How does the dabbawala system work?

At each station, boxes are handed over to a local dabbawala, who delivers them. The empty boxes are collected after lunch or the next day and sent back to the respective houses. The dabbawalas also allow for delivery requests through SMS.

What are Indian lunch boxes called?

Tiffins
The word tiffin is also used as a name for a lunchbox. Tiffins (or dhabbas) come in all shapes and sizes, but traditionally they are round, with three or four stacking stainless steel compartments firmly sealed with a tight-fitting lid and a side clip to avoid any nasty spillages and a handle for carrying on top.

How do I start a lunch box service?

How to Start a Food Delivery Business from Home

1. Research your target market first. Like any other business, you must also start by researching your target market.
2. Prepare your needed materials.
3. Develop a marketing strategy.
4. Create a business and a meal plan.
5. Accomplish your licenses and permits.

Do tiffin boxes keep food hot?

NanoNine Tiffiny Executive Stainless Steel Lunch Box NanoNine’s executive stainless steel double wall insulated lunch box is designed to keep food hot and fresh. The compact design of this tiffin makes it convenient to carry to the office or school. This airtight lunch box keeps food fresh for hours.

How many tiffin boxes does a tray hold?

40 boxes
There, the different tiffin boxes are sorted out for specific destination stations and loaded on to large, rectangular trays accordingly. Each tray can hold up to 40 boxes.

How does Mumbai Dabbawala earn?

Dabbawalas earn about Rs 12,000 a month. They do other odd jobs after the 9 hours of ferrying tiffin boxes around the city with a 20 minute lunch break in between. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Why is dabbawala successful?

Speed, precision and unfailing commitment to the job at hand – these are the defining features of the successful business model of ‘dabbawalas of Mumbai’. Catering to over 2 lakh customers, the dabbawalas deliver the lunchboxes to their destinations with clockwork regularity.

What is a Japanese bento box?

A bento box is a reusable Japanese-style lunch box that typically holds a single portion meal consisting of a main dish and some sides.

What is in a tiffin box?

Traditionally, the bottom layer of the carrier contains the carbohydrate of the meal, which is often bread, naan or rice. The next layer would contain a salad or pickle, and the third the protein-rich bulk of the meal, such as curry, to be eaten with the rice or bread.

How do dabbawalas sort their lunch boxes?

The dabbawala then takes them to a sorting place, where he and other collecting dabbawalas sort the lunch boxes into groups. The grouped boxes are put in the coaches of trains, with markings to identify the destination of the box (usually there is a designated car for the boxes).

How much do dabbawalas get paid?

Each dabbawala, regardless of role, is paid around 8,000 rupees per month (about US$131 in 2014). Between 175,000 and 200,000 lunch boxes are moved each day by 4,500 to 5,000 dabbawalas.

How many lunches does Mumbai’s Dabba deliver?

Just as the Indian railways are insatiably busy and incredibly complex, so is the dabba’s delivery system, ferrying out an estimated 80 million lunches a year. And no better example of this intricate system shines through than in Mumbai.

What is the meaning of dabbawala?

Dabbawala. The dabbawalas (also spelled dabbawallas or dabbawallahs, called tiffin wallahs in older sources) constitute a lunchbox delivery and return system that delivers hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work in India, especially in Mumbai. The lunchboxes are picked up in the late morning,…