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Running head: Fast Food Phenomena with ‘Pangra Express’

Fast Food Phenomena with 

‘Pangra Express’

Dipesh Kunwar

Westcliff University

BUS510: Marketing Management

Professor Gurkan Suzer

September 14, 2020

 
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Abstract

This paper gives insight into Nepal’s changing fast food business in reference to a local

brand called ‘Pangra Express’ which is a fusion of food truck and street food. New brands with

innovation and unique concepts have been able to establish themselves replacing old brands. We

discuss how PE has done its  Marketing Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning effectively.

SWOT  analysis will help us to have a better approach to strategic management and planning.

Furthermore, PESTLE analysis gives us detail on external environments affecting businesses like

Pangra Express which can be generalized in context of the whole fast food business in Nepal.

This paper has used scholarly articles, publication to get a better understanding of the subject

matter relevant for both SWOT and PESTLE analysis. 

Keywords:  Pangra Express, food truck, innovative, unique,  customer, market, business, 

Target, Segment, SWOT, PESTLE

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Background on Fast Food Trend

Nepal’s food market has changed rapidly in last decades. International franchises  like

KFC, Baskin and Robbins are more visible in the market along with many local brands which

have been able to establish themselves successfully replacing old brands with new innovation

and approach with their product and service. Brands like Dalle, Red Mud café, Himalaya Java

have successfully marketed themselves and won the heart of many people in their particular food

segment. Today we will be discussing a brand which is fairly new in the market but has made its

mark in the food truck segment.  

About Pangra Express

This brand was established in 2019 with an aim of becoming the first airstream trailer in

the food truck segment providing redefined street food mixing with fast food service standards.

Currently Pangra Express (PE) has two operating outlets with a separate central kitchen. Brand

has gained a huge momentum in social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and created a

huge buzz in the food truck segment. Its air stream look is one of its kind, which makes it

completely unique from other competitors who have approached the traditional way of using old

damage trucks from the garage.  Food is prepared in a well-hygienic central kitchen and

delivered every morning to be served fresh and tasty.  Food like MoMo, burger, fried, sausages

are served in a unique manner in terms of presentation and delivery. They have used eco friend

upcycled tables and furniture’s over Chinese furniture’s and created an interesting feel for their

customers.  Founding team of PE also has a popular Nepalese actress Mrs Reecha Sharma, who

has been handling media campaigns which in return have created a huge female following for

PE. Nepal and India have one of the youngest populations in the world. Both countries can be
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related in so many ways in terms of the  nature and characteristics of the fellow population which

seems to be similar in terms of taste and choices of food. According to Mathur (2016), 

customers' perceptions of a good fast restaurant are based on these five components, 1) Food

Quality 2) Service Standard 3) Food Variety 4) Ambiance 5) Location. Any fast food would take

these factors into consideration and even a slight error on one aspect can create a huge effect on

the success rate of the fast food joint. I will also try to bring insight on how these factors have

been addressed by PE. 

Nepal’s Food Market 

Nepal’s food segment has recently experienced an up-surging trend from the entrepreneur

and food enthusiast. Every month, there are eateries, bakeries, restaurants, fast food chains

opening in different parts of Kathmandu valley. We will not be wrong if we say the food

business is the most attractive business for Kathmandu valley people in recent years. Due to

overseeing recruitment of Nepalese manpower in the hospitality sector, a huge number of trained

manpower in the related field are returning back with investment and knowledge encouraged to

do something on their own.   Per Capita income of Nepalese have been rising and disposable

income has been increased leading to change in lifestyle and eating pattern amongst working and

student class. According to Kara (1995), people’s budget for restaurant / fast food have been

exceeding grocery store shopping since many decades.  Fast fast food business is all about

creativity and innovation, and globally if we look around there are food joints with thousands of

different concepts and creativity and it doesn’t seem to be setting off. Everyday new designers,

chefs, managers are working together relentlessly to give consumers new concepts and food to

create a buzz in the market. Pangra Express has created similar phenomena with its unique
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airstream design and innovative food menu which have successfully established this brand in a

short span of time. Innovation has been its key factor for the success compared to the other

similar brands. According to Simono, Giudice, & Bonadonna (2017), business based on

innovation and tradition have a unique competitive advantage and it helps the brand create a

connection with its surrounding, resulting in better performances and efficiency.

