The new five-second rule for chutneys

CHENNAI: Move over 2-minute noodles! Bootstrapped Funk Foods (P) Ltd from Chennai has introduced ‘Chutnefy,’ a spread of chutneys that can be prepared in five seconds. Yes, the brand promises zero preservative, zero wastage with no compromise on taste buds with the ethnic food category that hit the market last December.

Prasanna Natarajan, co-founder-CEO, who has tested the entrepreneurial waters with the popular ‘HipBar’ and ‘Sipping Spirits’ ventures, is confident of his latest start-up along with co-founder-COO Shreyas Raghav and CMO Prem K Vishwanath.

Speaking to DTNext, he says, this ‘old idea of his’ was seeded during his business explorations, which began in 2006. Travels to the US made him realise the need for ethnic products on shelves a la the salsas and condiments. “I was intrigued by that idea, which laid the foundation for the first beverage venture Sipping Spirits, when we sold probably the first craft beer in India, in TN.” Thereafter, the HipBar entity was created to provide the last mile delivery of alcohol.

“However, we saw the highs and lows of this and having run into regulatory hurdles, thanks to archaic legal systems, it met its logical end. That is, the payment account business of Hip Bar (which was split into two), got sold off to Cred in 2021,” says Prasanna, who retained the entity’s home delivery solution business.

This is when he decided it was time to reinvigorate his drive, by assembling food technologists and other stakeholders, and the R&D process for Chutnefy brand creation began. “We prepared the blueprint for a pilot project of offering chutneys as we set the rules of bringing a format of putting together the key ingredients of a kitchen without compromising on quality and taste,” he says, noting that the post-harvest wastage issues were also taken care of.

“The three zeroes concerning preservative, wastage and taste compromise, were meant to cast the boundaries for our business. Last year, we took a large production facility, where multiple formats were tested so that the form factor to take care of the immediate needs of one or two people could be addressed without practical problems,” says Prasanna.

This category of ethnic food has been largely unrepresented, he feels. “In June 2022, we set up the facility over 40,000 sq ft at Maraimalai Nagar and integrated it to be a farm to fork producer. That meant, from sourcing, to sorting to packaging to eventually selling,” he explains.

The Staples variant of chutneys come in tomato, peanut, mint and coriander flavours. There are also Seasonal, Special (non-mainstream), Superfoods (mushroom, black garlic, kale) and Sidekicks (sambar).

“Last December, we launched Tamil sambar, given the interest in this category apart from the Udupi type to cater to the milder palate,” says Prasanna.

The products are available online and in modern retail formats in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Puducherry. The start-up plans to launch the moringa superfood variety soon. The minimally-processed vegan single-serve packs are finding more traction on the exports front, having made inroads into the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

“In these countries, price is not an issue whereas chutneys as a concept is always considered a second fiddle to the main dish,” he laments.

In two weeks, it is set to launch ‘peerkangai thogayal,’ as the founders are sure of their nimble sourcing abilities. “We want to co-create recipes with the help of the community,” Prasanna says. Talking numbers, Prasanna and Co have invested Rs 20 crore in the company so far. “We are confident of achieving a topline of Rs 60 crore to Rs 70 crore within three years,” he signs off.