In conversation with Sharad More, Founder Shaukeen Paan: Opportunities in VENDING Paan

What was the last product you purchased using a vending machine? A packet of chips, a bar of chocolate, or a tetra pack of juice? But, have you ever bought paan from a vending machine?

Mr. Sharad More, the founder and proprietor of Pune’s Shaukeen Paan, talks about vending paan using a Vendekin-powered smart vending machine at his shop and the challenges and the opportunities therein. Vendekin is the provider of intelligent vending solutions through contactless and touchless vending machines in India and the ecosystem required to support a successful vending business.

More from Mr. More.

Please tell us a little about your business?

I started selling paan in 1986, from a tiny setup, just a table with paan products. I was 17, had just left school and did various odd jobs like working in motor garages, before starting Shaukeen – The Complete Paan Shop in Erandwane, Pune. Even then, I had noticed that the way paan shops were run created a negative outlook for the business and its customers. I studied the market, the sentiment of the people, and once I understood the operations side of things, decided to do things a bit differently with Shaukeen. Today it is known as The Complete Paan shop. A place where people of all ages visit and families visit together to enjoy paan. This is not the usual clientele of a regular paan shop. This is because we maintain high levels of hygiene and offer a wide range of products. We currently have 10 shops spread across Mumbai, Nanded, Bauda, Kharadi-Singadh and of course Pune.

How did the idea of using contactless and touchless vending machines for Paan come up? How did you start?

I first had this idea in 2012, after seeing vending machines sell various food products. I spoke to my dear friend Anand Bham, who was into the packaging business and knew the in-and-out of packaging and electronic vending. I got him to build the first machine for me, but I wasn’t satisfied with its operative capabilities. I couldn’t understand the system well and it wasn’t suited to vend paan. Having spent some good money on my first vending experiment, I put this idea on the backburner. During this period, another friend came across a Cashless & Contactless Vending Machine outside Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale. He immediately took me there and we tried it out. That’s when I decided to put this plan into action once again, and try my hand at vending paan again.

How did Vendekin support you in this initiative and journey?

We got in touch with Vendekin, since the touchless vending machine at Chitale Bandhu was powered by Vendekin. We got great support and assistance from “Khatter sir” (Aroon Khatter, Founder, Vendekin Technologies). After multiple meetings and trial runs, with his team at Vendekin guiding us through vending operations and even suggestions about the ideal packaging of our product for the machine, we set up the first machine in just 2 months. The team at Vendekin has been extremely patient with all our questions, and even implemented our requests for several customisations, making our machine a unique one. A perfect example of a smart vending solution. And perhaps the first contactless vending machine in India selling paan! We still have discussions and exchange ideas on what other customisations can be done to the machine, to make vending paan an easier and more interesting experience for the customers.

What changes did you make to the already touchless vending machine for your product?

We created customised boxes made of food grade paper with our branding, as per the requirements of the vending machine slots. The products in this Vendekin-powered vending machine are placed in such a manner that once the order for a paan is placed, it carefully brings the paan down without any spillage. The machine currently holds 80 boxes of paan, and each box contains 2 paans. Our paans are already very popular, and with Vendekin’s intelligent vending solutions, we’re able to keep our paans fresh for up to 3 days in the vending machine.

What kind of products do you keep in this contactless vending machine?

Only paan products as of now, with several varieties and flavours. Our Chocolate Paan is a hit among customers, especially children! They love watching the entire process of touchless vending, right from scanning the QR code, making a cashless transaction on the phone and then magically seeing their favourite chocolate-flavoured paan being dispensed by the vending machine. They are fascinated by it!

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A New Way to Retail with Vending Commerce

We are living in unprecedented times. Since the pandemic, things are constantly changing and evolving as we learn a little more about the virus and its implications. The demand for flexibility is at an all-time high. Whether it is the flexibility of being able to work away from a professional workplace or getting contactless home-deliveries for everything from packaged retail products to even fresh food, essential medicines and supplies. As we respond to the pandemic by adapting our lifestyle to this new normal of reduced contact or contact-less, some older innovations too are being adapted and modified to suit this new lifestyle.

One such older innovation is the vending machine. Vending machines are turning out to become an effective means of touchless distribution of products right where they are needed and when they are needed. With IoT and rapid digitization, these interactions with vending machines are becoming smarter and digital as well.

Unlike countries like Japan or the U.S., vending machines have not been very common or large portion of India’s retail pie, however this is changing with Indian businesses and customers becoming increasingly more comfortable with digital platforms and payments. Along with traditional kirana stores, malls, and e-commerce, unmanned retail through vending, is poised to become an indispensable part of distribution and sales.

Another factor accelerating the rise of unmanned retail are players like Vendekin Technologies and their touchless digital vending technology which is making vending machines in India more ubiquitous and digital.

What started as a solution-provider for providing a mobile payment system for the often-overlooked sanitary napkin vending machines, has quickly transformed into a global pioneer for unattended retail technology solutions, with multiple patents globally. Today, Vendekin Technolgies is the leading name in providing smart vending solutions to businesses in India and internationally. Apart from smart vending solutions for Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands, and helping existing vending operators (EVOs) upgrade to digital, Vendekin also provides the right ecosystem for new vending operators (NVOs) to flourish in a fast-growing market.

Vending Commerce

The vending business, can seem quite intimidating with a high learning curve for the average entrepreneur. Apart from the lack of domain expertise and seemingly high capital investment required to start a vending business, another problem is the maximum retail price or MRP of a product. Profit margins for vending entrepreneurs can often get squeezed when they are negotiating prices with bigger FMCG players. Identifying all these problems, Vendekin launched Vending Commerce, or VCommerce to make vending machine and unmanned retail in India smarter for customers and simpler for those looking to set up a vending business. Right from helping source the hardware to providing branded software solutions and mobile app to make the vending machines smarter, to negotiating better margins.

In this digital march of the Indian retail sector, VCommerce is poised to become an important and eventually indispensable part of a brand’s marketing, branding and distribution strategy.

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