Crave, click, eat

Ever wished for a genie who could bring you hot and steaming food at your table after a hard day at work? Foodpanda (.in) may be the perfect answer to your hunger pangs.

Only about three months old in Mumbai and already functioning in Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Chandigarh, Foodpanda (.in) is a one stop shop, online food ordering service. "We are basically a technology and e-commerce start-up company. Just like Bookmyshow (.com) or Makemytrip (.com) are websites to make your shows or trips easier, we make your food ordering easier and more convenient," says 28 year-old Achman Srivastava, one of three young co-founders of this company.

When you log on to FoodPanda (.in), all you have to do is provide the information about your city and locality. Once you have done that all the restaurants in your locality appear in front of you with their menus. You just click on what you want and the food arrives at your office or home.

"We already have 850 restaurants throughout the country with a plethora of over 30 cuisines to choose from. These restaurants range from high-end brands to locally owned Mom and Pop stores that have never had the opportunity to sell online. In fact realising the power of the rising middle class, one of our motives has been to bring the relatively small restaurants to the online market," adds Srivastava.

Achman Srivastavau00a0Co-founder of Foodpanda

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Fascinating as it appears as a concept, the Internet revolution in India has made this groundbreaking service possible. "When an order goes through the website, our software makes the order appear on the computer, printer or the fax machine of the restaurant," he explains.

The site also provides services like storing your last 25 orders and providing deals and promotions on your preferred food. "A customer can make a request for a certain restaurant to be featured on our site and we will bring that restaurant on Foodpanda (.in) within 25 days," claims Srivastava.

Operating successfully in nine other Asian countries, Foodpanda is the brainchild of the German company Rocket Internet. In India, it is founded by Achman Srivastava, Amit Kohli and Akhlesh Bali, all of who are 20- something MBAs who quit their high paying jobs to set up FoodPanda which is now the strongest player pan India.

"We make sure the customer is happy because he does not pay extra, it's the restaurants that pay us a commission," signs off Srivastava.u00a0