FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

Foodmandu understood Nepalese love for the food and revolutionized the way they perceive it. Emphasizing the value of time and making you available whatever you want from local to continental cuisines and letting you escape horrendous city traffic while you sit back relaxed at home. Foodmandu made a business out of it, and a profitable one at that.

The man behind the Foodmandu and his story:

Manohar Adhikari founded the company in 2010. He got an idea of a food delivery business based on his hardship finding decent eateries nearby when he was working for a software company in Kathmandu. Who would have imagined back then that an idea of a man from a humble background would change the game of online food business in Nepal? The company is one of the pioneering food delivery company not only in Nepal but in the world when the food delivery business was an alien concept to Nepal and much new to the world. His story can be an ignition to the entrepreneurs who want to explore the mostly untapped online market in Nepal. The story of Mr. Adhikari is a solid answer to the majority of youth who want to move abroad complaining of a lack of opportunities in Nepal. He has shown by example that opportunities do not come knocking at our door rather we need to create one in the process of finding a solution to people’s problems.

FOODMANDU BUSINESS/REVENUE MODEL

FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

The business model is unique in itself. Customers can place their orders through their website or application or call. Foodmandu charges a commission to restaurants based on orders while users pay a delivery fee, which is then split between delivery personnel and the company. The company has been lean on revenue in its initial years but has recorded an excellent growth of 10 times in the last four years.

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Revenue analysis of the last few quarters:

quarter 19-Q1    19-Q2    19-Q3    19-Q4    20-Q1    20-Q2

Revenue($)        6M         7M         7M         6M         6M         6M

Note:  Above Data is taken from Zoominfo.com

Funding and Investors: 

FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

Manohar Adhikari ran the company on his own money for six long initial years and was later joined hands by True North Associates. It has also recently, in 2020 managed to raise type B funding from local private investment fund team ventures which will give them a 20% stake in food delivery platform. The venture investor will get this holding through the issue of new shares and partial buy-out of holdings of True North. Mr. Adhikari says “I am receiving emails from Chinese and Indian investors regarding Foodmandu, as they have seen that even the local investors have got a good turnover from us,”

Employees and Competitors:

FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

The platform has over 500 employees including 200 bikers.  It outsources riders to manage customer needs on some weekends and festivals. It has listed over 500 restaurants and serves in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur with a plan to expand pan Nepal.

Online food delivery platforms like Bhoj, Foodmood, Foodmario are some of the competitors in the market. However, Foodmandu is leading all of them in revenue due to its experience, trust, stability, and quality.

Marketing Strategy:

The company though did not have aggressive marketing Champions in earlier days relied on the word to mouth feedback and rightly so with the customer retention of almost 80%. With the advent of technology and social media, it has some smart strategies.

Target Group

Foodmandu has target people from 18-40 years of age group most of which have access to smartphones and are comfortable with the internet. Working professionals who need food in their offices, students who need food in their hostels, and people who do not have time or space to cook for themselves are its main audience.

Social Media Marketing

Foodmandu is active on social media with followers of:

  • Facebook:124.997K
  • Instagram: 22.1K
  • Twitter:      767

The delivery platform is quite in the game with it’s trendy and occasion relevant posts. It engages with the audience through awareness, contest, and offer posts. Posting on the trendy topics built connectivity with the audience is quite a thing that Foodmandu has been doing. Well, it a very obvious matter of fact that the users don’t wish to think much when they are on social media. Most of the people including the users are on social media to enjoy and see funny content. And, when such content appears on their news feed then we cannot deny, expect your content to be shared. For sure!

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It encourages users and other stakeholders to write about their experiences which helps in indirect marketing.

Business Challenges:

The online food business was never heard before service in Nepal which made it difficult to convince both customers and providers. It was an uphill task to build trust in the business. Mr. Adhikari says initial days were so thin on business that they got as little orders in the first year which now they get in a single day. However business picked up in later days with few usual dips here and there.

FOODMANDU Case Study: THE SECRET SUCCESS RECIPE

However first major business shock was on 1st of Bhaisakh 2072 BS when most of the riders refused to show-up due to internal conflicts and politics resulting in a halt of operation for almost 4 days. Mr. Adhikari remembers it as pre-shock which was followed by a disastrous earthquake in 2072 which affected most of the business and Foodmandu was no exception to it. As it was recovering from the aftershock, again it was hit by border blockade in 2015. All these series of an event almost broke the ribs of self-sustaining business requiring investment from the saving of the founder.

However, Foodmandu bounced back and has witnessed 10 fold growth in the last four years which is extremely encouraging for an online platform in the Nepalese market.

Prospects:

Encouraged by the overwhelming response from customers and investors, Mr. Adhikari with his team is all geared up to expand its services throughout Nepal and tap into the raw market with immense possibility. It has also recently diversified into delivering groceries and other essentials. Foodmandu has partnered with various banking channels to enable hassle-free online payment.

Foodmandu with experience of more than a decade is sure to tap the almost untapped online market and provide a guiding path to the aspiring entrepreneurs wanting to make a mark in the field.

Photos Nepal