BHABHI KA PAAN

BHABHI KA PAAN

-Niyati Sinojiya

 TY BSc (2022-2025)

Reading time: 6 minutes

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“Aaj paan accha nahi bana hai, next time se supaari zyaada aur chutney kam chahiye” are the exact words of my mother to my father as she instructs him to ask Sachin, the local paanwaala, to make a better paan as we head back home from a fulfilling family dinner. 

Paan, has its significance in Ayurveda as an item aiding digestion, used by Sultans as a gesture of hospitality and even symbolic of sensuality.

Although a delicacy as simple as a paan has served many purposes throughout history, this article isn’t about the historical or the cultural significance of paan, it’s about the business of paan, kyunki boss Dhanda toh Dhanda hota hai. 

Let’s have a look at the unit economics of Sachin Paan Shop, our family paan vendor. His family has been in the business for the past 34 years, starting from his father’s small shop in Karve Nagar, to subsequently taking over and shifting to Market Yard just 250 meters from my house. 

He sells up to 25 different varieties of paan, but his sales mostly come from Saada paans, Meethas and Rampyaaris. 

Disclaimer- Unit costs of materials marked as * solely come from my father’s estimations and experience in buying paan from him from the past 10 years and me having full faith in his business acumen. This was done due to lack of transparency and being fooled during primary data collection. Estimates for a Saada paan are used for ease of calculation.

                                                                                        Rs per paan

Avg Price		25
Cost	Raw Material Cost
	Betel leaf	8
	Supari	2
	Chutneys*	3
	Fixed Cost
	Rent	2
	Labor and Electricity*	1
	Total Cost	16
Net Profit		9
Net Profit(%)		36%

Number of paans sold daily(atleast)	500
Profit per paan	9
Monthly profit	1,35,000

This boils down to an estimated net profit of at least Rs 1,35,000 per month which means a margin of 36% on the sales, that too from an average, not so clean Paan shop! To give you context of what this number means, let me go on to mention the same old example of an average engineer in India earning Rs 50,000 per month, less than half of what the average paanwala earns! 

Moreover, Paan is a fast moving and affordable item. It takes at most 5 minutes of our oh so busy lives and is a great place to meet and have a small chat. Paan is, above all, a sticky business. What this means is that even though the ingredients that go into a paan are the same everywhere, all places have a different taste. In my personal experience, the paan at Sachin Paan shop tastes different from the paan at Pappu Paan, one of the best paan shops in the locality, which also tastes completely different from the paan my uncle makes at home with his DIY paan kit. So, for my mother, “zyaada supari aur kam chutney”, also called Bhabhi ka Paan, is a constant, which Sachin has mastered making, thereby adding to his list of regular customers.

 “Bhabhi ka Paan”, as aptly coined by my father, does not just signify my mother’s choice of paan, but is also symbolic of the vast untapped market of women paan eaters. Any paan shop you go to is served BY men, TO the men. One reason why it lacks women customers is the discomfort of attracting unwanted attention from men, because it has largely become something that only men are seen consuming. So, while it is obvious why it lacks women customers, it is not obvious why there is no one serving them. This business also lacks active positioning. Although there is a huge scope, there is no frenzy about it. Marlboro positioned itself as a brand symbolizing rugged masculinity, although there is nothing particularly masculine or feminine about a cigarette, thereby attracting men longing to be seen as masculine by the society. RedBull positioned itself as a brand supporting extreme athleticism, encouraging young athletes to have it before an adventure. Similarly, Paan too needs positioning. Eating paan is sometimes perceived as a bad habit associated with men who chew and spit it on the road, thus giving it a negative image. It can be better positioned as an after meal minty, healthy and digestive friendly treat which would attract not just men but also help normalise its appeal to women.

Though the business of paan might seem like a small idea at first, it is far from trivial. Here’s an analogy:

What is the first place you would recommend a tourist visit if they wanted to have a vada pav in Pune? Like most people, your answer would probably be Garden Vadapav in Camp. Joshi Vadapav and Rohit Wadewale might be your second choices. Although all of them sell high quality, affordable and tasty vada pavs, what makes Garden Vada Pav the clear winner? Firstly, they have a targeted market. Anyone craving a thalipeeth or a sabudana vada along with a vadapav is not their customer. This creates a strong association in the mind of the consumer where Vadapav = Garden Vadapav. Such an image can’t be established if you sell everything ranging from vadapav to puran poli to idli sambar. Secondly, there is no sitting space, which means you get your order within minutes of standing in line as you watch one of the staff members cycling in from the main kitchen with a freshly fried batch of hot vadas. This business has successfully positioned itself in a niche market by selling only one affordable product at a fast-moving pace.

This is exactly what the paan business could be if it is positioned well and also served to the untapped market of women paan eaters. 

With visions of a vada pav followed by a tasty paan lingering in my mind, as my final year comes to an end and as my aversion towards doing a 9-5 grows by the day (and also as my inner Gujju struggles to find a way out), I contemplate proposing a business idea to my father, and I obviously name it “BHABHI KA PAAN, only ”.