PositiveSum Africa welcomes Chakula Nyumbani

Meet Cheptoo. Cheptoo is a 25 year-old Computer Science graduate from Kenyatta University. After completing her studies in 2022, she landed a job as a mobile applications developer with Equity Bank and moved from Ruiru to Ruaka. Similar to many young techies, she was drawn by Ruaka’s allure: close to Nairobi’s CBD, good amenities, not too crowded, and relatively secure. 

Here’s Cheptoo’s typical weekday routine:

Cheptoo's Typical Weekday Routine

Cheptoo loves her job. She loves the team she works with, her responsibilities, and the career opportunities her job presents. But she is constantly tired. Between 6:30 PM and 11 PM everyday, she has to take care of herself, keep tabs with her friends and relatives, catch up with her favorite shows, read a book, cook, clean utensils...the list goes on and on. Something must give. Every weekday evening she battles with the question: what to eat for supper? Most of the time, she goes for the easy option of bread, eggs, and milk. A relatively good choice considering she gets to eat dairy, protein, and starch. Other times, she orders takeout using Glovo - KFC's finger lickin good chicken is always a click away. The problem, however, is that while these choices satiate her hunger, they do not contribute towards her daily nutritional targets. About 95% of Kenyans do not consume the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables, for instance. With a menu that oscillates between restaurant takeouts and bread and eggs, Cheptoo finds herself smack in the middle of these 95% of Kenyans. 

Besides the time implications of preparing balanced and nutritious meals at home, Cheptoo's path to a high quality diet is also blocked by the unaffordability or unavailability of trusted foods and food components. In many developing countries, patrons of small-scale food businesses are at a high risk of food poisoning due to food contamination arising from inadequate food safety awareness, poor hygiene practices, and inadequate food storage and preparation methods. Cheptoo thus faces a quandary: make her own quality meals (time-expensive), order takeout (non-nutritious and, possibly, unsafe), or consume tea, bread, and milk (non-filling and non-nutritious). 

Enter Chakula Nyumbani. 

“I have food at home,” is a comforting thought, and, now, we wish to make it a reality. Chakula Nyumbani is a meal prep and delivery service with initial operations set for Ruaka. The business is designed for young working professionals who, after a long day at work, deserve a reprieve from worrying about what to consume for dinner. Chakula Nyumbani rides on the unique selling proposition of home-made goodness: recipes are crafted to provide customers with the comforting taste of home; the menu is packed with nutritious options that not only taste amazing but also cater to health needs; and meals are delivered right to the client’s doorstep. While competition in this space exists, Chakula Nyumbani is cognizant of the biggest competitor of all - pressing needs in the face of declining consumer purchasing power. Thus, the price ceiling for available meals is at KES 600. Additionally, Chakula Nyumbani’s menu is set for regular updates to keep taste buds excited; foods are to be prepared using high quality ingredients; and food safety while at the handling, preparation, packaging, and transport stages is paramount. 

Chakula Nyumbani is the first idea-stage venture to enter PositiveSum Africa’s informal incubator. Over the next three months, we will be hard at work to package Chakula Nyumbani's offerings into a minimum viable service to test viability and market demand. 

Please follow Chakula Nyumbani’s work and progress at https://www.instagram.com/chakula_nyumbani/ and https://x.com/ChakulaNyumbani.

To order our wholesome meals, please contact 0740425616 or email us at chakulanyumbani@gmail.com.