Indians love their food, and they definitely love their biryani. And it took a pandemic to bring this culinary fondness to the fore. According to Razorpay’s analysis of transactions on its platforms between April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, online food orders grew 3x year-on-year, with the highest amount being spent on New Year’s Eve. The amount of biriyani ordered could feed every passenger passing through Howrah railway station for three weeks.
Ramya Ravi would ferret away these data gleefully because it validated her decision to launch a biryani brand when the pandemic was at its peak.
As a young child, she would often watch her father oversee cooks at their restaurants while they painstakingly whipped up a much-loved traditional dish – the Donne Chicken biryani.
Each step in its preparation called for exacting precision Рmeasuring out the exact quantity of Sona masuri rice, making a coarse paste of ginger, garlic, mint, coriander and fenugreek seeds, saut̩ing the chicken with the skin on, grilling various vegetables and then mixing it skillfully.
Growing up, she realised that few knew about this Naati, or rustic, cooking style in Karnataka because there were hardly any organised establishments offering the cuisine. Rural food is not just comforting to the stomach and heart; it is nutritious and healthy since it uses local and seasonal produce. The Harvard student, who has worked with the Landmark Group and Park Plaza Hotel, decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and launch her own hospitality venture to introduce this biryani to residents of Bengaluru.Â
Unknown to most, the homely Donne biryani is popular in many villages of Karnataka. Its distinctive green colour is derived from a paste of fresh coriander and mint leaves and uses the short grain Jeeraga Samba rice. It is traditionally cooked in large copper vessels over charcoal stoves and served in palm leave bowls called Donne.
Ramya figured that venturing into this culinary segment, which lacked the presence of organised players, would give her a competitive edge. Moreover, she knew her way around commercial kitchens and the F&B trade.
“Having worked in my family’s restaurant business and interned in the hospitality industry, I well understood the nuances of this sector and the daily challenges an entrepreneur faces, especially when it comes to staying relevant in a world of shifting trends,” she said. The secret sauce to success, she believes, is seeing an eatery, menu and dish through a customer’s lens.
Ramya Ravi would ferret away these data gleefully because it validated her decision to launch a biryani brand when the pandemic was at its peak.
A PANDEMIC BABY
When the pandemic hit, Ramya noticed that eating local and comfort food started becoming cool again. She decided to go back to flavours she grew up eating and present them to diners with a twist.
She decided to test the waters with a cloud kitchen, which requires a relatively lower investment than a full-fledged restaurant. “When you are venturing out into a new segment, a cloud kitchen is the best route to test the idea’s credibility,” she explained.
However, she was hesitant about launching the brand during COVID times. “We thought whether it was the right decision to start as a delivery brand for a long time,” she recalled. “Staffing was the most difficult task when we started because of the pandemic’s fear. I could not get the staff or their assurance that they would stay with the brand for the long haul.”
Those tough months made her realise the value of getting dedicated employees and the importance of retaining them. Moreover, with the dine-in business at a complete standstill, she was forced to depend on a delivery-only business model. But even this came with its own set of challenges.
COOKING UP A SUCCESS
Ramya launched RNR Biryani’s first cloud kitchen in November 2020 in Bengaluru’s Nagarbhavi residential area with an investment of INR 5 lakh. She was joined by her sister, Shwetha, who had recently returned from UK’s Warwick University.
Spread across just 200-square feet, her staff comprised just a couple of assistants and a cook. This sparse setup notwithstanding, the company clocked close to 10,000 orders in the first month.
This response encouraged the young restaurateur to expand the operations to Jayanagar. “We researched the market and figured out that certain localities in the Bengaluru market had the potential for Naati style cuisine, especially Donne Biryani and hence chose to expand to those micro-markets,” she proudly stated.
RNR Biryani couldn’t set up its in-house delivery services in the initial days as riders were stopped multiple times and questioned by authorities during lockdowns. It decided to partner with Swiggy as its exclusive delivery partner to navigate this hurdle. Under this arrangement, the food aggregator promoted RNR Biryani, which gave the brand better visibility and sales conversions. Within a year and a half, RNR clocked a turnover of INR 8 crore and employed over 60 people.
It is a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. At a time when Indians were cooped up indoors, they sought comfort food and repeatedly ordered this over the regular junk fare. According to Swiggy’s 2021 stats, chicken biryani continued to be a consumer favourite in India for the sixth year in a row as it became the most-ordered food item on the delivery app, with Pav Bhaji and Gulab Jamun taking the second spot on the list.
RNR Biryani saw the blue tins in which it packed its fare literally fly off its cloud kitchen shelves as the weeks passed by, which also spurred its rapid expansion. The company currently has 14 cloud kitchens across Bengaluru and opened its first dine-in restaurant in October 2020, with an investment of INR 65 lakh.
Talking about this business graduation, Ramya said, “Delivery is important in a city like Bengaluru where people prefer to order in due to the traffic. However, dine-in gives the personal touch and is the best way to present your product and serve it hot.”
Keen to introduce more people to flavourful Donne Biryani, Ramya has set her sights on a pan-India expansion. But she first wants to take RNR Biryani to other Southern states, which have their versions of biryani.
Every region in the country stakes a claim to their own version of this dish. But there is always room for another variant to find a place on their plate. Ramya wants more Indians to ladle out large portions of RNR’s Donne Biryani, which is as much a common man’s meal as an epicurean’s delight.
