786 Fast Food: Rocking or Flopping?

Just a few years ago, a Food Street was a big thing. The Nazims and all the bureaucrats  made a hoopla of developing of Food Streets where people can come and have a rollicking time as if that would miraculously jump start tourism in this part of the world.

Truth of the matter is, the sprawling metropolis of Karachi has without any aid or help from the government spawned a number of such streets brimming with eateries. How in devil’s name did these develop so meticulously on their own is a million euro question (dollar being out of favor).

Apart from the renowned Boating Basin and Burnes Road, you’ve got the Sajji street on University Road, the Karhai Walas on Super Highway, the Fast Food streets in Azizabad, North Nazimabad and Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Kabab Roll mania in Khadda Market Defence,the BBQ street in Bahadurabad, and the Nihari  Street in F.B Area which is also the topic of interest here.

The Nihari Street in Dastaghir, F.B Area came about as a result of the famous Jawaid ki Nihari. Another uniqueness of this street is that it has a halwa puri wala which offers this morning delicacy even at night!

But that’s not the topic of discussion here. It is the 786 Fast Food right across the street from Jawaid Nihari. We have always emphasized on the crucial importance of the location and the 786 people couldn’t have got it more right on that particular street. The next crucial thing after location comes the product behind the brand, in this case the food. In order to make it big, the taste as well as the quantity of food should at least be at par with that particular category, also referred to as the POP (Point of Parity).

786 has done wonderfully well on both these counts. The taste although not great, is good enough, and the quantity is enough to stuff a normal healthy stomach. We tested two of their core meals, the Zinger and the Club Sandwich, and they passed with flying colors on both these dishes.

So, is 786 going to become the next Fast Food chain to dethrone Hanifia  or even Mr. Burger? No.

Why? Because it hasn’t got any POD (Point of Differentiation) to be worthy of contention for greatness. The taste is alright, but it’s the same as the other Zinger walas- there’s just no uniqueness about it.

The quantity is fulfilling, but then that’s the case in many other local fast food haunts. If it had made the portion size a gigantic one, something which the consumer couldn’t consume without bursting at the seams, well that would have made for a great POD.

Another small but clever POD it could have come up with was instead of using a standard mayonnaise, it could have used the garlic mayo one, something which the Karachiites are very fond of. And it could have used that not only in the Zinger burger but in the club sandwich as well. That sort of innovation would serve the joint well.

Another cardinal rule they have broken is offering too many items. Although they are a fast food joint, they are offering everything under the sun from Chinese stuff  to Shashlik and Chicken Garlic. Instead they ought to focus on a few items and try to offer innovations on them.

So, should you head towards the joint? Only if you are in the area and you are in the mood for a quick bite, otherwise there’s no need to come all the way to this place when you can have the same things with the same taste just about anywhere in Karachi.

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