On the next day that I wrote about Food,
eating patterns and technology, I got a pamphlet along with the newspaper
about ItsMyMeal. According to them, there are
two types of people in India - people who eat oily food in the restaurants (or
order online for home delivery) and those who eat at home, come what may. They
are targeting the subset of the latter, who are unfortunately either not at
home or lazy enough not to cook for themselves.
The concept is quite good - healthy food prepared in their kitchen
taking into consideration balanced diet, nutrition and hygiene. One can
register on their website at http://itsmymeal.in
and after validation of the details, can start ordering food. The food is
delivered at your doorstep in good containers, which are taken back after you
are done with the meal. Menu and the prices are fixed and mentioned on the
website. Beware, you need to order a minimum of 4 meals and any changes for the
next day has to be mentioned in the site before 5 PM today (I pray not to fall
sick suddenly, when I order food on this site!). The terms you would be hearing
when someone talks about this company are - happy, tummy, meal, food-commerce,
nutrition and hygiene.
The FAQ on their site gives a lot of details about the minimum
number of meals to be ordered, service coverage areas, packaging details and
refund of security deposit in case of cancellation. One phrase you cannot fail
to notice in every answer is 'Please call customer care'. But interestingly one
cannot place an order just by calling their customer care center (unless it's a
bulk order for that go) !
The concept seems to be mainly targeted towards the corporate
employees. I guess it is mainly the small and medium enterprises, where
employees can order in bulk for multiple days in a month at one stretch. Would
it work out as an economical option for the employees? Keeping aside my views
on whether the model would succeed or not in the Indian context, I admire the
application of technology for giving good food and convenience to those who
seek them. According to the site, I can even analyze what kind of food I am
having, based on the food ordered through their site.
If it is my meal, would I not be interested in having home-cooked
food? Alternately, I can order from ItsMyMeal for similar quality food - so
they say and term it as 'food commerce' !