Saalas: Food and grocery app delivering happiness at your doorsteps

Syed Jesarat

Over the past few years, not only eating out but ordering food home from a restaurant has become a recreational activity in Kashmir, particularly as COVID19 restricted people’s movement. However, Kashmir doesn’t have too many platforms guiding us on where and what to eat. Saalas: Food and grocery app aims to fill that gap and connect people to authentic food places.

Salaas is an application that delivers things to your doorstep by making a few clicks on your phone. Salaas is the story of a business that expresses the desire, dedication, and service of a person toward his society.

“It is just an initiative through which I can serve the people of my town and my aim is to digitalize Kashmir by bringing some tech solutions,” said 33-year-old, Farooq Ahmad Seeru founder of Saalas. The app is presently operational in Sopore town, but Farooq wants to expand its footprint across Kashmir.

 How it works

The app is available in the Google play store for all Android phones and the App Store for ios phone users, download it, enter your location, explore all the grocery shops and restaurants in your town, check their menus, and ratings, and order right from the app and pay from your wallet. You can order from any restaurant available in the town.

“We built every feature of the app keeping in mind the location. We also analysed the pros and cons and how to go with our brand in the market through research and we have tie-ups with almost all the local restaurants and the grocery shops of Sopore town. It’s still in its initial stage. the response as of now is good and we are expecting more in the coming future as we are planning to expand it in other towns and districts,” said Farooq.

“It was initially difficult because nobody supported the idea due to prevailing conditions in the valley and secondly it was difficult to organise the unorganized food delivery concept.”

 What one can get through Saalas app?

Saalas app is presently operational in north Kashmir with delivery feet consisting of eight deliverymen delivering everything from fresh fruits to vegetables, rice to dals, spices to seasonings to any packaged products, and many more with a minimum amount of 199.

“Every day in the morning time, we have orders piling up mostly on vegetables and other grocery items and in the latter part of the day, we get orders for junk food and other items. We have kept a minimum checkout of Rs 199. We have also the option of picking and choosing different things,” said Farooq

Farooq is a software engineer by profession presently working as head of data (artificial intelligence and machine learning) for Hyke.ai in Dubai. Hyke is a state–of–the–art technology powered by analytics AI, Machine learning, and predictive analytics, completed by a robust supply chain that balances efficiency and speed.

He also has experience working as a data scientist with Rakuten Japan. Rakuten is Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing company based in Tokyo, it business to many e-commerce platforms and is one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world.

“I have the experience of working in various countries like England, Japan, Thailand, and Dubai but, the feeling and satisfaction you get when you have the startup at a place where you have spent your childhood and among your own people is always special. And with that startup people are getting livelihood is even more special,” said Farooq.

Farooq, the youngest among four siblings, born in apple town Sopore to a family of farmers, has proved that with hardwork and proper goals in life anyone can be successful in life and considers his elder brother also a computer graduate as an inspiration.

“My brother is my inspirational it’s because of him I came into this profession,” he said.

 Customer-friendly app

Saalas is turning out to be one of the best online food and grocery apps through its poised approach. The professionalism of the people associated with Saalas has won the hearts of people.

“Saalas app has come as a sigh of relief for me because being the elder child in the family of five and a cricket enthusiast. Every time my parents used to call bring this and that sometimes in the middle of a cricket match. I have been regularly using it for the past many months and literally, it has brought inner peace in me,” said Sajad Reshi from Sopore

“Lot of food and grocery apps were e-launched before saalas but, could not survive due is various reasons.  Saalas has laid its mark; the people associated with Saalas are professional in terms of app management and the services it provides. Saalas is a good app people should take benefit from it. We are benefiting a lot from it. It has come very much handy for us as restaurant owners. I hope they really grow more and I am one of the big supporters,” said Jibran Khan owner of Zero Miles, one of the premier restaurants of apple town Sopore.

In the coming months, Farooq Seeru owner of Saalas app is planning to start another startup on the name of Kashmir Rides to help daily commuters book taxi and bus seats online.

“Kashmir Rides is our upcoming project. We are working on it; through Kashmir Rides, one can book any taxi or a seat on the bus from Baramulla to Srinagar. If a person from any place like Sangrama has to travel Srinagar he can book the seat in sumo that seat will be kept reserved for him till the stop,” said Farooq.

“We are hopeful with Saalas and Kashmir Rides; we will continue to provide the best and most affordable service to the public all over Kashmir,” he concluded.