
Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 29 April 2021: The year 2020 saw many innovations — ideas, hobbies, businesses. One such idea that emerged and bore fruit last year was Pune Eat Outs’ new food ordering website —www.PunEOrders.in — which completes nine months this April.
Established in 2005, Pune Eat Outs (PEO) has always borne in mind the interests of local FnB businesses and their patrons. Slowly and gradually, through conducting genuine food appreciation sessions, business and menu consultations, cafe and restaurant launches and the PEO Privilege Card Programme, founder Aniruddha Patil’s priority has always been the betterment of Pune’s food ecosystem, giving customers smiling food experiences, and helping businesses do well.
While the uncertainty during the pandemic kept increasing, access to not only cooked meals but also daily essentials and groceries was hampered. There was an opportunity in this adversity — the opportunity to bring about a change in the way Pune orders its meals, essentials, groceries and more.
“What was an idea in conversations was much effectively turned into a business model by Aniruddha. We at Malaka Spice and all our cloud kitchen brands such as Tvum, Won China, Rap N Roll as well as our retail initiative The Malaka Market are happy to partner with PunEOrders.in. A big thank you to all those who ordered from POI and in return helped us save the commissions that we pay to other aggregators,” says Praful Chandawarkar from Chiranjeev Restaurant and Foods Pvt Ltd.
Restaurants, cafes and eateries of the country have been burdened with the heavy cost of commissions, middlemen charges, discount promotions, etc. for being listed on aggregator platforms for the past few years. This high cost subsequently leads to low profitability to the business and an increase in expense to the customer due to the resulting cost correction. Hence, PunEOrders.in has been aimed at cutting these costs by eliminating the need for a middleman.
Patil tells PunekarNews.in, “The idea of the ordering site is to provide an option that exists symbiotically. Different businesses have different needs on different days. It always helps an additional avenue where restaurants get full money for their sale and also get to engage with their customers directly, something that had stopped because of delivery apps.”
PunEOrders.in works on a Zero percent commission model. It has a one-time registration fee and choice of the subscription duration entirely in the hands of the businesses. The ‘No Middleman Structure’ allows every business to be in control of its dealings. All payment transactions and delivery facilitations are at the discrepancy of the business and their customer. PunEOrders.in does not accept any payment on behalf of the business.
Akshay Bhagwat of Eatally Artisanal Ice Cream says, “As a startup aiming to make it big, you need passion, dedication, and ladders of support to go up and up. PEO and PunEOrders.in are those ladders for us and many small businesses, where both platforms helped us tremendously to reach out in Pune. I thank and congratulate the PEO team for completing a successful nine months of PunEOrders.in.”
Option to order in advance
PunEOrders.in customers have an option to place their order up to a week in advance, within their preferred time slots. This aids in avoiding last-minute rush while planning an occasion or celebration and also gives the vendors a chance to plan and fulfill orders seamlessly.
Most PunEOrders.in partners are delivering all across Pune and most parts of Pimpri-Chinchwad with the help of delivery services like Dunzo and Palande Couriers, along with their delivery mechanisms. The delivery costs at actual are borne by the willing customers and the payment is made directly to the business concerned.
Aniruddha adds, “Due to lower costs and no commissions, PunEOrders.in partners have the opportunity to offer some discounts or specials to PEOple ordering through the platform. Businesses decide to have offers for end customers due to money saved. Most importantly, we are a local entity, so for every support the food businesses need, we are directly reachable.”
Circle of Crust, one of the early brands to sign up, is hugely popular already. “Whether Covid or no Covid, the association with PEO was a no brainer. Our product is ideal for dine-in and take-aways and due to the 0 per cent commission model, we’re now able to pass the commission to the customer directly via offers and discounts. Plus, having our delivery fleet, the customer is guaranteed that the product will be fresh, safe and reach them quicker than using other portals. There’s nothing like receiving a piping hot pizza! At the end of the day, it’s a win-win for everyone. PEO also gives us the visibility and ability to connect with the customer on a one-on-one basis, which makes the whole experience more personal. Overall, the PEO platform is a game-changer in the Pune F&B landscape and I’d like to raise a toast to Aniruddha and his team for creating this platform when it was most needed,” says Kartik Ganesh, brand manager, Circle of Crust.
In a first, pet food chefs!
PunEOrders.in also hosts pet food chefs and their products, which is a first for any food ordering platform. Along with these, there are also brilliant home chefs, tea and coffee brands, bakers, fresh produce vendors like vegetables, fruits, juices and other essential items like flour, spices, oils, milk and much more.
Launched in August 2020, PunEOrders.in has seen 10,000+ orders already, and has worked with more than 300 businesses — it has already grown from 10 orders a day to orders in three-digit numbers daily. The welcome change, support and personal touch PunEOrders.in has brought about in the city’s food ecosystem has been well received and will only grow from here.
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