This 20-YO Girl Brings NYC Dessert Culture to Delhi with Her Cloud Kitchen to Fill the Gap in Premium Global Desserts; Made ₹8L in 3 Months

At the age of 13, Ridhima Nagpal (20), founder and owner of Delhi-based Tuff Muff & Co., travelled to New York City with her mother. During that visit, she experienced a dessert culture very different from what she had known. 

She noticed the vibrant energy of the city, the patience of customers waiting in long lines, the excitement around limited-time special drops, and the bold, indulgent style of New York desserts. 

That moment left a lasting impression on her and later inspired her vision to recreate the same experience and vibe through her own cloud kitchen in Delhi.

“I remember seeing those thick, chunky cookies, and when I came back, I felt nothing here matched that vibe. I wanted to introduce Delhi to that same energy, because it’s not only about the taste; it’s also about the vibe that New York City brings to a person,” Ridhima Nagpal tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Today, she owns a Tuff Muff and Co. that offers Delhiites and nearby customers NYC-style cookies, brownies, cookie pizzas, butter cakes, and more, making her brand the city’s first NYC-style bakery.

Over the next three to four months, the cloud kitchen will fine-tune its franchise model for the launch of a new chain of retail takeaway outlets.

About the Owner of Tuff Muff & Co., Ridhima Nagpal

Born and brought up in Delhi, Ridhima completed her schooling at Ryan International School in 2023. She belongs to an entrepreneurial family. Her father, Pankaj Nagpal, works in the B2B travel industry as a founder and MD, and has been very supportive, helping her negotiate property deals and providing initial capital. 

Her mother, Sucheta Nagpal, works alongside her husband in the same company as a co-founder and CEO. After completing her schooling, Ridhima began pursuing a BA (Hons) in Psychology from the School of Open Learning, University of Delhi, and is currently in her second year.

Alongside her academics, Ridhima undertook professional culinary training at the International Institute of Culinary Arts (IICA), Hauz Khas, New Delhi, from August 2023 to November 2024, a rigorous 15-month program. 

During this time, she earned certification as a Pastry Chef and Baker from City & Guilds (UK) and was also certified by the World Association of Chefs' Societies (Paris). 

"Doing a professional course propels you ten steps forward. While you can learn recipes online, the basic techniques and foundation come from hands-on learning with professionals," Ridhima tells Startup Pedia.

Initial Inspiration

Following her grandmother’s passing, Ridhima’s grandfather shared her old handwritten recipe diaries. Ridhima would often read through the notes for tea cakes and cookies, attempting to recreate those familiar flavours in her own kitchen. 

"I don’t come from a culinary background at all. It’s just that my grandmother was a baker. After she passed, I went through all her handwritten recipes, old recipes for cookies and tea cakes, and that is how my love for baking began," the Muff & Co. founder tells Startup Pedia.

At first, many of her attempts failed, but she continued experimenting, improving her technique, and deepening her understanding of the science behind baking. 

She recalled her journey as a teenager in New York City,  when she was introduced to a completely different dessert culture. 

Blending that inspiration with her passion for baking cookies and tea cakes, she channelled the nostalgia of New York-style desserts into her creations and launched her home bakery in 2022.

First Experiment, Investment & Growth

While operating her home bakery, Ridhima was also encouraged by her friends to start selling her products. 

Initially, she invested around Rs 15,000-20,000, which she sourced from her father, to run the bakery and created an Instagram page to market her treats. 

By selling cookies, pancakes, brownies, and pastries, she generated a revenue of approximately Rs 60,000, mainly because she had no overhead costs such as electricity or rent, as she was working from her home kitchen.

A major turning point came when she received a bulk order for 40 brownie boxes for an event. This made her realise that she should pursue baking professionally, which eventually led her to enrol in professional baking certification courses.

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About Tuff Muff & Co.

Tuff Muff & Co. is a premium dessert cloud kitchen inspired by New York City culture, focusing on thick, chunky American-style cookies and indulgent desserts. 

It was founded in November 2025 and is named after Ridhima’s dogs, Toffee, Muffin, and Coco. Located in Hauz Khas, South Delhi, the cloud kitchen is strategically positioned to deliver across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad.

