People have the habit of criticizing everything that comes their way. The most popular misunderstanding and myth about young adults are they are a bunch of slackers who most often sit idle. The previous generation of elders tends to think and complain about the laziness and impatience they have.
Scoopski, Kolkata based foodtech startup is a result of an ‘impatient millennial who couldn’t wait for her dessert,’ 23-year-old founder Vedika Tibrewal said
Scoopski was founded in August 2018 by Vedika Tibrewal mother Sonal Tibrewal. Scoopski produces edible cookie dough which can be consumed straight from the jar or can be baked into cookies or used as a topping.
Vedika was an economics major student in Kolkata’s St. Xavier’s College. She travelled to the US in 2017 to attend Harvard Summer School. She was on a trip to New York city with her friends when she visited a cafe Cookie DO Confections. It was flooded with people which included even celebrities standing in the queue for the unique offering – edible cookie dough
Vedika was astonished to see the flock. She recalls, “I would have never waited that long to try the cookie dough if my friends hadn’t insisted.” After two hours wait, she tasted something which she hadn’t eaten ever before. “It super fudgy and indulgent.”
A month after she returned to India, she realized, the concept of cookie dough is still a foreign thing to the people in India. Vedika says, “Going by the late adopters of trends that we Indians usually are, I would it take a while for this product to take off.”
Her home kitchen became her experiment lab as she tried to recreate the edible cookie dough of New York. She says, “My inexperience in the kitchen was an advantage as I tried creating a no-frills dessert that could be customised and played with.”
She had finally cracked the recipe after spending immense hours in the kitchen and then sent out scoops of cookie dough to her friends and family. She received positive feedback and her friends wanted more so Vedika started taking orders for scoops of cookie dough, which she christened Scoopski.
Sonal, Vedika’s mother helped Vedika in preparing the dough and supplied the resources needed for the business. In February 2018, this mother-daughter duo tested their product at outdoor marketing in Kolkata’s Hindustan Park in February.
Vedika was encouraged by the response that she received. After this, she went ahead to do the products and development of packaging. After some efforts, she finally managed to convince her mother to join her venture.
Vedika says, “Being homemaker for last 25 years, she knew how to operate a small team and get the best out of them.”
As she was just 21 at the time of incorporation of the company, the beginning days were challenging for the entrepreneur. The first challenge she faced was at the time of incorporation itself when she approached some agents to help for with the procedure.
She says, “They charged me four to five times more than the market rate for licensing. They thought I was too young, inexperienced, and had not researched much. My father wanted me to go along with the rates they offered but I refused. Getting a company registered was not rocket science.”
Vedika still remembers how she used to visit and revisit the government offices, Police Stations to get her company registered. She adds, “For something that took only a couple of minutes, I had to spend two months doing the rounds of offices. I was not taken seriously.”
With an initial investment of Rs. 1 lakh, the company was finally incorporated in August 2018 under the name of Vikson Foodworks. After overcoming the initial challenges, in 2019, Vedika was awarded with the youngest finalist of Times of India Women Entrepreneurship Award. Her startup, Scoopski was also featured in LBB’s Emerging Brands Award in Customer Product category.
The tie ups
For local delivery of Scoopski in Kolkata, Vedika tied up with Swiggy, Zomato, and a couple of delivery agencies. She focused more on marketing, product, and business development while Sonal took charge of production and other operations. Apart from this mother-daughter duo, Scoopski has a team of three women who are managing production.
Through Scoopski’s Facebook and Instagram pages, people started reaching out to her from other parts of the country as well. From Sonal’s home kitchen, Scoopski has moved into production unit. In October 2018, it further pivoted its model so that it could serve and cater to a larger audience.
The edible cookie dough has now moved to reusable glass jars from scoops, with proper labeling and usage descriptions and instead of selling on a third-party company, it is sold on its own website. Vedika tends to target the “magical generation of millennials that all marketers strive to catch.”
Presently, Scoopski is offering 11 flavours of cookie dough as well as a prepaid Gift Card. The range of cookie dough jars is between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500. Nutella Chocochip, Caramel Sea Salt, Biscoff, Monster, Mint Chocolate, and Red Velvet are some flavours among others.
Vedika reveals, “My 7-year-old neighbor, Cookie, helps me create the flavors, and I consider views from our existing customers through social media polls before launching a new flavour.” She cites an example and says, the blue-colored Monster cookie dough was launched last year during Holi which is made using digestive biscuits and M&Ms. “It was created to stimulate the nostalgia of eating tongue coloring candies.” Likewise, during Valentine’s week, the Red Velvet cookie dough was launched.
Through the sales from its website, the main revenue of Scoopski is generated. Scoopski also takes part in expos and exhibitions around the country. In Kolkata and Surat, Scoopski has tied up with four cafes where its products are stocked.
The cookie dough is completely preservative-free; hence it has a shorter life. It stays fresh for about 20 days in ambient condition and about three months in a freezer. Vedika says, “At this time, it serves as a solution for all working couples who do not have want to take the effort of whipping up something from scratch on a date night.”
Since establishment, Scoopski has recorded up to 120%, CAGR and in the previous financial year, generated revenue of over 30 lakhs. Vedika adds, “We are anticipating a surge in e-commerce sales and are looking to double the sales figure this year.” Scoopski soon has plans to list its products on Amazon and LBB.
Presently, Vedika is pursuing her master’s in Food and Beverage Management at Bocconi School of Management in Milan and the business back home is managed by Sonal. Vedika says, “Many thought my venture was a past time, but I am very passionate about sport Scoopski and I am still too young to fail.”
