Kerala entrepreneurs to launch the first outlet of VendnGo on Saturday

• Industries Minister P. Rajeev to launch the smart kiosk that facilitates food orders from multiple restaurants in a single order
Trivandrum / November 2, 2022

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 02: 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, will kick-start its operations with the launch of its first outlet at Mall of Travancore here on Saturday (November 5).

VendnGo, a smart kiosk product, is an initiative of Versicles Technologies Pvt Ltd, a fledgling startup that is the brainchild of Kerala entrepreneurs Manoj Dethan, the founder-CEO; Aneesh Suhail, the founder-CTO; and Kiran Karunakaran, the co-founder and investor with experience in the e-commerce sector.

Shri P. Rajeev, Minister for Law, Industries and Coir, will formally launch the startup’s first outlet at a function at O by Tamara, Trivandrum. It will be addressed by Dr. Rathan U. Kelkar, Secretary, Electronics and IT, Govt. of Kerala; and Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) CEO Shri Anoop Ambika.

Shri Karunakaran will give a detailed description of the startup while Shri Dethan will propose a vote of thanks.

VendnGo is a virtual food court that allows customers to order from multiple restaurants in a single order with delivery at their convenience. Thus, one can order various cuisines such as soup, biryani, noodles, falooda, and Italian takeout from different local restaurants without paying separately.

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, 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.


Shri Karunakaran said the first retail outlet of VendnGo is at 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. Even hypermarkets can now start running cloud kitchens using this infrastructure and get more walk-in customers. As more restaurants start sharing the operations, unit cost will start coming down and profit for the franchise operator will go up,” he explained.

For existing restaurant chains looking to expand, VendnGo is offering their AI-based marketing automation tool. It will reduce operating costs of a restaurant by minimizing marketing costs by at least 25 per cent through automation and integration with social media platforms.

Shri Dethan and Shri Suhail said many restaurant chains are hesitant to expand to a 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 for 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.

Each VendnGo premium location is a manned post with kitchen infrastructure and touchless ordering and pickup. Multiple restaurants can serve out of the location by paying a rent and VendnGo will manage all the logistics behind the operations. “We believe that their premium location will generate at least five direct employment and ten indirect employment opportunities,” its founders said.

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. 

“We’re revolutionizing the restaurant industry by automating retail operations. We seek to minimize costs and maximize profits by prioritizing seamless delivery. All you need to do is to cook,” they said.

For more details, please visit www.vendngo.in.

 

Photo Gallery