New Food startups
Hiyaw Gebreyohannes
Founder and CEO, Taste of Ethiopia
Thirty-two-year-old Hiyaw Gebreyohannes's startup Taste of Ethopia was one of the original Hot Bread Kitchen members - and one of the most successful. His home-cooked Ethiopian meals - everything from spicy doro wet chicken stew to injera bread and kik yellow split peas- are currently available at Whole Foods in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Northern California.
Q: What drew you to this industry?
A: This was comfort food for me. I wanted to be able to expose people to a different side. I wanted to be able to show the versatility of the bread, the culture and the food. So, who better to do it than an Ethiopian?
Q: What has been your biggest challenge?
A: Cash flow is always one, because you’re selling a product, but you’re not getting immediately paid for it. But you still have to pay your vendors, your employees and the kitchen, and all these other things. It was definitely a challenge to organize that.
Q: What’s the best advice for a fellow entrepreneur to get started in this industry?
A: Take your time, understand your product and make sure what you're putting out is good. It’s okay to start out small and grow. It’s easier to cut your losses when you do start small. If it doesn’t work out, you can stop and figure out what you’re doing wrong.
Founder of Waltzing Matilda's Laura Forer
Image credit: Jennifer Davis of Jennifer Davis Photography
Laura Forer
Founder, Waltzing Matilda’s
Waltzing Matilda’s is the only bakery in New York City specializing in Australian and New Zealand desserts like pavlova, lamington and salted caramel slices. The idea came to 34-year-old Forer after a trip to Australia, where she spent time learning about the local desserts and food culture. Their baking products can be found at food store Treehaus in midtown Manhattan, the Australian restaurant Thirsty Koala in Queens and the storefront Almacen at Hot Bread Kitchen. They deliver in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Q: What resources have helped you most in starting up?
A: Working out of an incubator has been invaluable. Not only has it given me the space to cook legally, but the support that comes from working with other startups in similar situations is crucial. And the knowledge of the staff and the experts they bring in for seminars is a huge bonus.
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Q&A
What are the food and Restaurant startups in India?
Here are some online services in the food listing / search / delivery / reservations space in India. I've tried to categorise them by their primary service.
The revenue model for the ordering and reservations services is likely based on a referral basis - which also explains why there's a proliferation of those services as compared to ones focused on listing / search / discovery.
