Jan 24, 2025 04:25 PM IST
The founder of a growing salad startup shared his sobering journey, highlighting the pitfalls of scaling too fast.
A food startup founder shared a raw and ‘honest’ post on Grapevine, detailing his six-year journey from a small kitchen in Galleria, Gurgaon, to operating 78 cloud kitchens across India. The post, captioned “I’m writing this from our Bangalore central kitchen at 3 AM, looking at next month’s projections, and for the first time in 6 years I’m scared,” offers a sobering look at the challenges of scaling too quickly and becoming dependent on third-party platforms.
The founder’s journey began in 2018, when he was working in a tech job in Gurgaon, frustrated by the lack of healthy food options in the city. “Every salad was either wilted lettuce drowning in mayo or overpriced fancy leaves that didn’t fill you up,” he shared. This frustration led him to start making fresh, wholesome salads for himself and his coworkers. What began as a simple solution to his own problem quickly blossomed into a full-fledged business.
Starting from humble beginnings, he rented a 180-square-foot basement kitchen in Galleria Market for Rs. 28,000 a month. With just Rs. 8 lakh in savings, he invested in basic equipment and began offering eight salad varieties. “The unit economics were terrible to say the least,” he admitted, highlighting how the initial daily orders of just 12–15 salads barely covered the costs.
Despite the challenges, the business took off as customers appreciated the fresh ingredients and generous portions. “People loved our portions and fresh ingredients. Reviews started pouring in about how we were different — no wilted vegetables, no dry chicken, no drowning in dressings.”
By 2019-2020, the business had grown to 180-200 daily orders, and the unit economics improved. “The unit economics improved with scale,” the founder reflected, noting that they had introduced premium items, struck better deals with suppliers, and managed costs more efficiently. Orders jumped even further as the pandemic hit, with demand for healthy meals soaring. “While others shut down, we exploded,” he shared. By this time, corporate bulk orders had also started coming in, particularly as companies sought to keep employee morale up during the lockdown.
However, as the business scaled, so did the challenges. “Everything I built is starting to crumble,” the founder noted, pointing to the rising costs, competition, and increasing reliance on third-party platforms. In the post, he detailed how his platform commissions had climbed to 32% (plus 18% GST), while algorithm changes and “suggested substitutes” pushed competitors into the spotlight. Despite these setbacks, the startup’s dependency on these platforms remains high, with 92% of orders coming from them.
Cons of scaling too fast
The founder expressed deep regret about the rapid expansion, stating, “I pushed for scale when I should have focused on building something sustainable.” The growth led to higher operational costs and burning through Rs. 80 lakh per month. “We got caught up in the startup narrative of hypergrowth and raising more rounds,” he reflected, adding that they were now considering shutting down 40% of their kitchens.
As he writes from his Bengaluru kitchen at 3 AM, the founder is facing a pivotal moment in his entrepreneurial journey. “I’m scared. Not just for my business, but for everyone rushing to scale without questioning if they should,” he confessed. Looking back, he now believes that starting small and profitable might have been the better route. “The food was better, the team was closer, and we actually knew our customers’ names,” he recalled about the early days when the business had just 8-10 kitchens.
Take a look at the post:
In his closing thoughts, the founder shared a message to fellow entrepreneurs, particularly those in the food and beverage sector: “Sometimes the best way to build something big is to stay small enough to survive.”
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