Their Instagram bio states, ‘Two best friends, sharing their love for Food, Travel, and Lifestyle.’ Rashmi and Sonakshi, co-founders of @afoodiecookie, are each other’s better halves. In an interaction with these two MBA students, they recall meeting each other on the first day of college at Delhi University. Being the Foodies they were, they started trying out different restaurants and street food dishes around the city soon after. The lenient attendance scene at their college was a blessing in disguise for them. After being repeatedly bombarded by their classmates and seniors for cafe recommendations, Rashmi and Sonakshi thought it would be easier to have a platform for putting up their recommendations and creating content. And that is how @afoodiecookie was born. After actively posting for over six months, they hit the 10K mark. ‘Posting consistently is key. Always schedule your post and stories, and study your insights,’ the duo recommends.
They believe that your passion matters more than your budget or the gadget you use for food photography. ‘We still click all our pictures on our smartphones,’ states Rashmi. ‘We also try to post more videos as they get more engagement,’ adds Sonakshi. The foodie duo also believes in sharing responsibility in every aspect. They have collaborated with brands like Lays, Cadbury, Domino’s, amongst others in the past.
Talking of hate and online trolling, they admit to having been on the receiving end of the same. However, positive comments and appreciation posts are far more in comparison, and that’s why the duo preaches focusing on the positive while ignoring the hate.
Their food voyages are not restricted to Delhi only. They have explored West Bengal, Punjab, and even Canada and France, amongst other places. ‘We’ll go wherever food takes us, and vice-versa,’ claims SonakshiUpon being asked for blogging tips, they say, ‘Keep an eye out for what’s trending on the platform and your industry. Understand your audience and try to change your content accordingly while holding on to your niche. It’s equally important to try every feature of the platform you’re on. Case in point: Reels on Instagram. Also, engaging with customers is key.’
Like other bloggers, their handle too witnessed a surge in followers post lockdown. They went from 70K-80K followers to 106K followers and counting. To cater to the needs of their audience, they started putting out recipe videos on their handle while restructuring older content.
At the moment, the two fellow foodies are in a long-distance relationship, and all the planning takes place on WhatsApp. From helping them make videos at home to actively participating in photography, their families, too, have been nothing but supportive in this food journey of theirs.
‘You can’t fake it in the long run,’ they claim. The only thing that’ll take you forward in this game is creating content daily, putting out what interests you, and not doing it for the money. They follow the 3P’s phenomenon: Patience, Passion, and Perseverance. A quote they live by is, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ Looking at their journey, we definitely agree.
