By Heather C Phanwar
Crispy chicken is no more a Kentucky surprise and “finger-lickin’ good” is not a phrase to describe only the high-priced KFC platters for the city has recently got its home-grown lip-smackers.
The Chicken Wagon, which was launched in September by a local food products company, is dishing out its own recipes served with sauces which are made from local farm produce and regular visitors say the American brand can crisp out of competition with the new brand.
Hundreds, especially youngsters, can be seen thronging The Wagon at Golf Link on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But meat lovers in the city are craving for more of the local variety.
When asked why the outlet is not going full blown, the team members (the Wagon team preferred to speak as a group than individuals) said, “Customers are anticipating our opening… We tell them that we have been open on and off because our wagon is being manufactured. We expect to launch the chicken wagon in December. And this will be open for a few days a week. We are perfecting our menu and systems… There’s lot to do. We hope our customers will be patient.”
The launch of The Wagon has a long story behind it. In 2015, a Shillong-based company in the services sector launched Zizira to encourage farmers to grow higher value crops and get a fair price. “The buyers would be urban customers, adventurous food lovers, chefs and housewives. The expectation was that they would enjoy the purity of the North East. And that our success would unlock the underutilised potential of family farms,” the team explained.
Zizira has been selling spice blends and sauces on Amazon.in. Unfortunately, shipments from Shillong to other cities got delayed as bottles would be damaged. As the challenges increased, Zizira loked for a profit-making venture for sustenance. “The opportunity showed up when we met a friend of Zizira who drew our attention to the potential in the chicken fries market. And The Chicken Wagon, a quick service restaurant, was born,” the team said.
Within a month, The Wagon, which also sells sauces and spice blends marketed by Zizira at the outlet, became popular. “It is really tasty and crispy to the core. KFC has a lot of meat and less crispiness… The Wagon has less meat but very crispy. I prefer the crispiness. The dips are better. I like the lemony cheesy one. We get one dip along with the chicken,” said Dondor Kharmalki.
Lizzie Phanwar, another fan of The Wagon, said, “Chicken wagon is probably the best next stop for any person who loves food. It’s scrumptious crunchy juicy chicken is just heavenly. It’s so fresh and delicious you will want more! And the dips just blend so well with the chicken. For the price and the quality, I’d recommended chicken wagon to any chicken lover.”
What makes The Wagon unique is that it has a team that often goes around the state to find the best farm produce. The firm’s food laboratory uses the produce to innovate and create some secret recipes. The firm sources king chilli, turmeric and black pepper, among others from local farmers. Over two years ago, a team explored Meghalaya to discover underutilised crops and found locked up potential but also saw the plight of farmers who could not market their produce. “We have had good feedback. People from all over India contact us, expressing interest in Meghalaya agriculture,” said the team.
Now the company plans to buy potatoes, fruits and chicken directly from local farmers and hopes to dish out high quality food and at the same time strengthen local family farmers.
But why The Wagon does not go around the city to cater to more chicken crisp lovers? To this the team said it is a small venture and “we are learning from our experiences and customers’ feedback”.
“It (food on wheels) is a new idea so we are not sure what to do. We hope our customers will tell us where they want us. Social media will make it easier for us to pop up in different locations. It may end up being a fun way for some to experience The Chicken Wagon in different locations. It may be convenient for others, especially if we park it in an area where it is easy for customers to pick up their orders on the way home. We will update a map on the website,” it added.
Besides the great recipes and reasonable pricing, what makes The Wagon unique is its hard-working local team that lives up to the punch line ‘Creating Food Creating Excellence’ through their professionalism and cleanliness. The brand uses social media to reach out to more people. Word of mouth too has helped it grow.
“We do not want to put a limit on the growth of the Chicken Wagon. In fact, part of the vision of the company is realising the potential. We want our Chicken Wagon customers to be partners of Zizira in realising its vision of opening markets for the farmers of the North East. If we are able to expand, we believe that this will also realise the potential of our local farmers so that we will be able to source the chickens, fruits for the juices and local potatoes for fries. Our expansion will go hand in hand with raising local entrepreneurs and launching them as franchisees,” the team said as they explained their road map.