Success Story
| Region/Nation | London |
|---|---|
| Sector | Hospitality, Accommodation and Food Service Activities |
| Programme | Start Up Loans |
Discover Chilli Tuk Tuk, an Indian takeaway and delivery service based in North London with a difference.
There are simple choices on the menu, including well-known dishes but with twists in flavour that are unique and keep the customers coming back. The takeaway business is run by Deepak Lall and his wife who received funding from Start Up Loans to start up the business in October 2015. The menu is short, so Deepak focuses on quality over quantity. The operations side of the business is based on a well thought-out process to run with maximum efficiency and to get the food to customers as quickly as possible. The ultimate aim is to give customers an excellent customer experience.
Deepak and his wife became inspired to start up Chilli Tuk Tuk after feeling that Indian takeaway businesses across UK and Scotland were very generic and didn’t represent true flavoursome Indian dishes. This is where they felt they could make a difference in the industry. The pair travelled to India and met up with some extremely talented chefs that helped them to create the menu for Chilli Tuk Tuk. They returned to London feeling even more inspired and worked further on the menu to refine it and to exceed the expectations of their North London customers. Deepak is very passionate about Chilli Tuk Tuk and believes they can introduce a new concept and new way of working but still keep quality at the heart of what they do.
Deepak has thus far employed two extra members of staff, but has faced some challenges with recruitment during his start up journey. He has found it quite difficult to work with people with a lot of knowledge of the industry, who have strong mind-sets and old-fashioned views. However, the business has been growing steadily since launching and Deepak made some operational changes which have really helped towards the growth of Chilli Tuk Tuk. The business has become more active on social media and has started some marketing campaigns too. They are also making changes to the website to make it more user-friendly and easily accessible for their customers.
Deepak has exciting future plans for Chilli Tuk Tuk, and is working on creating a training programme for his staff. He aims to improve the recruitment process, and also help people improve their skills and train up quickly. Deepak also plans on opening a new premises in a different area of London but is seeking out further investment for this.
He and his wife are very pleased with the mentoring they have received from Virgin Start Up, and say they have become much more knowledgeable about running their own business through it.
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