Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Banu Ozkaya, co-founder of Cravy's, located in Skillman, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Cravy's is a boutique online marketplace enabling top Mediterranean restaurants and artisanal bakeries to ship their authentic meals nationwide. We provide a Gourmet dining experience from the comfort of your home. Access to rare authentic tastes wherever you live. A convenient alternative to culinary travel. Our customers are gourmands and gourmets who want to eat well and stay healthy at the same time.
Tell us about yourself
My business partner and I are both from the pharmaceutical industry. We both enjoy traveling and eating good food. When the pandemic first hit, we had to cancel our vacation plans. My partner had planned to go to Japan, and I had planned to go to Spain. We didn't know what to expect at the beginning of the pandemic. No one knew. But then, things got bad. We couldn't even go grocery shopping at some point due to the pandemic. We were miserable missing traveling and eating outside to have fun. Then one day, we were sitting in my kitchen, talking about food and traveling and possible business ideas. We both liked the idea of "special food coming to us instead of us traveling for food."
Our business idea was not any typical food delivery. The idea was to make the best authentic rare-to-find Mediterranean food available anywhere in the US, not just in the big cosmopolitan cities. We both got so excited about the idea. We liked how challenging and rewarding it would be to ship the best dishes from top restaurants to anywhere in the US. We also got so excited with the opportunity to share the Mediterranean culture through food.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Cravy's is not my first startup experience, but this is my first startup experience in the online marketplace in the food industry. Everything is new and challenging in its unique ways, which is fun. Jumping into this industry was a significant change for my partner and me. Again, we are both from the pharmaceutical industry. One of our most important accomplishments is coming from a different sector yet immediately earning our partner restaurants' trust. Everyone around us, since day 1, supported our business idea and believed in us and our business success.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Being a business owner is like being a juggler. You continuously toss into the air, catch many things, and keep at least one ball in the air while handling everything properly without dropping anything. So I believe, keeping the priorities straight while maintaining the balance is the hardest thing.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
You need to have a clear goal and vision to start the business, a curious mind open to learn and change to run the business. Finally, you have to have the grit to grow your business.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://cravys.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cravysdelivers
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cravysdelivers/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cravysdelivers
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cravy-s/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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