Goli - The branded vada pav with a shelf-life of nine monthsGoli Vada Pav in Mumbai has the distinction of being the only kind of machine-made vada pav that is standardised and has a shelf life of nine months. S Venkatesh Iyer, the brain behind the concept of Goli Vada Pav, said the company - Goli Vada Pav - has partnered with OSI Inc, which has been processing and supplying food to McDonald's for the last forty years. "Right from slicing, peeling and dicing each process is completely automated. The process involved is similar to that of making a McDonald's burger. These vadas - or golis as they are called - after being prepared, are frozen at - 18 degrees Celsius and then packed. These packets are marked with the date of manufacture and the date of expiry," he said. At the Goli outlets, these vada pavs unpacked, deep fried and served. Venkatesh said that all the 75 outlets of the company are supplied with the vadas made in the factory. "At present, we have outlets in 75 different locations in the country. Other than Mumbai and Pune, we have outlets mostly in Tier-II cities like Nasik and Nagpur. We are also planning outlets overseas. Our vadas can be shipped to any place in the world," he said. In the age of multinationals brands, there is a need to create desi brands, he pointed out. "I remember my neighbour, a vice-president of Kellogg's, who quit his job after many years. He used to say that no matter what foreign food brand an Indian may use he would eat only ethnic or desi food. These things triggered our venture. A vada pav is a 100 per cent desi food, which can be eaten on the go," he said. Venkatesh or Venky as he is known to his friends said that after working for 15 years in the field of finance, one day when he told his investors and friends about opening a vada pav business, everyone said, "You are giving us goli." "That gave me the reason to call the company Goli Vada Pav," he said with a smile. Venkatesh kicked off the venture in Kalyan, a far-off suburb of Mumbai, in 2004. "It was a small outlet with around 200 square feet (sq ft) of space. We started selling vadas and tea with other snacks like samosas. Initially, we faced many challenges, such as huge wastage, pilferage and quality issues," he said. Currently, the company has an annual turnover of Rs 10-12 crore. It hopes to double the figure this fiscal. "We plan to add another 50 outlets this year. Our revenue target for the next five years is Rs 180 crore, and presence expanded to 500 outlets," he said. Goli plans to get into a couple of other formats, too. "We plan to get into small kiosks of size 75 sq ft with one staff manning it and serving just one product - vada pav. In the next five years, we plan to set up 1,000 to 1,500 of these outlets. The other format would be large outlets in the size of 1,000 to 4,000 sq ft with a staff size of 10 to 12 manning it. These would serve 11 to 12 of the products," he said. Venkatesh plans to add pav bhaji to the dinner menu in the coming days. "In the mornings we have sandwiches or bread bhaji with tea as people don't prefer fried stuff. Similarly, in the evenings the pav bhaji would attract a number of people," he said. --- Nandakumar          |
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