Colombo’s food scene is thriving with fresh concepts, and one such innovation is the ‘Bunwich’ being served by Pango’s Bunwiches. What’s a bunwich? Oshan Samaranayake, the founder at Pango’s, aimed to create something unique and tasty without a long preparation time. They reinvented the sandwich using burger buns. Once butter-toasted and pressed with a yummy filling inside, the buns transform into a Bunwich. This fresh take on an everyday food item has quickly caught the attention of food lovers across the city.
What makes the bunwiches finger-smackingly good? Off-the-shelf buns are loaded with preservatives and taste artificial when pressed and toasted. In order for the Bunwich to remain fresh and supremely tasty, the founders decided to bake their own buns and created their personal recipe to get Hokkaido Milk Buns. These buns lend a unique flavor to the offering and lead to an incomparable taste that leaves customers craving for more. Oshan Samaranayake adds, “We decided early to never compromise on quality. As popularity increased, we received requests to make prices more attractive. But to continue offering a superlative food experience, we never use low quality ingredients to boost sales. Customers love every bite of their Bunwich and want more.”
The Pango’s founders are big foodies themselves. Customer delight is at the heart of their operations and every item on the menu receives their stamp of approval and is prepared with love and care. Celebrity Chef Dush Ratnayake is the culinary genius behind the bun’s creation. Chef Dush is well known for creating world-class recipes using local ingredients. With him as inspiration, Pangos Bunwiches’ founders ensure that 95% of their ingredients are locally sourced, empowering the local industry and minimizing environmental impact.
In February this year, Pangos Bunwiches came into being through a ghost-kitchen and a delivery-only model. The idea was to test the product in the market and get early feedback. The founders credit Uber Eats’ support for a smooth entry and gradual growth for their business. The loved food-and-grocery delivery app, gave Pango’s Bunwiches access to a large customer base across Colombo which would have been challenging to reach via a single cloud kitchen. With delivery support, customer orders from different parts of Colombo, and the feedback that they got, the founders were able to scale quickly.
Uber Eats’ insights and tech-driven tools, such as data analytics and order tracking, have helped Pango’s Bunwiches optimize its operations. By studying order patterns and customer feedback, they’ve been able to fine-tune their menu, and continued to thrive. With sustainability at its core, Pango’s Bunwiches prides itself on eco-friendly packaging and eliminating plastics from its kitchen operations—values that resonate with a growing number of conscientious consumers. The founders are passionate about conservation and contribute a significant portion of sales to NGOs that carry out essential environmental conservation work such as Pearl Protectors, The Parrotfish Collective, and more.
Pangos’ Bunwiches is a story of passion for creating something new and of confidence to sticking to the values that the founders stand for. It’s also a story of collaboration and highlight how food delivery apps such as Uber Eats are empowering local entrepreneurs such as them and reshaping the culinary landscape for new-age food brands. The brand continues to not only survive but thrive in Colombo’s competitive market and has plans to open more outlets and expand their delivery radius even further.