From home kitchens to online orders: Pakistan’s women chefs cook up a digital revolution
KARACHI: At 51, single mother Anjum Nida Rahman has transformed her Karachi kitchen into a bustling food business. What began as a passion for healthy recipes has grown into Lo-Kal Bites, a gluten- and sugar-free brand known for its pizza and best-selling chocolate mousse.
Rahman joined foodpanda’s home chef platform in 2022. Today, she employs a team of four across Karachi and Lahore, dispatching dozens of parcels daily.
“The money that I make in this business helps me provide for my son,” she told Arab News. “I’m a single mother … Our business is enough for us to have this [small] team.”
Rahman is part of a digital food revolution. Nearly 6,000 women across Pakistan are now selling everything from French desserts to Burmese Khow Suey and Moroccan chicken through foodpanda, the country’s largest food delivery service. For many, it is the first time they have been able to monetize traditional family recipes and reach customers far beyond their neighborhoods.