With an investment of around Rs 10 lakh, funded through personal savings and family support, Ridhima set up the space in a 200 square foot area.

The setup is divided into two sections: a commercial kitchen and a studio space. 

The commercial kitchen is where production takes place and is equipped with professional equipment such as refrigerators, ovens, deep freezers, and large ingredient bins. The studio space is used for product shoots, content creation, and brand visuals.

The total team strength is around seven people. The kitchen team consists of four members, including an assistant baker, who leads operations in Ridhima’s absence, and two interns who assist with dough preparation, stacking, baking, packaging, and delivery coordination.

The logistics team includes three dedicated delivery riders. During peak periods or for distant locations, the brand occasionally uses third-party services such as Porter or Uber, though it prefers in-house delivery to ensure better product handling and customer experience.

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Challenges that Ridhima is currently facing

As a 20-year-old female founder, Ridhima initially faced significant challenges with property dealers and suppliers, who often dismissed her as too young or inexperienced when she was negotiating for a space for her cloud kitchen and sourcing ingredients. 

"Founder life at 20 is a mix of everything, chaos and excitement, failing and learning. Every day is different; some days I’m developing flavours, other days I’m putting out operational fires," she says.

From a cultural perspective, she believes Delhi still lacks a strong appreciation for premium, large portion international desserts like those commonly seen in New York City or Paris. 

Customers often question why her cookies are priced at Rs 300 per cookie, and she frequently has to explain that these cookies are not regular small biscuits but 200 gram, large format NYC style gourmet cookies made with carefully selected premium ingredients such as Belgian and French dark chocolate like Callebaut, Belcolade, and Valrhona, high cacao chocolate chunks, European style high fat butter and French cultured butter for richer flavor, dark brown sugar and muscovado with organic cane sugar for deep caramel notes. 

The work is also physically and mentally demanding. For instance, during Valentine’s week, she and her team worked until midnight baking and fulfilling orders. 

As a founder, she manages multiple responsibilities at once, including baking, packaging, marketing, finances, GST filing, and handling operational challenges such as delivery issues when riders reach the wrong location.

"I had to navigate the adult world very early, negotiations, dealing with suppliers, finances, and GST filing. Handling these things at 20 is a lot, but it has made me sharp," the Delhi-based cloud kitchen founder tells Startup Pedia.

Operations and Production

Ridhima follows a small batch, order-based production model at Tuff Muff & Co. The team does not mass-produce and prepares all desserts fresh after receiving orders to maintain quality and consistency. 

The kitchen opens daily at 11:00 AM, and deliveries are scheduled in fixed slots, typically from 12 PM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 8 PM, allowing sufficient time for baking, cooling, and packaging. Strict standardisation is maintained across portion size, taste, and quality to ensure a consistent customer experience with every order.

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The Unit Economics of Tuff Muff & Co.

Tuff Muff and Co. products are priced between Rs 299 and 4,500.

With an average order value of around Rs 600, the young entrepreneur shared the cloud kitchen’s unit economics breakdown:

• Rs 220–250 goes into raw ingredients and packaging.

• Rs 40–50 is spent on the food delivery platform commission on average.

• Rs 20–30 covers kitchen operations, including rent, electricity, utilities, and equipment upkeep.

• Rs 15–30 is allocated to marketing and promotions, such as Instagram content, creators, and seasonal offers.

After accounting for all costs, the net profit ranges between Rs 200 and Rs 250 per order.

Business Model and Operational Revenue

Tuff Muff & Co. operates on a D2C model, where the majority of orders come directly through its website, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Recently, the cloud kitchen also partnered with Swiggy to expand the reach of its products across the NCR.

Since November 2025, the cloud kitchen has served approximately 1,200 customers and delivers around 25 to 30 orders per day, amounting to nearly 2700-3,000 orders so far. The business has generated an operational revenue of around Rs 8 lakh to date.

Goals Ahead

Ridhima aims to focus on strengthening her production capabilities by hiring a larger team to overcome capacity bottlenecks, expanding her menu beyond just cookies, and aggressively growing her customer base. 

Her long-term strategy involves moving beyond the cloud kitchen model to establish retail partnerships and eventually open multiple outlets and a flagship physical store that recreates the authentic New York vibe. 

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