Trivandrum: VendnGo, a pioneering micro-commerce platform that allows customers to order their food choices from multiple restaurants in a single order and have it delivered to a kiosk pickup location or at their doorstep, kick-started its operations on November 05. Minister for Law, Industries & Coir, Shri P Rajeev formally launched the startup’s first outlet here.
VendnGo, a smart kiosk product, is an initiative of Versicles Technologies, a fledgling start-up that is the brainchild of Kerala entrepreneurs – Manoj Dethan, founder CEO; Aneesh Suhail, founder CTO; and Kiran Karunakaran, co-founder and investor with experience in the e-commerce sector.
VendnGo is a virtual food court that allows customers to order from multiple restaurants in a single order with delivery at their convenience. A customer can make an order in the VendnGo portal and specify the pick-up time and location – at home or from a kiosk. The ordering system is integrated with the payment gateways and once payment is successful, the customer will get an OTP with the kiosk box number for pick-up. By streamlining the last mile delivery and ensuring orders are processed in a unified platform, it assures quality and customer’s digital experience.
The first retail outlet of VendnGo is at the Mall of Travancore and will be directly operated by Versicles. This location will also have a cloud kitchen and all infrastructure necessary to run a quick-service restaurant. “The company is planning its expansion through a franchising model. A franchise can opt for a digital kiosk or get the entire infrastructure, including software and hardware, for managing a multi-restaurant digital food court. As more restaurants start sharing the operations, the unit cost will decrease and profit for the franchise operator will go up”, said Kiran.
Manoj said many restaurant chains are hesitant to expand to new locations because of uncertainties in demand. “A delivery kiosk location can help a chain restaurant in gauging interest in a new area and find out the cuisines that may be suitable for the demographics of that area. VendnGo kiosks can be placed in restaurants or malls or any convenient location desired by the restaurants. Real estate owners will now have a new revenue channel by renting out space for kiosks.” they pointed out.
VendnGo locations can also be a good starting point for part-time caterers or home-based businesses. It can become the storefront for these businesses and foster entrepreneurship in the community, ” said Anish.
Kerala Biz News