Chappati maker rolls out the dough

[SINGAPORE] Talk about rolling in the dough.

It is what the Singapore-based developers of a chappati-making machine are doing, as customers from here and the US have snapped up the Rotimatic by the thousands after just a week of being put on pre-order in these two countries.

The tills rang to the tune of US$5 million in that short time. The start-up, Zimplistic, did not reveal the number of its flagship Rotimatic machines it managed to sell, but at US$599 a pop during the pre-order period, it works out to at least 8,300 units.

Zimplistic claims that the fully automatic Rotimatic is the first of its kind and meant for anyone who enjoys the popular Indian staple. The compact machine can churn up to 20 pieces of the tortilla-like flat bread each time.

Those who have pre-ordered the gadget will receive it only early next year. When the machine hits the shop shelves some time late next year, its fixed retail price will be US$999.

Zimplistic, which also has an office in California, was co-founded by husband-and-wife team Rishi Israni and Pranoti Nagarkar.

Mr Israni, a serial entrepreneur, is the company's chief executive officer; Ms Nagarkar, who came to Singapore to study on a Ministry of Education scholarship, is its chief technology officer.

Among the design company's investors listed on its website are NUS Enterprise, Spring Singapore and US-based investment company DGG Group.

Zimplistic is one of 15 Singapore start-ups that received grants totalling $6 million from Spring Singapore.

Efforts to contact Mr Israni and Zimplistic's marketing head Aman Pratap over the phone and by e-mail yesterday were unsuccessful.

In an indication of the buzz the Rotimatic has created, a four-minute YouTube video uploaded by Zimplistic to demonstrate how it works immediately went viral; the clip has registered nearly 2.8 million views to date.

Zimplistic's official Facebook page has more than 38,700 "likes", with people from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and Australia peppering the page with questions on Rotimatic's availability in their countries.

Mr Israni said in a statement earlier this month: "Zimplistic is changing the way people think about cooking by bringing them a smarter way to prepare food, and customers have been extremely receptive to and excited about this concept."

The company has kept mum on the other markets it is eyeing for expansion, but it is apparently planning to launch the Rotimatic in India some time down the road.

Consumer information posted on its website indicates that it will carry a lower price tag in India than in the US.

The website said: "The price of Rotimatic will vary by market and is dependent on factors such as after-sales partnerships, local taxes, logistics and the cost of doing business in each market. For example, the price in India will be lower than the price in the USA given economies of scale."