Cookups

Cookups Technologies operated as a marketplace for homemade food, connecting home cooks with diners seeking authentic meals. The company was founded in 2016 by Namira Hossain, who served as CEO, and Misha Ali. The venture originated from their personal passion for cooking and sharing food, which they initially facilitated through a Facebook group. This community-centric approach quickly gained traction, growing into a significant platform for home-based culinary entrepreneurs in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The business model centered on empowering home cooks, particularly women, by providing them with a platform to generate income from their kitchens. Initially, Cookups utilized a subscription model where cooks paid a monthly fee to be listed on the marketplace. As the company evolved and launched its dedicated web and mobile applications in 2018, it transitioned to a commission-based model, taking a percentage of each transaction. The platform's service was designed to offer a diverse range of foods, from traditional comfort dishes to catering for small events, all prepared in home kitchens. A key part of their operation was a verification process for cooks, which included kitchen inspections to ensure hygiene standards were met.

The Cookups application allowed users to browse menus from various home cooks, filter by criteria such as price and cuisine, place orders, and track their status. For the cooks, the platform aimed to digitize their offerings and manage orders, moving beyond the initial, less scalable Facebook-based system. Despite building a community and receiving seed investments, Cookups faced significant challenges in achieving a sustainable product-market fit and scalability after moving to an independent app. In August 2019, the company announced it was ceasing its app and delivery operations due to an inability to secure sufficient follow-on funding. Although the core delivery service was discontinued, the company planned to continue its cloud kitchen brand, Cookups Rannaghor, through other food delivery platforms.

Keywords: homemade food marketplace, food delivery, home cooks, Dhaka food startup, Namira Hossain, Misha Ali, cloud kitchen, food-tech, online food platform, community marketplace, women entrepreneurship, Bangladesh startup, commission-based model, food delivery app, subscription food service, authentic meals, local food, catering service, kitchen verification, on-demand food