Segmentation, Target and Positioning

Market Segmentation is the process of dividing total population into different segments to

get closer to prospective customers. It’s a customer oriented process and its practices are widely

used by business in any type of market (Camilleri, 2018). It's important to segment your

population into different groups since it is impossible to target all the customers and satisfy them,

hence targeting helps you to get your most profitable target effectively.  

Segmentation

We will discuss in detail regarding how the four segmentation approach has been

observed with Pangra Express on Geographical, Demographic, Psychoanalysis and Behavioral

aspect. Demographic segmentation has been Kathmandu and Laltipur for now. In the food

business, it’s the customers who will physically visit the unit to experience the food and service,

PE currently has two food trucks, one in Labim Mall and another one in Baluwatar catering to

people from two geographical areas inside Kathmandu Valley. However delivery service is also

provided, which caters to any audience within the ring road. Demographics segmentation targets
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young consumers who are moving around frequently looking for places to eat. Menu range is

quite affordable giving an opportunity to cater to a wide range of middle class population. And

Psychographic segmentation has been created through extensive usages of social media

platforms for marketing and promotion. It automatically creates momentum in the younger

population who are more exposed to using mobile phones and computers. Consumers seem to

react to one marketing effort more specifically by creating a profile group of customers

(Andaleeb, 2017). If we draw upon conclusion that PE attracts people who want to be associated

with a cool, fashionable lifestyle, we will not be wrong, Frequent customers at PE are used to

taking different pictures and tagging in Instagram which was viral and still strongly in practice.

Food like burgers and sausages are choices of the young consumer which has been playing an

important factor addressing the behavioral pattern of the consumers.  

Targeting

After the marketing segment is completed, the next step is to identify the needs and wants

of the different segments. Most of the promotion campaign has been done by actress Reecha

Sharma, it has created targeted audience inclination towards more female teenagers compared to

male. According to Andaleeb (2017), globally there has been a trend of targeting women which

guarantees bigger growth. Menu prices have been designed in such a way that people can have a

good meal and a drink in less than Rs. 300. Hence lower and upper class people can afford PE. 

PE has successfully targeted young consumers of the age group of 16-25 and with a ratio of 80%

girls and 20% boys. Personality of the customers are easygoing and carfree. Potential customers

will be mainly looking for fast food and quick meals. 

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Positioning:

Positioning a brand gives the advantage of creating an impression in the consumer's

mind, by carefully selecting the attributes and benefits that brand promises to deliver. This

concept is also labelled as USP, a unique selling proposition (Andaleeb, 2017).  Pangra Express

slogan is ‘where foodies thrive’. We can see this slogan being frequently in their marketing

campaign and ads. PE’s positioning has been finding the correct location to highlight its brand.

Before one of the trucks was shifted to Baluwatar, it was placed outside Sherpa mall, next to D.S

Collection, which is the most popular female wear brand amongst teenagers from all over Nepal.

This location positing gave PE huge mileage in terms of visibility and walking by customers who

were visiting their famous garment store. Pangra gives the impression of offering top notch

quality food in value for money concept compared to overpriced KFC and Dalle MoMo.  Their

focus on modern style menu, street food in fashionable manner, affordable price, chic ambiance,

tasty food, consistent promotion has created a unique impression in their customers mind set. PE

truck at Labim Mall has been placed outdoors in a food court area which is frequently visited by

mall visitors who are willing to eat while they shop. Similarly fancy outlook and font being used

in the menu and different artwork, color choices attract the cool, young consumers, which serves

the expectation of their customer accordingly and creates a unique perception regarding the

brand. PE has been actively taking part in fairs and expos of the colleges where it targets its main

audience group directly.

 
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 SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is the best tool available in the business world to analyze strength,

weakness, opportunity and threat involved in an organization to enhance strategic management

and strategic planning (Dergisi, 2017). SWOT helps us analyze the internal and external situation

of a company and helps us understand what are the measures and resources it should prepare to

make the company reach towards the company's goal. Every business is constantly exposed to

their internal and external environment and SWOT gives us overview of it in general. Strength

and weakness elaborate internal factors and opportunities and Threat is for external factors

related to a company. In the diagram below, we will try to list down all the major points of

SWOT analysis. 

