Nonnie Burbidge, John Bond champion home-cooking using prepped meal kits
Nonnie Wanjihia Burbidge founder and CEO of Try Cooked, a company that delivers ready to cook assemblage meal kits during the interview on June 7, 2022.
When Covid-19 pandemic struck, it redefined dining experiences across the world. For some time, people were not allowed to enjoy a sumptuous meal at their favourite restaurant. On the flip side, this paradigm shift prompted a spurt in food delivery services and home-cooking.
In 2020, two innovative food enthusiasts struck the iron hot by introducing a delivery company that served two main goals; to promote home-cooking and avoid food wastage.
The duo, Nonnie Burbidge and John Bond, named their innovative food delivery service Try Cooked.
“Try Cooked is a meal kit company that offers more than 20 recipes which come with pre-measured, perfectly portioned ingredients sourced directly from suppliers and delivered straight to your home. We had a good start as there was high demand for food delivery during the lockdown period because many people were working from home,” explains Nonnie.
The warm reception in the market inspired Nonnie to quit her job in finance to fully focus on the food delivery venture. Her partner, John, brought in expert culinary skills from his background working in Michelin-starred restaurants in Switzerland and top kitchens across Nairobi.
“In addition to making home-cooking convenient, we also wanted to respond to customers’ need for healthy food options,” adds John.
Indeed, when one thinks of food deliveries, take-out fast foods quickly clinches top of the mind presence.
Some of the ready to cook meals prepped before being packed into meal kits for delivery.
“As a start-up, we were fortunate to receive capital funds of about Sh5 million from the Antler East Africa fund. This enabled us to fit our own kitchen, build a website and source ingredients for the meal kits,” says Nonnie.
A peep into one of the meal kits include: A recipe card with easy to follow instructions for the meal ordered, chopped and prepped vegetables, handmade spice rubs, marinades and dressings and key ingredients for meal ordered such as chicken, potatoes, corn and to mention but just a few; the customer is spoilt for choice.
Each kit contains a serving for two people. The prices range from Sh497 to Sh850 and there is a limited edition box ranging Sh2,800 to Sh3,000.
Orders are mainly made on their website; users can choose a subscription option or simply order on demand.
“The world today is shifting towards sustainable, organic and healthy foods with consumers becoming more aware of what they eat and moving towards more natural, organic and minimally processed foods. We support that, and save them trips to the market or grocery stores,” says Nonnie.
Since its inception, Try Cooked has sold over 1,000 meal kits. Their best-seller kit is the Swahili coconut chicken curry. This kit contains; a recipe kit, chicken pieces-seasoned and cut into cubes, assorted vegetables, ground spices and coconut milk.
“We are always keen to get customer feedback. We then will tweak the recipes accordingly, ensuring we have sourced the best ingredients for the adjusted recipes.”
The duo has a staff of 14 handling procurement, production and preparation as well as deliveries.
“We have carefully designed our packaging to use recyclable or compostable materials and have worked with carton experts and Taka Taka Solutions Limited. This is a way of protecting our environment. Our deliveries to retailers are made twice a week just to ensure the meal kits stay fresh.”
Try Cooked started off by selling pre-packed meal kits to customers online, then saw an opportunity to sell a scaled down version called the Ready to Cook kit to retailers.
“We now have different kits with retailers; Zucchini, On the Way, Fresh2Go, Pantry & Provisions, Greenspoon, Hardy Provisions and will be looking to expand to more retail stores in future.”
As for food safety concerns, Nonnie confirms the company’s compliance. Their staff is trained by Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and regulated by KEBS, ensuring comprehensive food safety for all the kits.
Nonnie is upbeat about the prospects for the business. For her, competition has been a positive development. "It is actually a good thing because, frankly, if competitors don't come in, you don't have a market.”
The current wave of rising food prices has been a challenge to this food delivery company but their strategy of sourcing ingredients directly from suppliers and farmers has cushioned them a bit from harsh production costs.
