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The Automatic Meal Planner The team behind the handsfree AI powered culinary app which acts as the perfect kitchen assistant for the current generation

By Punita Sabharwal

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Entrepreneur India
Bahubali Shete and Asha Shete – Founders Tinychef

Bahubali Shete's first startup was a Robotic valet parking solution that was unique in every sense. In his second startup, he built an IOT platform back in 2013, when IoT was still only in the concept stage. With Tinychef, Shete built voice-enabled guided cooking even before Amazon and Google rolled out officially. Today, Tinychef is the only solution that is available on every smart device in the kitchen - from smartphones, smart speakers to smart kitchen appliances. This smart AI-powered planning and meal recommendation feature is an on-demand personal kitchen assistant-cum-nutritionist that helps savour curated meal plans every week. Tinychef is the default solution on Amazon Alexa, just ask for any recipe and get access to its cofounder Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes! Talking about the app's impact so far, Bahubali Shete, Founder, Tinychef, shares, "While we still have a long way to go, we have been able to help 1.5 million people find nearly 4 million recipes and cook nearly 2 million meals with our step-by-step guided cooking. Solving the dinner dilemma is the biggest impact we can have on one's life."

With almost no help for dishwashing during the pandemic, Tinychef rolled out one-pot recipes, pressure cooker recipes, etc during the pandemic. "We also saw that "empty my fridge' became really handy for many users and it is one of most used features. This feature helps users to find recipes based on what you have in the fridge and thus helps reduce waste. This is our first step towards sustainable cooking," adds Shete.

Founded in 2017 by serial entrepreneur Bahubali Shete, Asha Shete, and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Tinychef helps convert recipe content into branded conversations on Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart speakers. The platform offers everything from automatic meal planning and 1-click grocery shopping to voice-guided cooking and works in sync with connected appliances. Functional in India since July 2019 on Amazon Alexa, in July 2021, TinyChef acquired Zelish, an app — founded by Rakesh Edavalath, Saakshi Jain, and Arpit Joseph. Going forward the brand will soon expand in North America. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor – Co-founder at Tinychef, adds,

"I have always been for marrying technology with Culinary experiences. And tinychef, I found to be way ahead of anything that is there in the market.".

FACTS

  • Year of inception: 2017
  • No. of employees: 16
  • Revenue for FY 2020-21: $150K
  • External funding received so far: $2.2 Million
  • Major clients: Mondalez, Tata Sampann, Wonderchef, Tupperware
  • IP developed/patented - 3 patents pending in the areas of interactive content, Culinary AI™, Smart Kitchens.
Punita Sabharwal

Entrepreneur Staff

Managing Editor, Entrepreneur India

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