Strengths Weakness

-Unique truck design, one of a kind in the market, -Limited space inside truck for kitchen

first airstream trailer in Nepal modification 

-Innovative with food presentation and service, -Limited number of manpower inside

western and nepali style infused truck at one time due to space

-Strong presence in social media  -Easily Replicable Recipe

-Famous media person association  -Regular momo and burger variety in

-Good location, Labim Mall and the menu

Baluwatar(Opposite Bhatbhateni) -Limited seating space 

-Have central kitchen to support individual food -No breakfast option in the menu

trucks with purchase and production -No choices of drink variety like beer,

-Highly Professional team in kitchen and smoothie, coffee, milkshake etc

management  
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-Can be relocated easily, by using a crane since it’s  

a truck, not fixed investment.

Opportunity Threat 

-Open more outlets in different parts of Kathmandu -New entry of competition with similar

Valley and all over Nepal. attribute

-Can go into franchise model  -Unforeseen situation like Covid – 19

-More innovation with food, create different can damage the brand building process

segment of food like Burrito/Nachos in their menu  -Mall rental increment annually 

- Create menu to target veg/healthy eating audience -Lack of proper legal regulation in food

-Poor marketing done by competitors in social truck segment

media  -Changing food trend and preferences

-Usage of technology more efficiently -Low quality supplies 

-Improve on packaging and self-delivery concept -More health conscious customers

-Go full green by using recyclable products only -Other brand can easily copy the

  concept

-Manpower retention in long term

PESTLE ANALYSIS

PESTLE helps us analyze different factors (Political, Economic , Sociological,

Technological, Legal and Environmental) affecting or influencing a business's macro

environment. We don’t have any control over these environments hence we might have to
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change the business strategy accordingly. Environment is uncertain and it can always change its

nature impacting functionality on a regular basis (Tsiakkiros, 2002, as cited in Oraman, 2014).

Below chart will highlight the key points in PESTLE analysis done for Pangra Express. 

Politics - Very less impact on food business due to political changes

- Riot and political disturbance has been reduced significantly

Economy -Low Setup Cost for business

-Growing market and rising Per Capita Income 

-Inflation resulting in the price of supplies increasing regularly.

-Remittance money coming in, having more disposable income

Social  -Nepal is a young country with lots of youth population, and can tap into the

market. 

- Eating out culture and rising shopping mall trend concept in Nepal

-Changing lifestyle and spending out culture

-Acceptance to new style or trend in food and fashion

Technology -Affordable internet price and increased mobile phone users,  making

customers more social media apt. 

-Online sales trend is increasing

Legal  -Poor labor laws

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-Food truck cannot be placed in public places like Patan Durbar Square or

footpath in durbar Marg 

-High Tax rates for business

- No limitation on no of food joint opening in ratio of area size resulting in

unhealthy competition

- No proper legal policy to  govern the food business. Weak F&D

administration

Environment -Usage of recyclable, biodegradable material for service

-Conscious towards clean and healthy eating place 

-Off seasons during peak winter and monsoon 

-No power cut

Macro environment analysis has become essential to understand the market dynamics in

case of growing or starting a new business. By looking at this framework, many would see the

opportunity in the fast food market in Nepal. Market is open to new concepts and trends lately

and businesses can benefit from this changing social shift in consumer habits. Political changes

don't seem to be impacting the food business much. Economic changes due to rising per capita,

remittance income, young population seems to be positive factors for businesses like Pangra

Express. Lifestyle changes like eating out, spending culture are in demand and this is very

important for the food business in general. Similarly people are becoming more health,

environment conscious lately, so companies must follow a sustainable approach to create eco-

friendly business concepts which will help to create a positive impression in the market. Legal

aspect seems to be the worst out of all, since start up and businesses don't flourish where the
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government or legal bodies aren’t creating a comfortable environment for business to grow and

sustain. Hence legal factors should be carefully monitored otherwise it can create a negative

impact on the balance sheet of the company. 

Conclusion

This paper has discussed different aspects of Pangra Express competitive advantage by

doing. SWOT and PESTLE analysis. They have helped us get the clear idea of where this brand

stands and what are the potential of business growth in the future. Recently, local brands have
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been able to establish themselves in a professional manner and they are more room for

opportunity in this fast food segment. If the government improves its legal aspect on monitoring

and providing a platform for startup, more creative and innovative brands like PE will be able to

establish itself in the home ground. Studying the macro environment is as important as studying

its macro environment, together it will give us a strong idea on how to pursue the profitable

business model and better prepare ourselves with market’s uncertainties. 

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