RIYADH — As the first company in Saudi Arabia to launch home food service on the go, Mathaqi online platform – which actively engages and helps productive families market their food products and increase their income – attracts a huge number of patrons this early and fascinates food enthusiasts.

For its enterprising founder Nouf Alsaleem, it can be said that it›s a right mix of innovation and passion.

Commenting on how she came up with the idea, Ms Alsaleem said “time and again I have been reading about hardships faced by productive families and I was determined to help them as it was part of my social responsibility. I needed a model that not only could help productive families, but create job opportunities and make it easy for consumers to get home food and never be bored.”

It was her father Dr. Yousef Al Saleem, a self-made entrepreneur, who became her inspiration and role model.

In an interview, Nouf Alsaleem, who is currently doing her majors in Marketing & Business Administration at King Saud University after completed her studies from Najd National Schools, noted that e-commerce is becoming increasingly popular in the Kingdom and many people have taken to social media to promote their products and services. So, fully aware of the trend, she utilized it to exploit the good skills of most female cooks, with some of them even become well-known in their respective cities because of their talents.

Excerpts of the interview follow:

• What services do you offer? Who should be using Mathaqi?

We offer on demand menu, subscription (will be launched soon) and under take Party Orders. Our target audience is any person from the age 15+ and above.

• What scope and opportunities do you see in online food ordering industry? What is the market size of this segment?

Consumer food services in KSA are estimated at SR26 billion, with delivery/take away sector estimated at SR6 billion. Online food delivery is projected to touch SR820 million by 2020, surging 47 times from 2013.

• How do you see your startup growing in Saudi Arabia?

By Allah›s guidance and blessing, we hope to serve 200 customers a day by year-end.

• How much do you think the average Saudi women /home cook will be able to earn, on a monthly basis, using Mathaqi?

Our model hopes to enable every food partner/chef to generate between SR2,500 to SR3,000 on a monthly basis. In reality, there is no limit and can be much higher since subscription, party orders & chef incentives wee not counted. Currently we are offering chefs special incentive schemes for party order referrals.

However, Mathaqi is not only about making money, it’s about creating job opportunities and adding value to a resource that was not previously utilized.

• What are the challenges you have faced so far?

We have faced many challenges, but the ongoing challenge is organizing a sector which was never used to professional way of working.

• Have you ever tried to approach home cooks/moms above the age of 40? If yes, how did you deliver the idea and technology to them?

We are working with chefs who don›t know how to read and write. The beauty of our model is that chefs don›t have to be tech savvy as they can focus on their core strength of preparing delicious food, (and) we take care of marketing and logistics for them.

• How many meals do you have so far?

We have 18+ cuisines and more than 500 dishes.

• Do you only have traditional Saudi meals or do you try to provide a variety of meals?

Mathaqi’s specialty is the ability to offer foodies all the kind of variety meals ranging from traditional Saudi dishes to Arabian, Asian, global & Chinese cuisines.

Our core strength is the ability to offer a variety, daily changing menu, and fresh daily.

• How do you guarantee food safety?

We recognize that quality is of paramount importance. All the chefs undergo medical examination to certify they are fit and don›t have transferable diseases.

Kitchen and premises inspection is carried out by our team. A dish that has passed sampling approvals is listed. Portions and combinations are fixed. Packaging used is of good grade and microwaveable, and all food is freshly made on a daily basis

• How do you make sure the food is delivered hot and fresh in Riyadh traffic conditions?

We use premium packaging containers which maintain heat and with additional layer to maintain heat. Hotbox is used.

• How many ‘Mathaqi’ cooks do you have?

We have signed up with 80 chefs and are hungry for more.

• Why should people trust Mathaqi?

Mathaqi is a transparent platform where consumer is informed about which chef’s food he/she is ordering. We have a daily changing menu, which means there is never an option to supply previous day’s food. It›s an initiative to help productive family and us as Mathaqi to get recognized for the services we offer.

• What social impact does Mathaqi have?

Productive families are the real winners since they can earn money by preparing food at home. Stop worrying about the hustle to get commercial space, reaching larger audience and logistics.

Currently we are in talks with charity organizations and labor camps to supply our remaining food for free.

• What sets Mathaqi apart from other food delivery services?

The only thing that is common between us and other food delivery app is delivery, other than that, everything about Mathaqi is unique

And to assure of Mathaqi’s quality, founder Nouf Alsaleem requests “all the citizens, expats to try us and will never regret it. Please use code FIRST30 to avail 30% discount on your first order.”

She added “companies, ministries and universities can tie up with us and overcome the previous hurdle of communicating with a number of productive families. We can be the single point of contact and rest assured that Mathaqi’s quality of service is never compromised. We can offer menu that has something for everyone to eat.” — SG