MOI SOI means My (Food) Street, simplifying complex cooking processes and reducing cooking time to enable anyone to prepare chef-style cuisines within the comfort of their homes. People still reluctant to go out to restaurants, for those MOI SOI brings home the fine-dine experience. Startup Reporter recently conducted an interaction with MOI SOI Founder & CEO Mr. Deb Mukherjee.
- Tell us a little bit about MOI SOI. Mention the company’s goal as well.
MOI SOI, meaning ‘My (food) Street’ symbolizes our belief that “food” is the ultimate ingredient that binds us together. We aim to redefine the way food is prepared in house kitchens. With its Ready-to-Cook (RTC) Instant Liquid Masalas (4 variants) along with the range of Oriental Sauces (9 variants), MOI SOI takes away the complexity and toil by doing away with run-on-the-mill cooking tasks like shopping, cutting, and preparing the ingredients. MOI SOI simplifies, speeds up, and makes cooking complex dishes like Lal Maas, Nalli Nihari, or Mustard Fish, a pleasure.
- What were the main obstacles you overcame as you developed the brand?
Our experience of servicing the hospitality industry, as a B2B brand helped us to realize the MOI SOI’s D2C avatar, with relative ease. Some basic tweaks to SKUs and careful product selection from the repository of 150 products. MOI SOI entered the retail markets. With the product part taken care of our focus is on distribution, logistics, and marketing. They are very different from the segment we have been operating in. We have had a very favorable response till date, with 80% repeat customers on online platforms, but we realize the importance of offline channels viz. retail chains, mom & pop stores, select meat shops, etc. And for that, we are looking to raise funds.
- What are the major strategies your D2C brand use to boost sales?
Our products are already selling well on leading online Aggregators viz. Flipkart Groceries, Amazon, Big Basket, Supr Daily, Jio Mart, and MOI SOI’s own website www.moisoi.in. Although retaining the flavor of Digital First distribution we are getting into an omnichannel distribution. Guided by the philosophy of ‘Consumer First’, in times to come, you will see MOI SOI products in many more online as well as modern retail formats, retail chains, mom & pop stores, select meat shops, etc. The process of distributors for individual territories is already underway. We will be making available our products in more regions in India and the world. In a nutshell, Moi Soi will be there where the consumer is.
- What are your future expectations for MOI SOI to grow more as a brand?
Our expansion plans are 4 pronged – (1) Product range (2) Online availability (3) Offline availability (4) Overseas markets:
(1) Product front, you sure can expect a wider range of products. You will soon see more Mughlai, Thai, and even vegetarian offerings in the Moi Soi Portfolio. We already offer over 150 products to the hospitality industry and wish to roll out select products in the retail segment in a phased manner. Our objective is to cater to a wider and more varied Indian and international palate. And as we move forward, special products developed exclusively for the retail segment will also be introduced.
(2) Online availability, we are currently present on all the major platforms; Flipkart, Amazon, Blinkit, Jio, Superdaily, Big Basket, Zepto, Instamart, and our own website www.moisoi.in. Our products are delivered across India.
(3) Offline front, we are available in over 75 stores general/modern trade stores in Mumbai, and Pune and growing on a daily basis. Appointed distributors in Goa, Delhi/NCR, and in conversation with partners in Kolkata, and Bangalore. Our aim is to make the products available in more regions in India.
(4) Overseas markets are on our radar. To begin with, MOI SOI is now available in UAE, Nigeria, and Singapore. Internationally, we are already in very advanced conversation with distributors in Japan, MENA (the Middle East & North Africa), the US, and Canada at the moment. We are engaging with other countries as well. We will increase product penetration via offline retail formats the process of distributors for individual territories is already underway.
- What do you enjoy most about being in this business?
As stated earlier, it is the love of food that binds us all at MOI SOI. The fact that we are helping millions create and enjoy good food in the comfort of their homes, gives us all a great sense of satisfaction. And then we have what I call those ‘MOI SOI moments’ where a customer tells us that MOI SOI Manchurian Sauce really spices up my ‘Mattar Paneer’, it always brings a smile to our faces! Consumer involvement and innovation never fail to pleasantly surprise us.
- What measures do you take in the health and hygiene sector while developing your product?
MOI SOI production facilities are world-class adhering to the stringent global standards as we are targeting a large export market as well. Our products conform to the highest national and international Food safety standards. MOI SOI liquid Masalas are preservative free and packaged such that the sealed products have a shelf life of 12 months at room temperature. We follow a farm to the factory model. MOI SOI sourcing ensures quality right at the entry levels where the best quality ingredients are sourced most of the time directly from the farmers/producers. MOI SOI’s total available capacity is approx. 40 MT / Day across various product categories with three factories located across India at Mumbai, Satara, and Nagpur. These conform to the highest safety and hygiene standards and are fully compliant with ISO, HACCP, FDA, Halal regulations and guidelines. Ceres is certified from ISO 22000:2018, ISO 9001:2015, HACCP, and HALAL.
Social media handles:
Official MOI SOI: https://twitter.com/MoisoiO
Jagmandeep Singh (Co-founder & CBO): https://twitter.com/jagman79
Deb Mukherjee (Founder & CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/debceres/
Jagmandeep Singh (Co-founder & CBO) : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jagmandeep/
Deb Mukherjee(Founder & CEO): https://www.facebook.com/deb.mukherjee.796
Jagmandeep Singh(Co-founder & CBO): https://www.facebook.com/jagmandeep.singh/
