FOOD/ ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL ...........STREET SMART

STREET SMART

FOOD INC 

Street food is going corporate, with white-collar professionals angling for a piece of the pie

Anubhuti Matta, a 22-year-old mass media student, was not allowed to eat street food as a child, for fear that it would make her ill. Lately, though, Matta has been snacking on golas from GoGola and wraps and rolls from Faasos, both kiosk chains that offer hygienic, affordable treats on the go.

“At these outfits, even though they are small and serve street food, a certain level of hygiene is guaranteed,” says Matta.

While GoGola is four years old and Faasos, three, a number of such streetfood kiosks have sprung up in Mumbai over the past four years, angling for a slice of the commercial capital’s burgeoning eating-out pie, now with discerning customers at every level.

Some of these launches include Kepchaki Momos and Lassi te Parrontthe in Bandra (West) and kiosk chains Universal Kabab Kona and Popular Sandwiches, all founded over the past four years.

Armed with degrees in management or marketing, a specialised product and a formal business plan, the founders of these new-age street stalls are bringing a degree of professionalism and corporate ethic to the so-far-largelyinformal sector.

Many of them even still have corporate day jobs.

“I expect to see several such chains come up over the next few years,” says Dheeraj Gupta, an MBA graduate who founded Jumbo King Vada Pav in 2001. “Earlier, investing in an Indian eatery meant that you had to sell several products, from idli to bhel puri, under one roof. Now there are many who, like us, have picked one product and are specialising in just that.”

Gupta, whose chain of wada pav stalls promises hygienic, affordable versions of the popular snack, now has 52 outlets across eight states, including 30 in Mumbai. “You might soon see specialised kiosks for just sev puri, or just idlis,” he says.

Some of this specialisation is already visible, in eateries such as the Lassi Te Parrontthe kiosk on a pavement off Carter Road in Bandra (West), which serves just the two items, in varied forms.

“It makes perfect sense from a business standpoint,” says restaurateur and chef Nachiket Shetye. “Mumbai’s street food sector is largely unorganised, so there is currently not much competition from formal establishments. If you use corporate know-how to set up shop and begin to offer a branded, hygienic product that is consistent and affordable, you’ll have a large ready audience.”

Convenience and social networking skills — in lieu of a publicity budget — are a huge factor too. “One of our USPs,” says Kallol Bannerjee, an MBA and co-founder of Faasos, “is that, in addition to delivering quick, well-packaged food, we take home delivery orders on Twitter.”

• Pankti Mehta HT130623