The Real Story Behind Swapify
Hi. Let me tell you a story that starts with overpriced Indian food and ends with hundreds of tiffins being delivered every day across Indore.
Our founder, Varun Kelkar, never planned to start a food-tech company. He was in Singapore, juggling studies, life, and hunger.
As a pure vegetarian, he was constantly looking for decent Indian meals — but the price tags were... traumatic.
On some days, it was dosa again. On other days, when South Indian food felt like a punishment, the only real alternative was
spending 15 Singapore dollars for a North Indian meal.
Or… eat non-veg for 3 bucks — Duck & Rice, Chinese food, whatever was cheap and filling.
That’s when it hit him.
"Why is food either expensive or non-negotiable?
Why can’t people just choose what they want,
from whom they want,
without overpaying or compromising?"
And just like that, the seed for Swapify was planted.
From One Idea to a Real Product
At first, the idea was small —
A system by the floating population, for the floating population.
People who weren’t permanent residents but still needed good, daily meals without being stuck with one vendor.
But over time, the idea evolved.
Why just one vendor? Why not a platform that lets people swap vendors?
A full-on multi-vendor delivery model, inspired by the flexibility that didn’t exist in the traditional tiffin system.
Varun spoke to friends, batchmates, and some of the smartest folks at Singapore Management University,
refining the idea until it was solid enough to bring back home.
India, Meet Swapify
In 2023, Varun returned to India and decided not to rush.
Instead, he spent an entire year understanding the Indian market —
What students needed, what office-goers missed, and what tiffin vendors were frustrated with.
“I didn’t build an app first. I just hit the streets.”
He literally went out and spoke to random customers —
Asking if they faced the same food fatigue he had encountered.
Then he pitched the idea — no website, no app, just a vision.
And it clicked.
Customers said yes.
Vendors said hell yes — especially those fed up with big aggregators taking 25%+ commissions.
So in July 2024, he got to work, on the ground, from scratch.
Why Indore?
Swapify’s journey began in Indore for a reason —
It’s central India’s biggest financial and educational hub,
full of students, IT folks, interns, job switchers —
The ultimate floating population.
It’s well-connected, fast-moving, but still affordable —
The perfect city to test an idea that demands flexibility, affordability, and scale.
Swapify Today
What started as one guy trying to avoid a $15 meal has now become a platform that helps people:
• Choose their vendor
• Pick their budget
• Enjoy flexibility without guilt
• And eat Ghar Jaisa Khana without cooking, cleaning, or committing to the same menu for a month.
And the best part?
It’s just getting started.
P.S. If you’ve ever felt stuck with the same boring tiffin, Swapify was built for you.
By someone who’s been there — and hungry.
