The humble Vada Pav gets a net-savvy avatar

Vada Pav + Amchi Mumbai + Cutting Chai -- sounds perfect for a rainy day. This catchy line could mean one of three things: the title of a new-age Bollywood film, the tagline of a local radio station or a city tabloid on overdrive to gain mileage.

The line however happens to be one of the most popular pages on FaceBook, the brainchild of Venky Iyer, the owner of Goli Vada Pav. Iyer and his friend Shiv Menon started their venture six years ago, which has grown to 75 outlets in Maharashtra and Bangalore now.

Iyer says, "Vada Pav is desi finger food which was first invented on the footpaths of Mumbai. But over the years, it was still being sold on footpaths. I felt this was a popular street food that was waiting to be exploited. My partner, Shiv Menon and I decided to give it the status it deserved. We started outlets in Maharashtra and Bangalore. The demand for Vada Pav is amazing."

But he was worried about the humble Vada Pav losing out to burgers, a hot favourite of the young generation. Weaning the youth away from burgers seemed like a tall order but Iyer has it all sorted out.

"Whatever our lifestyle, deep down all of us love desi food. I know this young generation is hooked on burgers and Vada Pav may soon become an extinct street food. That's the reason we are branding it and selling it in a clean and hygienic environment. It is packaged to appeal to the youth."

As part of his endeavour, Iyer started the FB page four months ago. Iyer explains, "Vada Pav + cutting chai + golis = youth in Mumbai or anywhere. When I was a college student, almost a decade and a half ago, I used to sit in a katta outside college or in a bylane near my house with my friends. We used to give golis about films and filmstars, ogle at pictures of female stars and give a lot of gyan to each other.

"The Internet has become the katta for today's youngsters. So I thought of reaching out to them through the FB page. Vada Pav is a big craze in Mumbai. Vada Pav fans came to our page and got hooked on to Goli Vada Pav. FB helped the Goli brand to cross geographical barriers via the virtual world. Now, people want to taste our 'golis' in the real world."

Daily updates on the FB page have names like Garam Goli, Goli Gossip, Aaj Ka Goli and Goli Gyan. A marketer would term this a smart brand building exercise. Iyer continues, "That's the reason for FaceBook's popularity. It's like the katta outside college where friends share photos, jokes and videos and comment on each other's posts. The FB page helped us to grab the eyeballs of this generation.

"This is the first interactive media where our customers can talk to us at any time of the day. We modify our fare according to their feedback. We also reward them with lucky draws and gifts and plan to start Goli gangs in different cities on FB."

Just for the record, Iyer would like those with a western hangover to know that Goli Vada Pav is being made by Vista Foods, the American company that makes MacDonald burgers. Iyer explains, "This helps us in standardisation of the Vadas. Also, we can send it to any part of India or abroad without having to worry about its shelf life. The Vadas are also in keeping with food safety norms."

One segment of the FB page displays the Goli menu -- scrumptious dishes like Schezwan Vada Pav, Cheese Vada Pav, Aloo Tikki Pav, Palak Makai Vada Pav, Batata Bhajji and even Sabudana Vada, with brief descriptions of the items accompanied by finger-licking pictures. It also has addresses of all their outlets.

And if you thought the FB page was all about Goli Vada Pav claiming to be the best Vada Pav in town, then you've got another thing coming. Instead of making a desperate attempt to woo customers, the page delivers something most of us never tire of -- gossip.

There's a cartoon character Golibhai with major attitude. He dishes out every-day gossip about celebrities. In a way, Golibhai seems to be inspired by the adorable little moppet in the Amul ads. Iyer beams, "The response to the FB page has been simply fabulous. It's already got over 9,700 fans within four months. It hardly cost us anything. All we needed was a bit of creativity and time to get it right."

And the FB popularity has translated into sales at their outlets. Soon, the duo will be opening Goli Vada Pav outlets in Delhi and the UK. Besides FB, there's also a blog called Goli Murmurings and Goli dance on YouTube.