Mumbai: Culinary Digital, an established US-based food-tech SaaS company, and part of the Fulcrum Group, has launched a cutting-edge food tech platform for the Indian market to tackle critical issues like food wastage and food security.
With over two decades of proven industry experience and a range of culinary products, the company works with leading food service providers and food management companies in the US. Over 1.5 million meals per day are served by foodservice providers using the Culinary Digital platform. The company is now on a mission to disrupt the Indian food services industry by launching its advanced SaaS platform customized for the Indian market and its consumers. With this expansion, Culinary Digital aims to quadruple the number of transactions on the platform – from 1.2 million currently to over 4.5 million in the next 2 years.
According to industry reports, India loses more than Rs 92,000 crores annually due to food waste. To counter this consistent challenge and to distribute food that would otherwise go to waste, the Government of India, through The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has started the save food, share food, share joy campaign. Also, the country is seeing a higher upsurge in food allergic diseases and disorders in kids and adults. Some estimates suggest up to 3 percent of Indians may already have food allergies, which cause roughly 30,000 emergency treatments and 100 to 200 deaths each year. Hence, it is imperative to have an urgent call for action to tackle this persistent issue.
The recently concluded I2U2 summit, addressed by the leaders of India, US, UAE, and Israel, emphasized the significance of food security as one of the key focus areas. The summit unveiled a $ 2-billion food security initiative to develop a series of integrated food parks across India.
Culinary Digital has stepped in at an opportune moment to help bolster the ongoing efforts of the government and various health organizations. The platform is a secure, robust, high-availability software delivered as services via web and mobile, which could be configured, customized, and integrated to suit various business requirements. Leveraging these features, the company aims to streamline end-to-end business operations for foodservice providers and food management companies and help reduce food waste and total cost of ownership.
Commenting on Culinary Digital’s India launch, Abilash Krishnaswamy, VP of Products, Culinary Digital, said, “From creating customized nutritional meals / menus to food wastage management, many innovations are taking place in the food tech space. However, the Indian food industry is a bit fragmented and underserved. The current gaps in the logistical supply chain result in significant food waste in India, which calls for immediate attention and remedial measures. The optimization of the packing process and the harvesting that food goes through before it reaches the final consumer is the main issue for many developing countries, including India.
Food service providers in India are not leveraging digital solutions to offer nutritious and safe meals, further restricting them from managing food wastage. Industry reports suggest that the Indian foodservice market expects to exhibit a CAGR of 12.50% during 2022-2027. Realizing the market potential, we have made strategic investments to structure the food industry with specially tailored digital products and solutions within Culinary Digital. We are optimistic that our food tech platform and leading culinary products will help the country to achieve its sustainability goals faster.”
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