Gas crunch hits cloud kitchens, dreams of women entrepreneurs take a hit

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The ripple effects of global conflict have now reached the kitchens of ordinary citizens. A shortage of gas cylinders and soaring prices have put the city’s cloud kitchens in crisis. Many home-based entrepreneurs have halved their orders, while some have even limited their menu offerings. As a result, the dreams of several women entrepreneurs seem to be “on hold” due to the gas shortage.

A cloud kitchen is a restaurant that operates solely through online orders and delivers food directly to customers. There is no dine-in facility. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, many women run home-based businesses through such kitchens, with some even establishing full-fledged hotels from this venture.

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Orders cut by 50–60%

Due to commercial gas shortages and rising costs, several kitchens are on the verge of shutting down. To conserve gas, businesses now prefer simple dishes, removing complex or time-consuming items from their menus.

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Orders drop from 50 to 15 per day

Jyoti Puri from Harisai Park Society, Satara, who has been running a cloud kitchen for years, said, “Earlier, I used to receive 50 orders daily; now it’s down to 15. Even though our society got a gas pipeline recently, external conditions and shortages leave us no choice but to limit usage.”

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Priority to students and working professionals

Anjali Mule, also in the business, said, “Earlier, I took 40 orders a day; now only 15–20. Due to gas scarcity, we prioritise orders from students living alone or working professionals. Casual or non-essential orders are politely declined for now.”