Famous Street Food of Maharashtra

How You Can Start its Business Anywhere

The street food from India is well known around the world. People travel to India and enjoy the wide variety of dishes offered in the country. The street food found in India is sumptuous, especially the street food from the metro city of Mumbai. The city has a huge base of street stalls and vendors which offer sumptuous dishes.

The Mumbai snacks cut across all the barriers of caste, class, gender, religion, etc. Mumbai is the melting pot for culture, being the capital and the largest urban area of Maharashtra. Vada Pav is the most famous delicacy Mumbai offers to its people.

The wide variety of delectable vegetarian street foods include:

• Bhelpuri: Savoury snack made from rice puffs.
• Dahi puri: The chaat is mini puris filled with curd, chutneys, onion, and tomatoes.
• Sevpuri: The tangy, sweet, and spicy chaat is made from crispy puri, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and different chutneys, finished with sev.
• Sandwiches: Slices of bread filled with sauce, chutney and vegetables.
• Panipuri: Crunchy mini puris filled with tangy water.
• Pav bhaji: The ‘Bhaji’ that is mashed, the mixed vegetable is served with bread buns.
• Ragda-patties: Mashed potato patties served with gravy.
• Dosas: South Indian dish in which thin rice and dal base is filled with potato-based filling.
• Chinese bhel: A Chinese twist to the Indian bhel.
• Idlis: South Indian dish in which rice balls are served with vegetable soup.
• Misal Pav: It is made from sprouted moth beans.
• Vegetable Frankie, which happens to be a cheaper version of wraps.
• Kulfis and Golas are among the favourite dessert options.
• Paan: The Betel leaf is combined with areca nuts and other condiments. It helps in proper digestion and also serves as a mouth freshener.

The non-vegetarian snacks include kebabs, fish, and omelette-pav.

The plus points of Mumbai Street food include:

• The mouth-watering delicacies keep the Mumbaikars happy and filled on a budget.
• Healthy and filling food options.
• Easy to digest.
• Easily accessible to people from all socio-economic background
• Perfect snacks for evening time and brunch.

Since the 1980s, Chinese food has sprung up on the streets of Mumbai. The status of being a Cosmopolitan has not been able to rob the city of its authentic flavours. The rise and concentration of food points in the khau Gallis, which is a food alley in Marathi. Nariman Point is a sought-after spot for street food. The bhelpuri and kulfi from Girgaum Chowpatty are famous in Maharashtra.

One of the key concerns which keep the middle and upper class from enjoying street foods is hygiene and food safety. Many restaurant owners and hotel chains have encashed on this fear of the customers and have offered safer options. The finger-licking good street food has penetrated the restaurant market in Mumbai. Five-star hotels also look up to the street preparations for inspiring food. Homegrown fast-food companies have sprung up in Mumbai in recent times.

Setting up a Street Food Venture

Starting and running a food business comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. One needs to be always ready to face the challenges and accept the rewards. With the pandemic knocking on our shores, people have shifted to safe eating choices, moving away from the roadside food to safe kitchens. Many people have shifted to ordering food in their homes’ safety, while others still prefer going out and enjoying the outing while having food. The restaurant industry is expected to witness a boom in 2021.

One can refer to this article for all the important points to be taken care of.

Devise a Business Plan

The first step towards setting up your own business is understanding the business’s nuances and making a pathway for the same. First of all, one needs to write up a business plan. A business plan must cover the following points:

• The type of business entity and proprietorship must be pre-decided. If the enterprise is an LLC (Limited Liability Company), the entity must be recognised.
• The concept of the food business. If the eating joint will provide seating arrangement, would provide home delivery, be a service truck, etc.
• The marketing, brand name, logo, etc. The unique selling point of the brand.
• The target audience of the brand. The market scope of your offering must be well-researched.
• The concept of the food joint affects the pricing of the food offered.
• Choose the best place for your business to attract the target audience.
• Set up the budget for resources, inventory, rent, utilities, etc.
• Decide the menu to be offered to the customers. Each item’s price must be decided after including the profit percentage to be earned and taxes to be deducted.
• Staffing plans must be extensively considered. Break down staff into categories.

Planning is the foundation of execution.

Buy the Equipment for your Food Outlet

You should consider the type of business while deciding the equipment to be bought. Consider the following expenses while determining the equipment to be bought and rented for your business.

• Appliances for the kitchen such as grillers, ovens, fryers, cooktops, etc.
• If you require cold storage appliances to store meat, ice-cream, etc.
• Work surfaces are essential to be considered. These include cutting boards, countertops, etc.
• Small-sized cookware to fry and sauté. Baking sheets, butter paper, oiling brush, etc., are vital investments.
• Knife sets, ladles, tongs are important kitchen utilities.
• Glassware, silverware is vital if you are serving food. Barware must be considered for the brewery setups.
• Furniture and other furnishings such as table cloths, napkins are required to beautify your furniture.
• If you include a pickup or delivery service, you need to consider bags, packaging, automobiles to deliver, etc.

One needs to understand that every food establishment is different. Thus, they’ll have different requirements.

Assemble your Team

The size and extent of your business will be vital to decide the staffing number and specialisations. Job hopping is a common trend in the food industry. While hiring, one must interview the employee well enough to check for red flags.

Different staffing requirements arise for different kinds of food outlets. One must consider the following points while hiring people for the business:

• What is the unique food product offered by the food outlet?
• Does the person offer quality?
• How to serve food?
• Who will cook?
• How many dishes are to be offered?
• How experienced and proficient should the staff be?
• How much is one willing to pay to the staff?

Getting Permits and Licenses

While setting up a business, permits and licenses are vital for the food outlet’s smooth functioning. Health and safety standards are essential to be applied and followed strictly. The food industry is quite strict in licensing and permits as the food products are to be consumed by the customers. One must go through the complete process of identification and permit.

One needs to understand the permit requirements of the specific food business you are going to set up. The local authorities look over your process and the food items you sell. The quality of the food and drinks sold must be regularly checked and maintained.

The point of Sale (POS) system must be set up.

POS is an integral part of the food business today in the world of online ordering and pickup. One must devise and design a perfect POS for the restaurant. The processes, like printing tickets, online and offline orders, customising table layouts, etc., are covered under the POS.

Analytical and data insights are also an important part of POS systems. Reporting the analytics and working on the data responses are important to consider. This helps the business to identify trends and act accordingly regarding inventory and staffing. One needs to identify the right POS system for the type of food business to be set up.

Also Read:

1) Famous Street Food of Manipur
2) Famous Street Food Of Kerala
3) Famous Street food of Himachal Pradesh
4) Famous Street Food Of Goa
5) OkCredit: Simple, Paperless & Secure solution for businesses

FAQs

Q. What are some USPs of Mumbai Street food?

Ans. The Mumbai street food is tasty and economical, which makes it sought after all around Maharashtra.

Q. Why is a checklist essential?

Ans. The checklist you consider while setting up your business will depend on the idea, extent, menu decided for the outlet. The checklist provides the founder with basic planning to be executed. Basic planning makes a strong foundation for a business to be successful.

Q. Where can one find a list of the permits to be taken for a food business?

Ans. One can find the required permits and license for the food business at the Municipality and Food Licensing departments.