Interview with Bakus from Chachenga, a Beninese street food food truck.
Where does Chachenga come from?
Chachenga was created a year and a half ago by Wassia, who is a dietician, my brother Dona, who worked in insurance, and Bakus, who worked for 10 years in the telecoms industry. The three of us got together, and since we're all gourmets and lovers of good food, we decided to create a Beninese street-food foodtruck.
Tcha-tchan-ga is originally a spice from Benin, which is very, very spicy. We make this spice ourselves, and we absolutely want to keep its authentic and unique taste, even if it's less spicy. So, after 3 years and many return trips to Benin, we were able to create it, and that's how Chachenga was born. Beyond the spice, the sinews of war are the meat. During these 3 years of research, I immediately wanted to work on quality. Our meat comes from organic or sustainable agriculture, and our artisan butcher works directly with the breeders. Tcha-tchan-ga is adored by the Beninese. As soon as you get off the plane, you're going to eat it! That's why for us, the most important thing is the quality and authenticity of our recipes and taste.
Are you based in Paris or elsewhere? What are Chachenga's future projects?
At first, we had 2 locations in Rosny Sous Bois, but after a few months we were able to join the Street Food en Mouvement association, and took part in several events and festivals. We were also able to take part in France's biggest food truck festival in Saint Maur, and to influence the French market. Florian On Air was able to tour the 50 trucks and taste all the dishes to rank the best flavors, and we came 2nd. We didn't expect it at all, knowing that the year before we'd been there as a customer, dreaming of one day being one of the participants.
We also do events for weddings, birthdays, Valentine's Day in restaurants etc., and this gives us ideas for the future. We may open a restaurant one day, but we're very happy to have started with a Food Truck, not only to develop our community but also for the human side, which is very important to us. Even if our long-term goal is to open a restaurant.
Otherwise, whenever we get the chance, we go back to Benin to recharge our batteries, but also for our business. Typically, at the beginning of the year, we brought back a non-iodized salt that's really good, and we've been able to recreate other spices and recipes.
Today we're also in Paris, in the 13th, 17th and 19th arrondissements, so come and see us!
How does Pongo help you as a restaurateur?
Initially, like all restaurant owners, we started out with loyalty cards, and when I contacted you, your solution attracted us, particularly because it was digital, in keeping with the times, and environmentally friendly, since it didn't require any paper. It's enabled us to build customer loyalty in a different way and earn them cool stuff. Our customers appreciate this kind of solution, because we're aiming for zero waste, and a lot of them used to complain about losing their loyalty card, whereas with the tablet it's simple and non-aggressive, because you just ask for the phone number. No need to ask 10 questions about the person before they can have their desserts.
Do you use other digital/marketing tools for your restaurant?
We've developed click & collect with Siouplait, which helped us a lot during COVID, because it's grown so much. The two tools work very well together, especially when we run SMS campaigns, which give us a much wider reach. Particularly after COVID, when we were able to inform all our customers of our progress.
How did you manage COVID?
At first, we stayed at home like everyone else, for a month and a half. It was a bit stressful at first because we didn't know how long we'd be in this situation, but then we quickly realized that it was good for us and for the business. When you start a new business, and as an entrepreneur, you're running all over the place, you don't stop, and it's impossible to take a step back. This rather special period allowed us to reflect on our concept and its future, and I think it was totally beneficial. So, after a month and a half without working, we took a few polls on Instagram to find out whether it was worthwhile doing delivery work. We also made a lot of video tutorials to teach people how to cook Beninese recipes. And that's how we started delivering. It was the first time we'd done it, and we didn't want to go through the various existing platforms, because even if they give you visibility, they're too expensive and not in our brand DNA. So we made the deliveries ourselves, asked our friends and family for help, and delivered to almost the whole of the Ile de France region. It was extremely difficult, but we realized that there was a real need. We did 2 delivery sessions a week and served 150 dishes!
How is the recovery going and how do you see the "post-COVID" period?
We're quite optimistic, and we'd really like to open up the delivery side of the business, which we didn't do before. On the other hand, we'd like to keep our independence and work with associations or self-employed entrepreneurs, and it's important that it's eco-responsible and humane.
The takeover went well, because during part of the lockdown we were active and we were able to win over new customers who didn't know our dishes. Just before the lock-up, we had applied for other locations, particularly in Paris. Today we work Tuesdays to Fridays, whereas before we worked Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and we have a total of 5 locations. We're passionate about food trucks, and even if sometimes it's hard because we feel like we're moving every day, the fact that our customers are totally committed to our concept and all the positive feedback we're getting makes us want to keep going, motivates us and makes us want to go even further.
Getting back to tools, what are you missing in your day-to-day life?
A tool to manage logistics would be perfect, as we waste a lot of time organizing our food truck. Inventory, food products, etc. Since we're on the move every day, we're always on the go and don't seem to have the time to look for new tools, which is why COVID came in handy.
Last words of the end
The most important thing for us, and this is our guiding principle, is quality. When people go to eat in a restaurant or a food truck, it's for the pleasure and enjoyment of their mouth. It's important to us that they're always satisfied with what we offer. Logistics are important to us, but we don't want to lower our costs and have poorer quality food.
