Winners were chosen based on popular choice voting by customers
Mumbai, 26th May 2022: Vada pav represents the rich cultural heritage of Maharashtra, and it’s a go-to comfort food for people across the state. Godrej Veg Oils, a popular edible oils brand, launched a unique pilot initiative across seven cities in Maharashtra to identify the best vada pav outlets based on people’s choice. Maharashtra Tourism has partnered with Godrej Veg Oils to amplify this campaign.
The outlet owners were formally bestowed with the honour at a ceremony held in Mumbai, attended by leading film actor Bhau Kadam; two national award-winning chef Varun Inamdar; food writer and actor Kunal Vijayakar; Tourism Specialist from Directorate of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra Preeti Vanage Pawar along with Nitin Nabar, Executive Director and President, Godrej Industries Ltd.
The ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’ initiative was held across Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Satara. QR codes for voting were placed at close to 250 willing outlets in these cities. Consumers voted at each outlet based on the taste and satisfaction. The campaign saw overwhelmingly high participation from the public.
Mumbai-based vada pav outlet Sai Krupa Vada Pav from Andheri was announced as the ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’ basis the votes received by them from their customers. The runner up was Thane’s Akkacha Vada Pav. Apart from the two top winners, 20 outlets from across seven cities were recognized under the people choice awards for garnering highest votes in the respective cities.
Nitin Nabar, Executive Director & President, Godrej Industries Limited, said, “I would like to congratulate all the winners for the love their customers have showered on them. Godrej Veg Oils are known for its focus on taste, purity, quality, and a diverse range of edible oils and the larger goal of this campaign is to encourage vada pav establishments to use pure, unadulterated, and quality branded oil so that people get not only best taste but even better-quality food items.”
Popular film Actor Bhau Kadam said, “It has been a pleasure to represent Godrej Veg Oils and was fun meeting vada pav owners from across the state. I am amazed to see the versatile range of edible oils such as Sunflower Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Filtered Groundnut Oil, Refined Groundnut Oil, and Refined Soyabean Oil that Godrej Veg Oils offers. Vada pav is loved by the common man and celebrities alike and along with talking about the state’s love for vada pav, this initiative was a reminder for all the vada pav outlet owners to use high quality veg oils everyday while cooking for the people of Maharashtra.”
Speaking on the occasion, Milind Borikar, Director, Directorate of Tourism (Maharashtra), said, “Maharashtra Tourism is pleased to associate with the ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’ initiative organised by Godrej Veg Oils. Vada pav is one of the most popular mouth-watering snack foods of Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai. Travelling experience in Maharashtra is incomplete without tasting the vada pav which is available at innumerable food outlets across Maharashtra. This ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’ initiative will encourage more and more vada pav makers to come forward and celebrate this delicious snack, which has become an intrinsic part of culinary trail in the state.”
As a part of the initiative, Godrej Veg Oils will distribute a total of 5001 vada pav to various communities, made exclusively by the ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’ Sai Krupa Vada Pav. The vada pav will be given to Mumbai’s dabbawala community and zero-funds organization Robin Hood Army to distribute amongst the needy.
Commenting on the same, Ritesh Andre, Spokesperson, Mumbai Dabbawala, said, “We, dabbawala’s, have ensured people always receive their food on time. It is such a nice gesture to see an initiative that cares about dabbawala’s and ensure that we are not hungry. On the occasion of crowning of the ‘Vada Pav Cha Raja’, we appreciate the initiative which not only celebrates our regional snack but also have a direct outreach with the community.”
