Food Startup Tocco Reshma Suresh Helps turn a Passion for Home Cooking into Businesses
17 OCT 2024
In a world of fast food, there’s a growing demand for authentic, homemade meals. Tocco, an e-commerce platform, is fulfilling this need by connecting local home chefs with customers across India. Founded by Reshma Suresh in 2023, Tocco helps home cooks, often in their 50s, transform their passion into thriving businesses. The idea began when Reshma, who was living in Mumbai, missed her mother’s homemade Kerala dishes. After trying to find similar meals in the city, she realized there was a gap in the market for authentic regional cuisine. Starting with her mother’s pickles and banana chips, Reshma created Tocco.
The startup now supports over 16 chefs offering specialties like special biscuits and plum cakes. What makes Tocco unique is its focus on giving home chefs a platform without the hassle of branding or marketing. Chefs apply online, and Tocco takes care of packaging, branding, and even certifications. Once an order is placed, the chefs prepare the food, and Tocco handles the rest, from shipping to customer service. The platform promotes preservative-free, regional dishes with a shelf life of at least 30 days. Every dish goes through a tasting process, and chefs are trained to ensure quality.
With Tocco, the aim was to pack this childhood nostalgia in a box for other people to enjoy. In late 2022, she quit her job to fully focus on building the platform. After onboarding the first two chefs, Reshma brought in more, expanding the platform to include over 16 chefs from different cities in Kerala, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. They offer snacks like banana chips, jackfruit chips, shankarpali (a sweet snack), masalas like chaat masala, sambar masala, rasam podi (spice powder), pickles like prawn, cut mango, homemade curd chilli, and puli inji (ginger pickle) among others.
Chefs of Tocco
This attention to detail has led to Tocco processing over 1,000 orders monthly, with plans to expand further.This opportunity provides financial independence and purpose for the chefs, mostly retirees.Reshma’s mother, Uma, now enjoys selling her prawn pickles and feels proud to be recognized for her skills.
Despite its success, Tocco faces challenges, especially with customer expectations around quick delivery. The focus on small-batch, homemade food means orders take time, but Reshma believes it’s worth the wait. With a turnover of over ₹1 crore in its first year, Tocco is proving that there’s a place for traditional, homemade food in the modern world.
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