Introducing Many Firsts: How PVR Cinemas has stayed Ahead in the Culinary Game

Consumer trends to watch

I think today the people are looking to explore more. They're not satisfied by just a very small and a conservative approach to menu, variety. They are looking at an entire f&b experience when they come to the cinemas. There was a time when people used to either eat and come to the cinemas or move out of the cinema and eat. Today, people are actually spending that additional time and having an entire meal at the cinemas which I feel is a very positive change.

Meeting the demand for Health-conscious

We have plant-based, dishes which have ingredients that are plant based. We are using healthier salads on the menu. We are utilizing fresher and more seasonal produce. We are trying to move away from the fats. Okay.

And what other innovations have you brought in?

We were the first ones to bring sushi into the cinemas. There's nobody who's doing sushi's, so I think it was fabulous and people loved it. I feel that even in the Indian cuisine, we are trying to demystify a couple of things and make them more approachable. Eating in a cinema is very different as compared to eating in a restaurant. You're sitting in the dark. So, the food has to be designed in the manner where you are able to eat without the food slipping out of your plates. So, not only are we trying to make changes and evolve the nature of the dish, but also the nature of the packaging and crockery we use.

What are your best selling items?

Pizzas are always hot sellers. We feel that our Indian chats are best sellers as people love the chats at the cinemas. People love pizzas. They love the new rice bowls. We've introduced Korean noodle bowls, which have been really appreciated quite a lot.

So the demand is coming from?

I feel that the patrons are, you know, more and more traveled as we speak and they expect that quality irrespective of which city they are in. Now, how do you manage the ingredients and the supply chains to get them? Hence, we will see certain differences, but in principle, we are all aligned in the same direction that food has to now evolve.

What technological innovations are you looking for?

Technology plays an important part. As real estate is only getting more expensive, we are trying to utilize lease space for churning out as much food as we can in terms of variety. Some small examples are the accelerator ovens rather than the regular classical ovens that we use at our commercial kitchens. We have now moved towards ovens that work on a combination of impingement plus faster accelerated cooking. So it's, really amazing. Also, in order to look for a resource who can make a good dosa, we've got a bot. So, very soon in one of our cinemas you will see dosa bot making dosas.

What’s are your future plans?

The future plans are on constant training. And how do you basically enrich the experiences of internal as well as external customers? Internal customers being our team that works and the external customers, obviously the patrons that come over there.