<p>Have you ever lost the takeout menu for your local restaurant, or missed a sale at your favourite store? Not a problem, because now there’s an app for that. As the City’s smartphone users grow in number, several new websites and applications seek to harness the convenience of the internet for the small areas of life that might benefit from an upgrade. <br /><br /></p>.<p>For some developers, necessity is the mother of invention. Rakshit Kejriwal and his friends’ need for quality coffee on the go led to the creation of the online coffee shop ‘DropKaffe’. “We are all coffee lovers, but we noticed the coffee we ordered was not always to our liking,” said Rakshit, who seeks to blend selections of a coffee shop with the convenience of the internet. ‘DropKaffe’ customers can select a wide variety of coffees, milkshakes and snacks which they deliver to their home or office. From filter coffee to lattes and speciality international blends, Rakshit hopes to offer something for everyone’s taste. <br /><br />To simplify food delivery, the mobile app ‘TinyOwl’ seeks to make takeout as easy as a few taps on your phone screen. Created by IIT alumni, it was launched in Bengaluru in May. “The current generation is spoilt for choice as far as food is concerned. Questions like ‘What to eat’ are frequently asked,” said co-founder and CEO Harshvardhan Mandad. “Couple this with the burgeoning mobile penetration rates and we had an opportunity to solve this problem.”<br /><br />The ‘TinyOwl’ app pinpoints users’ location, shows available takeout menus for restaurants in the area and delivers the final order with no additional fees. Users can choose from several different payment modes and track the status of their meals. And as Harshvardhan said, “No more menu hunting!”<br /><br />But nothing spoils the day as much as a pinch on your wallet. To help the City’s consumers save money, the ‘CouponDunia’ app brings coupons straight to your smartphone.<br /><br /> ‘CouponDunia’ also alerts users to discounts in their location and allows them to receive updated offers from their favourite stores. “Currently, online shopping is only one per cent of the Indian market,” explained ‘CouponDunia’s COO Ankita Tandon. “We want to occupy the core market when it comes to offering savings and we realised that online stores weren’t enough.” <br /><br />As an added advantage, many of the new apps offer their users exclusive deals. ‘CouponDunia’ partners directly with businesses to offer special discounts. <br /><br />“We have exclusive offers from most of our online businesses, and we send out teams who negotiate exclusive deals with restaurants and retailers,” Ankita said. ‘TinyOwl’ also negotiates special discounts with the restaurants in their database so users can save money. <br /><br />As their user base in the City grows, these applications plan to expand their operations. <br />‘Drop Kaffe’ has filled over 7,000 orders since their launch in March, but currently only delivers to Indiranagar, Koramangala, Domlur and HSR Layout. “We are slated to expand to 10 other locations, including Electronic City and Bellandur, within the next six months,” said Rakshit. <br /><br />‘CouponDunia’ currently covers over 2,000 online stores, 700 restaurants and 1,500 City-based retailers. “Our next target category will likely be health and beauty,” Ankita explained. <br /><br />As apps continue to develop and expand, more of Bengaluru’s online users will be able to do what they love in simpler, more efficient ways. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Have you ever lost the takeout menu for your local restaurant, or missed a sale at your favourite store? Not a problem, because now there’s an app for that. As the City’s smartphone users grow in number, several new websites and applications seek to harness the convenience of the internet for the small areas of life that might benefit from an upgrade. <br /><br /></p>.<p>For some developers, necessity is the mother of invention. Rakshit Kejriwal and his friends’ need for quality coffee on the go led to the creation of the online coffee shop ‘DropKaffe’. “We are all coffee lovers, but we noticed the coffee we ordered was not always to our liking,” said Rakshit, who seeks to blend selections of a coffee shop with the convenience of the internet. ‘DropKaffe’ customers can select a wide variety of coffees, milkshakes and snacks which they deliver to their home or office. From filter coffee to lattes and speciality international blends, Rakshit hopes to offer something for everyone’s taste. <br /><br />To simplify food delivery, the mobile app ‘TinyOwl’ seeks to make takeout as easy as a few taps on your phone screen. Created by IIT alumni, it was launched in Bengaluru in May. “The current generation is spoilt for choice as far as food is concerned. Questions like ‘What to eat’ are frequently asked,” said co-founder and CEO Harshvardhan Mandad. “Couple this with the burgeoning mobile penetration rates and we had an opportunity to solve this problem.”<br /><br />The ‘TinyOwl’ app pinpoints users’ location, shows available takeout menus for restaurants in the area and delivers the final order with no additional fees. Users can choose from several different payment modes and track the status of their meals. And as Harshvardhan said, “No more menu hunting!”<br /><br />But nothing spoils the day as much as a pinch on your wallet. To help the City’s consumers save money, the ‘CouponDunia’ app brings coupons straight to your smartphone.<br /><br /> ‘CouponDunia’ also alerts users to discounts in their location and allows them to receive updated offers from their favourite stores. “Currently, online shopping is only one per cent of the Indian market,” explained ‘CouponDunia’s COO Ankita Tandon. “We want to occupy the core market when it comes to offering savings and we realised that online stores weren’t enough.” <br /><br />As an added advantage, many of the new apps offer their users exclusive deals. ‘CouponDunia’ partners directly with businesses to offer special discounts. <br /><br />“We have exclusive offers from most of our online businesses, and we send out teams who negotiate exclusive deals with restaurants and retailers,” Ankita said. ‘TinyOwl’ also negotiates special discounts with the restaurants in their database so users can save money. <br /><br />As their user base in the City grows, these applications plan to expand their operations. <br />‘Drop Kaffe’ has filled over 7,000 orders since their launch in March, but currently only delivers to Indiranagar, Koramangala, Domlur and HSR Layout. “We are slated to expand to 10 other locations, including Electronic City and Bellandur, within the next six months,” said Rakshit. <br /><br />‘CouponDunia’ currently covers over 2,000 online stores, 700 restaurants and 1,500 City-based retailers. “Our next target category will likely be health and beauty,” Ankita explained. <br /><br />As apps continue to develop and expand, more of Bengaluru’s online users will be able to do what they love in simpler, more efficient ways. <br /><br /></p>
