This article is part of a series looking at all the competitors of UT Dallas’ 2020 Big Idea Pitch Competition.
Living on campus, fresh food can be hard to come by. So, Rohit Shenoy and Guarav Sethi set out to solve that with CampusOven, a meal marketplace and delivery startup that works with local chefs to provide prepared meals.
“Food was expensive, inconvenient and unhealthy,” Shenoy told NTX Inno via email. “We felt trapped by this experience because buying meals off campus and cooking for yourself was also hard. We wanted to make this experience better for everyone.”
When the company launched in February, it was largely focused on meal pickups. However, the demand for contactless delivery and a $5,000 RevTech Ventures SAFE Schools Grant, CampusOven expanded into the delivery space. At the time, CampusOven said the grant would allow them to deliver nearly 7,000 meals.
Already, the startup has expanded across UT Dallas and onto SMU’s campus. And within the next few years, the company is hoping to go nationwide.
What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced so far? How did you overcome it? Shenoy: Customer retention has been one of the biggest challenges we've faced and the main point of feedback we got from customers was that it's because they forget to order before the order deadline. To solve this, we implemented subscriptions in our technology and our retention has improved tremendously. We're still looking to improve retention and are working on new initiatives to do so.
How has COVID-19 affected your business and industry? COVID-19 required us to solve for last-mile delivery to students' doors because students didn't feel comfortable picking up meals anymore. Furthermore, most of the student population is not back on campus, and so we took a big hit there as well.
Personally, what impact do you hope to have through the work that you do? My life's goal is to equalize opportunities for everyone. One of the key barriers to this today is basic nutrition. My productivity has gone through the roof after being able to eat healthy food. I want everyone to have access to this basic aspect of life without having to break the bank or spend a lot of time. Through my efforts with CampusOven, I hope to make this a reality across all college campuses and beyond.
This interview has been edited for clarity and grammar.
