Top Chefs Celebrate Indian Cuisine's Global Appeal

Food Delivery start-up Zomato, that has been the modern age food tech service platform for almost a decade and serves more than 50 million users every month, is all set to enter the events space with Zomaland. A unique endeavour to step out of the shadow of food delivery services, Zomaland is a first-of-its-kind food and entertainment carnival will be held across three cities in India- Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru. 

This platform will see bringing together some of the top chefs and eateries from across the country, a stellar line-up of music artists and DJs, and never-seen-before interactive installations. It will also feature a vintage funfair with carnival games and fascinating photo booths, along with vibrant food parades, enthralling street performances and a dedicated zone for the children.

Also Read: Six Reasons Why Restaurateurs Are Annoyed With Food-Tech Companies

An Old Age Tradition for New Age Millennials

The carnival will be an ultimate celebration of food and entertainment with 100+ handpicked eateries in each city, spread over 8 food zones where the streets of Delhi 6 meet the bylanes of Beijing, and the mellow flavours of the Mediterranean meet the flaming cuisine of Mexico.

Entrepreneur India spoke to Chaitanya Mathur, Global Head, Zomato Live on this recent development. He said, “The idea of organizing large-scale experiential events is to package food and various forms of entertainment together to design an experience unique in nature. With Zomaland, our users will witness all the aspects of Zomato coming to life in the form of a carnival, at the scale never attempted before.”

Keeping up with the Carnivalesque Tradition!

Carnivals have always been a delight among the millennials. With celebration and happy ambience all over, the carnivalesque aspect is something that everyone looks forward to.

The newly introduced carnival initiative of Zomato will bridge the gap between the business and customers and bring the Zomato family closer. Mathur feels that all the aspects of Zomato will be coming to life in the form of a carnival, at a scale never attempted before. For now they are venturing into space with just three cities, however, their plan to move ahead to other cities is also on the table and very much intact. Everything is about a matter of time.

In the Running Since 2008!

In the past, Zomato has ventured into several distinct territories. In addition to restaurant search and discovery, Zomato has expanded its offering to Online Ordering (Food Delivery), Take Away Services (Zomato Pickup), Table Reservations, B2B food ingredient supply for restaurants and Zomato Piggybank, creating cutting-edge technology to connect restaurant businesses and customers. Very few food tech start-ups enjoy a handsome position, market reach and expansion as Zomato does.

“Keep that ‘wow’ factor coming in... Create an impression in consumers’ minds with small things.”
~Sagar Daryani, Co-founder of Wow! Momos

The restaurant business involves a high-risk proposition. If your restaurant survives in the first year, chances are it will grow but what if it doesn’t? As statistical data indicates, up to 60% of businesses fail in the first year itself. Keep aside the growth plan, there are a variety of challenges that a restaurateur, whether big or small, faces once his or her restaurant is open. Experts from the restaurant industry Celebrity Chef and Consultant Shaun Kenworthy, Vice Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Hospitality Pradeep Lal Mehta, Executive Chef at ITC Sonar Vijay Malhotra, Haldiram & Sons Bhujiawala ltd Aman Agarwal, Co-founder & CEO of Wow! Momo Sagar Daryani discussed the challenges that restaurant industry faces today at Restaurant India Awards 2018, East India Edition.

"Small formats will drive the F&B industry in upcoming years."

~Celebrity Chef and Consultant Shaun Kenworthy

Here are four challenges that every restaurant encounters along with the strategies to combat the issues. 

Reinvention

As a brand in the food and beverage industry, reinvent yourself with time, with products and with the systems. Just like Swiggy and Zomato did it through their food delivery services, understand the need and give consumers what they want.

Survival Tip: “To reinvent, keep the main products on the menu which are really well. Don’t change your champion products,” says Sagar Daryani, Co-founder of Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. 

Manpower

It is well-known within the industry that people are easily attracted to jobs that offer more remuneration and perks and such movements can be sudden and swift. As such, manpower is by far the largest challenge for anyone in the food and beverage sector.

Survival Tip: Retain your staff! Executive Chef at ITC Sonar, Vijay Malhotra, says, Executive Chef at ITC Sonar, Vijay Malhotra says, “We keep our staff engaged.” The restaurateurs should make their staff believe they are being heard, and their ideas are being taken. “Doesn’t matter if the idea is not a sure-shot-hit the first time, it can be further built upon,” says Chef Vijay. Once the staffers are given the recognition they deserve, they will keep contributing. 

