Strategic analysis of product- service linkages of a food cluster

Abstract

Two street food clusters in Ahmedabad, on Vikram Sarabhai Road and near Law Garden, serves hundreds of customer each day. It is amazing that every day they start selling food items in the evening around 6 PM and yet they sell almost everything they brought by 12 midnight. Through an extensive interview process, both the clusters were studied to gain insight on the strategy of cluster of street food vending, the synergies involved in bringing the vendors and customers to one place and network effect present in the cluster. Even though both are organic street food clusters, they differ in many ways. Apart from vendors and customers, there are various other stakeholders involved too like suppliers, police, Municipal Corporation, fire department and surrounding community. This market acts as an aggregator for food vendors and customers. It acts as a forum for conversation and interaction between consumers, a group of consumers and lorry vendors. It is a process of co-creation wherein consumers and street food vendors are together creating a value chain by the process of connection and actively informed conversations.