Kanpur vendors tweak menu to make up for the loss of Maggi

KANPUR: With Maggi being withdrawn across the country by its parent company Nestle, Maggi point owners in the city have been forced to tweak their menu and look at other quick food alternatives. Even as Maggi continues to boil in its own soup, vendors in the city say they have turned to other noodles and added new dishes to their menu for their customers. KT speaks to street food vendors in the city to find out how they are dealing with the Maggi crisis.
Included other items in menu
Prakash Maggi joint at Mall Road used to be one of the favourite haunts of college students and youngsters in the city, with their favourite being the two-minute noodles. Even before the product was taken off shelves, people were shying away from ordering Maggi leaving Prakash Jaiswal, the owner, with no option but to try and look for an alternative. "The controversy has badly affected my business. I used to sell a variety of Maggi dishes but now no one wants to have it. I have started making sandwiches instead. Kya karen kuchh toh bechna na hi hai pet palne ke liye," says he.
Ditto is with Dinesh Shukla owner of another Maggi point at Naveen Market. "I started this joint eight months back and it was a big hit with the students and professionals. They loved my butter and bhuknoo Maggi. Now that it’s off shelves, I have started making vegetarian kabab-paratha. Maggi was a convenient dish to serve and to make and I could handle the eatery alone but with the change in the menu, I will now have to hire a help. This will not only add to my expenses but will also put extra pressure on me," says Shukla.
Maggi nahi toh kuch aur sahi
Anil Singh owner of Maggi point in Kakadeo has also been forced to tweak his menu. "Jab se yeh controversy shuru hui hai Maggi khane wale aadhe bhi nahi reh gaye hai. Now I have to serve something to my customers, so I am now making momos and chowmein instead of Maggi," says Singh.
Another person who’s had to change dishes on his menu is Munna Dixit, who used to serve Maggi at MC Robert Ganj. He has now switched to Chinese dishes. "I run the Excellent Maggi point but after the controversy I have stopped selling Maggi. Now I have switched to momos, burgers, veg manchurian, pasta and other Chinese dishes. I don’t want to take any chance and don’t know when the Maggi controversy will end but, now I will continue serving Chinese only," declares Munna.
A similar strategy has been applied by Subhash Gupta, who used to serve Maggi to college goers and youngsters at his departmental store. "I have now started selling pizzas, burgers and patties," informs Gupta, "I’m no longer going to serve Maggi to my customers," he adds.