Aunty’s Kitchen: Home-cooked takeout food
If you’re sick of having greasy, salty waimai for lunch every day, Shanghai-based platform Aunty’s Kitchen just might be the answer to your solutions.
Aunty’s Kitchen is an O2O online takeout platform (not unlike Eleme) but with a twist – the food sold is entirely home-cooked by resident “vendors” in Shanghai. This means affordably-priced, home-cooked Chinese food without the fears of undesirable hygiene and recycled oil/salt/monosodium glutamate.
Users are able to access Aunty’s Kitchen via its online platform, Android, iOS app and WeChat subscription account to check which vendors are nearby, as well as the menu offered and prices. The system also includes user reviews to aid hungry consumers in their decisions.
Order via Aunty’s Kitchen WeChat subscription account
To allay fears about food safety, all the vendors are verified, food containers and ingredients are purchased via the same supplier across the board and hygiene checks have also been implemented.
Currently, Aunty’s Kitchen only operates in four districts in Shanghai and only accepts orders via its WeChat subscription account, where users can input their food choices, preferred delivery times and contact details. A delivery fee of 10 RMB is applicable for orders under 75 RMB, and customers can choose to pay via cash, Alipay or card.
Though the idea is certainly an interesting one, several questions concerning the future of the platform cannot be ignored: Will the platform be limited by the number of vendors who are willing to join the platform? Where does Aunty’s Kitchen plan to find so many skilled “chefs” to expand the business?
Aunty’s Kitchen was launched in 2013, and within 3 months of operation had amassed over 300 orders and received angel investment from Zhonglu Group.
O2O F&B platforms (Eleme, Jinshisong, for example) are getting increasingly popular in the Chinese market, and with such rapidly rising competition, it remains to be seen if Aunty’s Kitchen would be able to carve a niche for itself in time to come.