Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes • Hacker News Board

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#71

Post by EvilEndures » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

walrus01 wrote: post #60

EvilEndures wrote: post #58

This seems like you are working off of TastyBite's playbook: http://tastybite.com/products/ > The options were expensive, time-consuming, or tasted horrible. Tasty bite tastes decent, takes 60-90 seconds to heat up, and costs about $3/package with no need for refrigeration. --- This seems like a YC to clone TastyBite without any differentiation beyond the nebulous "quality food". So.... Are you telling me your qualit…

It looks to me like the biggest difference is that these are not sealed, they're perishable. Tasty bite can be kept at room temperature for 9+ months. Costco in the Seattle area also now sells some tasty bite bulk packs.

> It looks to me like the biggest difference is that these are not sealed, they're perishable. Tasty bite can be kept at room temperature for 9+ months.

Yeah, which isn't really a positive unless it saves on sodium/etc. If it does, its really a niche "healthy" version of TastyBite and they need to market it as such.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#72

Post by foolfoolz » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

EvilEndures wrote: post #58

This seems like you are working off of TastyBite's playbook: http://tastybite.com/products/ > The options were expensive, time-consuming, or tasted horrible. Tasty bite tastes decent, takes 60-90 seconds to heat up, and costs about $3/package with no need for refrigeration. --- This seems like a YC to clone TastyBite without any differentiation beyond the nebulous "quality food". So.... Are you telling me your qualit…

tasty bites are super cheap at costco, 12 pack for like $16

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#73

Post by ddorian43 » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

foobaw wrote: post #57

ddorian43 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just milk and eggs are $20 week for me (5 eggs + 1.5 liter milk / day)

There are cheaper alternatives for weight gain or protein if cost is an issue. For instance, tuna, peanut butter, olive oil, protein powder...

Also take protein powder. I hate tuna. Peanut butter is more expensive. Olive oil has no protein.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#74

Post by mitraraman » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

23andwalnut wrote: post #15

mitraraman wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you! Yes, everything is vegan but I totally understand your need for more meat dishes. Under 'How To Eat' on each product page we've added what meat we suggest mixing with the dish. More detailed recipes to come! Thanks for the feedback. Example: https://thebuttermilkco.com/collections/singles/products/sam...

Just curious, is the decision to keep everything vegan tied to the 5 minute requirement?

No, definitely not! It just so happens that our first dishes ended up being vegan. We have a few recipes in our pipeline that are not strictly vegan but have the same convenience factor as all our current dishes.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#75

Post by xenihn » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

EvilEndures wrote: post #71

walrus01 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks to me like the biggest difference is that these are not sealed, they're perishable. Tasty bite can be kept at room temperature for 9+ months. Costco in the Seattle area also now sells some tasty bite bulk packs.

> It looks to me like the biggest difference is that these are not sealed, they're perishable. Tasty bite can be kept at room temperature for 9+ months. Yeah, which isn't really a positive unless it saves on sodium/etc. If it does, its really a niche "healthy" version of TastyBite and they need to market it as such.

It doesn't seem to have any less sodium.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#76

Post by vram22 » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

dotBen wrote: post #30

I think you should consider your addressable market to be greater than Indian expats - I'm a Brit and I miss my curry living here as much as anyone from India! Two quick thoughts: 1) I don't get your branding, especially the company name, and especially as all of your meals are vegan. 2) Shipping meat-based meals is presumably a very different and more expensive logistical challenge so I get the reason why there's no…

I saw Mitra's reply downthread, but adding my 2c as an Indian:

Buttermilk is commonly drunk with meals in India (both North and South, although lassi is very popular in the North too), and also separately as a refresher, more so in summer, often lightly spiced with cumin, hing (asafoetida), etc. and sometimes with a few green chillies in it (for the brave - heh:), and is considered a soothing drink, and also healthy and wholesome. In fact I remember a childhood friend of mine saying that (as we both drank a glass each of buttermilk at lunch at his house), and it stuck in my memory. And it is really that - soothing.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#77

Post by hotpotjunkie » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

ddorian43 wrote: post #53

hotpotjunkie wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop buying the most expensive things at whole foods then.

Tell me a better/cheaper protein source.

The eggs and milk that aren't the most expensive ones at whole foods? Also, whey powder.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#78

Post by koala_man » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

Right up my alley. Thanks for using Amazon/Paypal/Google checkout integration properly, and not just to pre-fill some info while making me create Yet Another Shopping Account.

One bug: the Amazon cart discarded my old items after I added new ones.

Steps to reproduce: 1. Add a sampler to the cart 2. Try to check out using Amazon 3. Discover that shipping is $6, or free shipping at $35+ 4. Go back and add a few more items 5. Try to check out with Amazon again

Expected result: The items all show up, now at the $35 level

Actual result: Only the newly added items were show

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#79

Post by mitraraman » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

kareemm wrote: post #16

> We’re also exploring new shelf-life extension technologies (such as HPP) What is HPP?

HPP = High Pressure Processing or Pasturization. It's essentially doing the same thing to the product as dehydration would, but maintaining the freshness and quality of the food. While dehydration makes a product shelf-stable for an extended period of time, HPP food still requires refrigeration but can stay fresh for up to 90 days (sometimes more)!

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#80

Post by mitraraman » Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

opportune wrote: post #12

mitraraman wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are! You can find them on the single product pages on the last picture. (Ex upma: https://thebuttermilkco.com/collections/singles/products/upm... )

I would suggest making these either a bit clearer or easier to find. For example, on this page the image with the nutritional information is pretty small. Pictures can be ok but I would really prefer the info in text/chart form

Noted. Will definitely update the website accordingly. Thank you!!