It has finally happened, aapla ‘vada paw’ is ail set to. §0 national and then International. S Venkatesh, CEO of Balaji Cuisine Services Pvt Lid., faunched Gall ‘Wada Pav in Mumbai in 2004; and today they run a chain of 18 vada pav outlets from Lower Parel to Ambemath. Expanding into all cities of Maharashtra by this yearend, 8 national chain of 1500 stores (excluding the easter belt of India) is expected to be in piace: by 2012. So what is suadenly 50 unique about the vada pav? In three years, the company has sold more than 1.5 crore vada (pavs and caters to 18,000 customers daily, What makes this ‘happen? Balaji has a tie-up with Vista Processed Foods Pvt Lid., a subsidiary of the US based OS! Inc. OS! makes burgers for the ‘McDonald chain worldwide. The Goll vadas are made |in Vista's fully automated HACCP compliant plant at Taioja, which conforms to US health standards. The ‘fling or goll is prepared in the Balaji kitchen and packed and sealed at Vista, before being shipped to each outlet. Shyam Talewadekar, a quality contro! and kaizen expert, as an adviser to Bata! Culsine, ensures that the TOM process is in place... (Consumers today are @ brand conscious lot - be it personal products or consumer durables. Ditto for fast food, what appeals is branded burgers or Sandwiches, which camry the promise of hygiene and ‘quality. The success story of a McDonald or a Subway lies in the packaging and delivery af a standardized culinary experience. The Goll brand vada pav does the same. Venkatesh is convinced that most urban Indians crave ethnic fast food. For the Mumbaikar, vada pavs may be freely available but the disceming urban consumer is no longer willing to risk nis Stomach to products that do nat conform to his norms of hygiene and standardized taste. Goll ‘steps in to fill this gap. Story ‘The Goll chain of vade pav outlets (owned and franchised) in Mumbai, has taken off ina big way. After an 18 years stint in the financial sector, numbers come easy to Venkatesh. Take any major metro in India; he says, they easity boast of @ minimum of 50 lacs plus Population, approximately 40% of this being categorized as mobile people constantly on the move. imagine a typical workday morning in Mumbatthe rash hour, the forgotten breakfast, the quick cuppa tea or coffee near the bus stop or station, college or office and what do you have it with? If there is the option of some finger food, priced at Rs. 5 prepared in an automated, hygienic, standardized kitchen, easily available at innumerable: outlets, you would opt for it. Added to it, Is the -universal appeal of the cuisine - wheat and potatoes, with the ethnic touch of popular local spices. The product to date has.sold purely through word- of mouth. What is laudable is that it has created employment for the commonest of vendors; it is wealth generation at the grass root level and comes with professional training for the job thrawn in as 2 perk. Dr. Ramprakash Nair, a well-known: academician is associated with the Goll institute, which provides certified training to the Goll staff and franchisees. The branded vade pav message has taken the fancy of the media. UGC invited Venkatesh to present a paper on entrepreneurial management. in fact, at a US-tndie business Summit organized In Mumbal in November 2006, several NRIs showed interest in not only investing in Balaji Cuisine, but also in setting up outlets. in the US. So much So that a private radio channet in the US has recently invited Venkatesh for .0 live chat shaw on his product. Clearly, the mood is for ethnic fast food. And if you have it branded and standardized, why go for anything else?Meet the Vada-Pav Man ‘Winning Edge: How did this move from finance to fast food happen? §.Venkatesh: Fast food has always been my fancy, Finance was really a stopgap arrangement. Business is all about rewriting rules and I wanted w do that for the vada pav - make it go across boundaries, packaged in style. Like Warren Buffet said that every personal need is usually satisfied by branded products - all personal investments are about brands. ‘To me the vada pav is the most popular fast food in Maharashtra, and I still crave to eat it without doubting the hygiene aspect. So this is my chosen product and the geographical spread is still to find is bimirs. WE: So how has the journey been...the beanding and packaging of an unconventional product? SV: The opportunity is immense, We chose vada pav because it is an ethnic fast food - you can serve 50 picces in 5 minutes; it is a finger food having universal appeal and is mobile - anywhere, anytime. Anything heeween buns sells - be it McDonald's burgers or Subway sandwiches, and vada pav is no different. Except in that the taste is ethnic. In the initial period, the focus wens tomally on the backend of the business - R&D, quality, starch (water content of potatoes, technology tie- ups, etc. Today, the focus has shifted to marketing and increasing our geographical spread, The journey so far hus been eventful, esciting and now very rewarding, WE: Who comprises the think tank of Goli vada pay? SV: Shivdas Menon and I have been together since we conceived the project. We have a strong core team of 10 members. If we include our franchisee network, our total staff strength would be approximately 250, We We chose vada pav because it is an ethnic fast food - you can serve 50 pieces in 5 minutes; it is a finger food having universal appeal and is mobile - anywhere, anytime. Anything between buns sells - be it McDonald's burgers or Subway sandwiches, and vada pav is not any different. Except in that the taste is ethnic. have experts who monitor quality, logistics, training and now promotion, We train the manpower (at the Goli Center) before they become qualified franchisees, Our aim is to empower the common man, so anyone with a little drive and initiative can become our franchisee. Itis ‘our attempt at wealth creation for them.WE: What is the minimum investment required to become a Goli franchisee? SV: It is location dependent, but the franchisee investment can be as low as Rs 5 lacs, the space required being 150-300 sq ft. The fee includes franchisce training, ‘Rs 1.5 lacs is the franchisee fee and about Rs 3.5 lacs The idea was to let the popularity spread through word of mouth. It did, but more than that there has been a sudden interest in the media on the concept of branding vada pav. The next phase would now concentrate on romational activities. ‘goes towards the equipment and the interiors. The guidelines are clear....granite counters, red and white tiles, a red uniform, the Goli smile. Quality is controlled totally by us, Our competition presently is only from the unorganized sector, But do remember, Goli is as of now, ‘well known only in the ‘Thane belt. WE: Do you have a plan for lange-scale promotion of the Goli product? SV: | must confess we have been fortunate. The iden ‘was to let the popularity spread through word of mouth. It did, but more than that there has been a sudden interest in the media on the concept of branding, vada pav. The next phase would now concentrate on promotional activities The effort has begun with sponsorship of social events, Word of mouth interest and the media's curiosity in branding vada pav has helped a great deal. 22 ‘Visiting NRIs who sampled Goli vada pavs wanted to take it to the US. The expatriate population is a big market and interest levels are prompting us to expand further ‘WE: Does that mean that the Goli vada pav will also go international someday? SV: That is definitely a big dream, Goli vadla paw as the next big international fast food product. We do intend ts ‘up the ethnic population in the Gulf region and in USA. ‘WE: Is there a definite timeline for your growth plans? SY: Yes. 180 stores in Mumbai, Pune and Nasik by December 2008, In 2009 we shall be in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In 5 years we hope to be in most of the major cities of the country. The eastern part of India is the only belt, which we have not planned for as of now: Our international plans will take time. Hopefully, corporates will also very soon include Goli vada pavs in their working lunches, Interview by Aika Nayar @ Aka Neve is a gruste of ie WT and hes worked as a developrrerial barker fer a nuerber of years: Sh has alas worked (on export marketing. assignments anki consulting in Sowsign trae ‘She has taught af maragement retiutes and is presently workeng a a. comornte trainer,