TiffinStash Takes the Spotlight: A CBC News Feature Journey
Hey, TiffinStashers!!
Guess what? We've got some thrilling news to share - TiffinStash just made it to the CBC News spotlight! Our interview even hit the airwaves on TV and radio, and we're beyond excited to bring you all the delicious details.
Here's the CBC article to read!
In India, a tiffin typically means a prepped lunch with a homemade feel. It often comes in stacked vertical stainless steel containers and is either prepared at home or delivered to work. A tiffin service is usually offered by subscription, with a fixed monthly and weekly fee, and has evolved to include daily breakfast, lunch, or dinner options.
According to some vendors, tiffin services are on the rise across the GTA and Canada, especially with workers returning to the office, rising grocery bills, and people looking for food that reflects regional diversity.
And as the pandemic hastened public reliance on delivery services — new platforms are emerging for delivery.
Subscribers across the city
It was their own personal hunt for a tiffin service in Brampton that prompted siblings, Krish and Shruti Shah, along with their friend Omey Mistry, to start a tiffin delivery platform.
As the Shah siblings tell CBC Toronto— they found vendors advertising on Kijji and Facebook. But there was no streamlined delivery platform and no way to see reviews.
"It's very unorganized. Sometimes they would say they will deliver it to you at 12 p.m. but it would come at 2:00 p.m. Sometimes they didn't even deliver," said Shruti.
Krish says that's why he started TiffinStash, an ordering platform for tiffin services across the GTA, and brought on Shruti and Mistry as co-founders and partners in the business.
We have three distribution hubs in Brampton, Mississauga, and Etobicoke covering all of the GTA. TiffinStash also employs the drivers that take the food to customers' buildings.
Shruti explains why a tiffin is so different from ordering from a typical Indian restaurant. It's considered homemade food that reflects the vast culinary diversity of India's food scene and represents multiple cultures, religions, and dialects, she says.
What's packed in a tiffin is deeply personal, as it reflects heritage, says Shruti.
"Finding the right tiffin was such a challenge because…the right tiffin suits your taste, is perfect in your quantity, your quality, everything," she said.
The vendors only have to worry about ensuring the food tastes good— TiffinStash handles delivery, customer services, and any other logistics, said Krish.
Pandemic created more food delivery infrastructure: professor
Krishnendu Ray, a professor of food studies at New York University, says the pandemic hastened the expansion of food delivery systems.
"What the pandemic did in some ways is lay down the infrastructure for that system with food delivery," he said.
The increase in tiffin services is an indication of a new channel not restaurant-focused or an industrialized, mass commercial kitchen, he explained, but often fuelled by women in domestic spaces who cook out of their homes.
"It's hard work," he said. "It's often in fact a labour of love," he said.
As for the TiffinStash founders, they're hoping to launch an app and expand into other provinces. They're also planning to increase the diversity of their offerings.
"We are thinking of expanding our options to Nepalese food, Burmese food, Bangladeshi food, and of course Pakistani food as well," he said. "We want to explore others because immigrants are coming from all over the world."
Read the Full CBC Article for an in-depth read on our journey and the Tiffin revolution, check out the comprehensive CBC article here.
And curious to catch the buzz? Head over to our YouTube channel for the full scoop on our CBC News coverage.
We're over the moon to see TiffinStash spreading its wings, and it's all thanks to your amazing support! A massive THANK YOU to our fantastic community for being part of this incredible journey. Your love fuels our passion for delivering goodness straight to your place.
Cheers to each one of you!
With gratitude and spice,
The TiffinStash Team