How Potful Is Spicing Up India’s Biryani Market With Regional Flavours

An FMCG and retail industry professional and an IIM-Calcutta alumnus who started his corporate journey from Hyderabad, Lokesh Krishnan’s obsession for the tantalising aroma of traditional biriyani is like none other.  

Interestingly, this is where he found his sweet spot, as he realised it was a daunting task to find a freshly made plate of dum-cooked biryani. This was when Krishnan realised that he could fill this gap by launching Potful, a unique foodtech startup that serves biryanis made fresh-on-order in clay pots using a dum-cooking style. 

Delivered Fresh Across India

The biriyani market is largely fragmented with unbranded players ruling the roost, unlike other QSR segments that are dominated by top names. Potful tapped into this opportunity by offering a wide array of regional-style biriyanis such as Hyderabadi, Lucknowi, Kolkata, Bengaluru Donne, and Ambur. 

Potful’s cloud kitchen model allows it to maintain flexibility, scalability, and capital efficiency without compromising on the quality and flavours of India’s most ordered dish on quick food delivery platforms. The brand also uses a de-skilled cooking process that helps it maintain consistency in taste across locations. 

The D2C brand works in partnership with quick food delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy while also managing one’s deliveries through its website and application. 

Serving The South Spices Up Revenue 

Potful has emerged as South India’s largest handi biryani brand with 27 cloud kitchens across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. With a strong focus on maintaining consistency in taste, the D2C brand has been able to keep up a 51% repeat rate, an average order value of INR 700, and an average customer rating of 4.4. 

For the financial year 2023-2024 (FY24), Potful recorded a revenue of INR 41.4 Cr, a slight rise from INR 35 Cr a year back. The startup’s existing stores have seen a more than 45% increase.

In FY25, the brand expects to boost its revenue by nearly to cross INR 67.63 Cr. The D2C brand aims to turn profitable while also reaching the milestone of INR 100 Cr in revenues by the next fiscal.

In the longer run, the D2C brand wants to expand its reach to over 100 kitchens across eight cities in the country, as it takes the revenue to INR 433 Cr.

[Authored By Anirudh Trivedi]