Frozen ready-meals brand Praveen Kumar is rolling out a takeaway Indian food concept that helps forecourts make use of their bake-off areas after the typical 2pm lull.
The Perth-based company already offers its branded freezer cabinets at around 100 fuel sites. Now its eponymous founder hopes a similar number of locations will adopt his latest takeaway counter and delivery offer, which includes main dishes, starters and sides, by the end of next year.
By making use of digital displays retailers can switch between their bakery and the Indian takeaways, which are ready from the microwave in under 10 minutes.
Highland Fuels’ Ravenspark Filling Station in Irvine, Scotland, was the first forecourt to introduce the Praveen Kumar Takeaway two months ago. The Morrisons Daily and Esso retailer offers the takeaways from midday to 9pm, instore and via the Just Eat delivery app.
And Pricewatch Group is considering introducing it at two of its sites – Morrisons Daily forecourts at Wivelsfield in East Sussex, and Trinity in Eastbourne, probably this August.
Kumar is also hopeful that a major forecourt operator he is talking to will sign up to run takeaways in London.
Operators who already have bake-offs require just 2m of behind-the-counter freezer space, a microwave, and to invest in a mail drop to locals within a three-mile radius with Royal Mail, costing £500 to £700, he says.
Most of the business will go through delivery apps, such as Just Eat, says Kumar, with Ravenspark seeing a large trade from the £29.75 two person set meal. Individual curries, such as a chicken makhani masala, retail at £9.95, with pilau rice at £2.95 for a 350g portion.
Margins, he says, are 40% to 60%, and there is potential to generate additional revenue by cross-promoting the meals, sides and starters with soft drinks and alcohol.
Pricewatch Group general manager Tom Buckley says that, because he has kitchens already at the sites, he expects his investment to be £1,500 to £2,000 per location.
“We plan to open four evenings a week to start with, and after delivery app fees there is a 45% margin,” he says.
The Praveen Kumar frozen ready-meals brand has only been in forecourts for around 18 months, but has established itself in the market.
Praveen and his wife Swarna hail from villages in southern India. They moved to Scotland in 2009 and opened a restaurant which became the first Indian establishment north of the border to be awarded a 1 Rosette mark from motoring organisation the AA.
Their ready-meals are prepared in small batches with spices from their family farm in India, with no additives, preservatives, colours, palm oil or monosodium glutamate flavour enhancer.
Forecourts signing up to the package can arrange next day direct to store deliveries. Pots, disposable cutlery, bags and serviettes are sourced independently.
Kumar says that the initiative will do particularly well at sites without takeaways nearby. “Let us help you to grow your business,” he says. “This brand will keep customers coming back to your forecourt.”
Buckley says that instead of using the Morrisons Daily branding on the delivery apps for the meals he will use the Praveen Kumar Takeaway brand to benefit from his “great name and story”.
