Rs 5 lakh investment, Rs 10 crore revenue: How 2 Bengaluru sisters turned their grandmother’s biryani recipe into a thriving food business

Biryani is an emotion. Having a bad day? The aromatic rice, rich spices and indulgent meat can uplift your mood in just one bite. Celebrating an achievement? Nothing beats the magic of relishing and sharing the indulgent dish with your loved ones. While the debate over which is better - Hyderabadi or Kolkata biryani continues to divide food lovers, 2 Bengaluru sisters, Ramya and Shwetha Ravi, decided to give the classic delicacy a homely spin. The duo revived their grandmother’s biryani recipe and guess what? They clocked Rs 10 crore in revenue through their food brand RNR Donne Biryani.

Bengaluru sisters take entrepreneurial leap

Ramya pursued BCom from Christ University in Bengaluru and later studied management from Harvard University, while her sister Shwetha completed her graduation from Stella Maris, Chennai and went to the UK for a master’s from Warwick University, reported Your Story. Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, the sisters decided to venture into the hospitality industry and launched their food venture RNR Donne Biryani in November 2020. Starting a culinary venture during the COVID-19 pandemic was a risky yet bold move, which ultimately paid off for the sisters.

According to The Better India, Ramya and Shwetha started operating their food business from a 200 sqft cloud kitchen, investing Rs 5 lakhs. All they wanted to do was spread their grandmother’s special recipe to foodies across the city. In just a month, RNR Donne Biryani had clocked more than 10,000 orders. At present, the brand has 14 cloud kitchens and a stand-alone restaurant in Bengaluru.

From cloud kitchen to 14 outlets

White Ramya and Shwetha kept their grandmother’s biryani flavour intact; RNR Donne Biryani is named after their father Ravichander and grandfather, Ramaswamy. What’s even more interesting is the brand’s packaging. The biryani is served on a plantain leaf, which is then packaged in a tin box for delivery. Ramya, in a conversation with The Better India, revealed that they use short-grain rice, called Jeeraga Samba rice, and the green base colour of the rice comes from some of the ingredients that go into the making. The biryani is served with raita, salad and a sweet.

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Besides the traditional rice dish, RNR Donne Biryani is also famous for drumstick chilli starters, chicken ghee roast, naati koli curry, naati koli fry, drumstick chilli, elaneer payasam, double ka meetha and goli soda. While a plate of vegetarian biryani costs about Rs 190, a plate of non-vegetarian biryani is priced at Rs 250.