Street food vendors' association to form company to market their product themselves.
The
National Association of Street Food Vendors of India demonstrated the
global appeal of Indian street food when it sent four street vendors to
the World Street Food Congress in Singapore recently.
Harassed by police personnel and food safety inspectors and denied of
support from the government, street food vendors have decided to take
matters in their hands and form a company in which they will be
shareholders, and through which they will create street-food brands and
market the food themselves.
“FabIndia will be the model for the company,” said Sangita Singh, programme manager of the National Association of Street Food Vendors of India (NASVI), an organisation of 461,000 street vendors from all over India which is promoting the company. “The weavers have a stake in FabIndia and this has helped to increase their livelihood and their business. We want to replicate this model for street-food vendors,” she explained.
At a consultation on professionalising street food held in New Delhi on Thursday, several speakers spoke of the universal appeal of street food — of how people from every class and age patronise street food despite fears of poor hygiene. As proof they pointed to five star hotels, which have begun to organise street food festivals, and to food courts in malls, which have begun to sell jhaal moori and gol-gappas, once sold only by street vendors. Recently, NASVI also demonstrated the global appeal of Indian street food when it sent four street vendors to the World Street Food Congress in Singapore.
The street food vendors’ company, which will be registered in end-August, said Singh, will have a 49% stake by the vendors, each of whom will put up a start-up capital of Rs one lakh. Already, 151 vendors have expressed an interest in becoming a part of the company. Besides, NASVI will also invite those who support the street food vendors to buy shares for as little as Rs 100. This will be the holding company which at a later stage, said Singh, will have separate subsidiary companies set up by vendors in different regions, or of a particular kind of food.
“FabIndia will be the model for the company,” said Sangita Singh, programme manager of the National Association of Street Food Vendors of India (NASVI), an organisation of 461,000 street vendors from all over India which is promoting the company. “The weavers have a stake in FabIndia and this has helped to increase their livelihood and their business. We want to replicate this model for street-food vendors,” she explained.
At a consultation on professionalising street food held in New Delhi on Thursday, several speakers spoke of the universal appeal of street food — of how people from every class and age patronise street food despite fears of poor hygiene. As proof they pointed to five star hotels, which have begun to organise street food festivals, and to food courts in malls, which have begun to sell jhaal moori and gol-gappas, once sold only by street vendors. Recently, NASVI also demonstrated the global appeal of Indian street food when it sent four street vendors to the World Street Food Congress in Singapore.
The street food vendors’ company, which will be registered in end-August, said Singh, will have a 49% stake by the vendors, each of whom will put up a start-up capital of Rs one lakh. Already, 151 vendors have expressed an interest in becoming a part of the company. Besides, NASVI will also invite those who support the street food vendors to buy shares for as little as Rs 100. This will be the holding company which at a later stage, said Singh, will have separate subsidiary companies set up by vendors in different regions, or of a particular kind of food.
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