Pune On My Plate: Why food trucks are yet to gather speed in the city

When asked why food trucks do not work in Pune or India, Aniruddha Patil, founder of Pune Eats Out — the city’s largest online food platform — said, “There are both logistical and legal challenges.”

“Firstly, the legal definition of a food truck is vague and ranges from actual trucks to carts. Secondly, food trucks abroad and even here are more successful because they specialise in a particular item or a few items from a specific cuisine. The food trucks in Pune tend to be generic,” Patil explained.

Branching out

Prajyot Bogawat, owner of Poona Food Truck, said they started with a food truck in 2018. “It had highs and lows, but now we have expanded by outsourcing into multiple fixed outlets specialising in different cuisine and drinks such as Italian, Mexican, and Lebanese.”

Among the reasons behind food trucks not picking up, Bogawat said the working conditions inside the vehicles “are not good due to the climate”. “The small space gets heated easily.”

Akash, the owner of Fire and Wok Cafe in Baner, listed other reasons for quick shutdowns, “The food trucks have no place to park and oftentimes end up blocking roads. Additionally, many do not have the necessary permissions and have not passed sanitation and quality inspections.”

The Fire and Wok cafe has now been converted into a permanent location. “Food trucks are merely for starting a business and testing the product. It cannot be a full-time permanent business model,” added Akash.

However, an employee of Burgertron, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said their food truck business in Balewadi is doing well. “We have our trademark item, and we sell it. However, when we tried to expand our business, it didn’t work by increasing the fleet. We opened permanent locations instead,” said the worker.

“We still have the truck, but more than a source of revenue, it is a trademark, it is our brand identity.”

Getting patrons and the pandemic

Though most operational food trucks use delivery platforms, another challenge lies in food trucks relying on people queuing up. “Yes, we deliver on Swiggy and Zomato. But at the end of the day, food trucks are places where people are supposed to come, stand in line, and get their food. That is a part of the experience,” an owner said.

Though 90 per cent of food trucks in Pune faced a quick shutdown, the testimonials from the remaining ones suggested that they fared relatively well during the pandemic.

“We did shut down for the required period, but the good thing was that we just had to park the truck away. Once we could open, we started operating and delivering according to the regulations,” said Bogawat of Poona Food Truck.

Burgertron’s owner said their business wasn’t affected during the COVID-19 pandemic because it was a truck. “We faced minimal losses by shutting down and parking away. At that time, many in-house dining establishments had to sell their locations and businesses due to losses.”

Shayli Singkh is an intern with The Indian Express.