How this Kolkata mother-daughter duo built Scoopski, a Rs 30 lakh dessert business

Millennials are often criticised for a number of things. The most popular myth about these young adults is that they are a bunch of slackers. The older generation endlessly complains about how lazy and impatient they are. 

Kolkata-based foodtech startup Scoopski is an outcome of one such ‘impatient millennial who couldn’t wait for her dessert’ - says 23-year-old Founder Vedika Tibrewal.

Founded in August 2018, by Vedika and her mother, Sonal Tibrewal, Scoopski makes edible cookie dough that can be consumed straight from the jar, baked into cookies, or used as a topping.

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Story so far 

An economics major student from Kolkata’s St Xavier’s College, Vedika travelled to the US in 2017 to attend Harvard Summer School. On a trip to New York City with friends, she visited a cafe, Cookie DO Confections. It was swarming with people, including celebrities, queueing up for its unique offering - edible cookie dough.

Vedika was surprised to see the crowd. “I would have never waited that long to try the cookie dough, if my friends hadn’t insisted,” she recalls. After two hours, she discovered something she had never tasted before. “It was super fudgy and indulgent!”

A month later, on returning back to India, she realised edible cookie dough was still a foreign concept in India. “Going by the late adopters of trends that we Indians usually are, I was sure it would take a while for this product to take off,” Vedika says.

She started experimenting in her home kitchen, trying to recreate New York’s edible cookie dough. “My inexperience in the kitchen was an advantage as I tried creating a no-frills dessert that could be customised and played with,” she says.

After spending endless hours in the kitchen, she finally cracked the recipe and sent out scoops of cookie dough to her friends and family. On receiving positive feedback, with her friends wanting more, Vedika started taking orders for scoops of cookie dough, which she christened Scoopski.

Vedika’s mother, Sonal, helped her with sourcing products and preparing the dough. The duo first tested the product at a flea market in Kolkata’s Hindustan Park February 2018. 

Encouraged by the response to the product, Vedika went in for product and packaging development. She also convinced her mother, Sonal, to join her in the venture. 

“Being a homemaker for the last 25 years, she knew how to operate a small team and get the best out of them,” Vedika says. 

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 A woman’s business 

Being very young, just 21 at the time of incorporation of the company, the initial days were challenging for the entrepreneur.

It began at the time of registration itself when Vedika approached a couple of agents to help her with the procedure. 

“They charged me four to five times more than the market rate for licensing. They thought I was too young, inexperienced, and had not researched much. My father wanted me to go along with the rates they offered but I refused. Getting a company registered was not rocket science,” she says.  

Vedika also recalls how she had to visit and revisit government offices and police stations to get the company registered. “For something that took only a couple of minutes, I had to spend two months doing the rounds of offices. I was not taken seriously,” she adds. 

The company was incorporated in August 2018, under the name Vikson Foodworks, with an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh. 

Having overcome the initial challenges, Vedika was honoured as the youngest finalist of the Times of India Women Entrepreneurship Awards in 2019. Scoopski was also featured in LBB’s Emerging Brands Award in the Customer Product category. 

Hitting the sweet spot 

Vedika tied up with Swiggy, Zomato, and a couple of delivery agencies for local delivery of Scoopski in Kolkata. She focused on marketing, product and business development, while Sonal looked after production and operations. Besides the mother-daughter duo, Scoopski has a team of three women who manage production.

Once more people started reaching out to her through Scoopski’s Facebook and Instagram pages, from other parts of the country, Scoopski moved from Sonal’s home kitchen to a production unit. It further pivoted its model to be able to cater to a larger audience, in October 2018.

From scoops, the edible cookie dough was now moved to reusable glass jars, with proper labelling and usage descriptions, and sold on  its own website, instead of a third-party company. 

Vedika targets the “magical generation of millennials that all marketers strive to catch”.

Currently, Sccopski offers 11 flavours of cookie dough, and a prepaid Gift Card. The cookie dough jars range between Rs 300 and Rs 500 and are available in Nutella Chocochip, Caramel Sea Salt, Biscoff, Monster, Mint Chocolate, and Red Velvet flavours, among others.  

“My seven-year-old neighbour, Cookie, helps me create the flavours, and I consider views from our existing customers through social media polls before launching a new flavour,” Vedika reveals. 

Citing an example, she says that the blue-coloured Monster cookie dough was launched during Holi last year, and is made using digestive biscuits and M&Ms. “It was created to stimulate the nostalgia of eating tongue colouring candies.” Similarly, the red velvet cookie dough was launched during Valentine's week. 

The dessert business 

Scoopski’s primary revenue is generated through sales from its website. It also participates in expos and exhibitions around the country. It has tied up with four cafes in Kolkata, and Surat where it stocks its products. 

The cookie dough is preservative-free and thus, has a shorter shelf life. Its stays for 20 days in ambient condition, or three months in a freezer. “At this time, it serves as a solution for all working couples who do not want to take the effort of whipping up something from scratch on a date night,” Vedika says. 

Scoopski has recorded up to 120 percent CAGR since inception, generating a revenue of over Rs 30 lakh in the previous financial year. “We are anticipating a surge in ecommerce sales and are looking to double the sales figures this year,” she adds. Scoopski plans to start listing its products on LBB and Amazon soon.

Vedika is currently pursuing her master's in Food and Beverage Management at Bocconi School of Management in Milan, while Sonal manages the business back home.

“Many thought my venture was a pastime but I am very passionate about Scoopski, and I am still too young to fail,” Vedika says.