Expansion

If you are running your business on a particular scale, it is okay. Once you decide to scale it up, your restaurant business will be facing challenges in budgeting, maintaining quality and keeping up with the pace.

Vice Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Hospitality, Pradeep Lal Mehta says, “Restaurants will do well if they are consistent on food quality, and will innovate regularly, they will make money.” The huge challenge for them is the rentals, the power cost and alcohol licenses.

Survival Tip: One should focus on expanding through the franchise model. But be sure the franchisee has the knack of playing the right game. “If he is just an investor and gives someone else the responsibility to run the restaurant business, the model will collapse,” says Mehta. Grow cautiously – that is the watchword. 

Innovation 

Restaurant innovation and renovation run parallel.

Survival Tip: From making desserts and savouries, Haldirams and Sons Bhujiawala is now focussing on the restaurant business too. Aman Agarwal, Haldirams and Sons Bhujiawala Ltd, says, “The business which my grandfather started years ago is being continued by the eighth generation. Over these years, renovation has been a major part of the process of growth. The renovation is something you cannot ignore in a restaurant business, but how do you do it right? Firstly, know how to cope up with your customers, at present and in the future. And secondly, focus on the renovation of ambience, food menu and service.”

Acclaimed Fashion Designer and entrepreneur Agnimitra Paul (right), Begum Manzilat Fatima (middle) with Celebrity Chef Shaun Kenworthy (left).

Mrs India Universe Sangeeta Singh (left) with Preetima Bhardwaj, CEO Franchise India Holdings Ltd.

Acclaimed Fashion Designer and entrepreneur Agnimitra Paul, Begum Manzilat Fatima (from the Royal Family of Awadh) and Mrs India Universe Sangeeta Singh were the chief guests for the evening and presented the awards to the winners at the Restaurant India Summit Awards 2018, East India Edition, at Altair Hotel.

The online food delivery system has changed the way people eat at the restaurants. There has been a drastic transformation in the restaurant industry. With food delivery concepts like that of Swiggy, Zomato and FoodPanda, it is clear that a good concept along with an efficient execution plan works in the industry. The online food delivery sector is growing at 150% rate per year. On another hand, the Indian gourmet food market is growing at CAGR of 20 per cent.

The food and grocery market is the fifth largest industry in India. Companies like Grofers and BigBasket has levelled up the grocery delivery scenario in the country. Talking specifically about South India, region-specific small-scale online grocery stores like Maligakadai in Chennai, Vagtail in Hyderabad and BestBargainz.com in Bengaluru have gained much popularity among the residents of the respective cities. 

Restaurant India 2018 – South India Edition

With each day, there is a new concept in the industry. There are many businesses that closed down within a year. How the others survived? What business blunders entrepreneurs did in past and could have avoided? The secret to running a successful food business lies in staying focused on the sustainability, expansion and growth follows next. How do you make your business up and running efficiently?

We will discuss it all at the Restaurant India Leadership Summit – the South India Edition in Bengaluru. At the Summit, you can connect, network and divulge into business partnerships with food and beverage (F&B) and hospitality industrialists.

This is the third edition for South India Restaurant Leadership Summit and will be held at Sheraton Grand Hotel in Bengaluru on December 17^th, 2018. Major food brands and hospitality businesses from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and more will be present at the event. The Restaurant India Leadership Summit 2018 is the ultimate space where top brands and global leaders will be eyeing to find and leverage scalable roadmaps, innovative solutions and replicable business models to invest in.

Restaurant India Leadership Summit 2018: Get Full Details Here

About the Conference

Restaurant India Leadership Summit 2018 will discuss and debate about creating the leaders of tomorrow. With a clear business focus in mind, investors, chain restaurants, F&B entrepreneurs, regional restaurant owners, start-ups and tech companies, the one-day conference will focus on Building Great Business in South India. The exclusive conference is divided into five prominent sessions including a state-of-the-art workshop specially designed to empower the fraternity with business consultancy pointers shared by industry experts. The conference will be aimed at delivering value by setting a two-way dialogue among the participants and delegates to find passages of exponential business growth together!

Conference Chairperson & CEO, Burger King India, Rajeev Varman, Chairman, Oriental Cuisines Pvt Ltd M. Mahadevan, Chef and Owner, Hemant Oberoi, Chairman and Managing Director of Cremica Food Industries Ltd, Akshay Bector and more prominent leaders from the F&B and hospitality sector will give their insights on the industry.

Major Takeaways

- Identifying the growth drivers & business opportunities in Restaurant 

- Achieving Quality, Consistency & Food Safety in multi-chain restaurant operations

- Understanding the scope of technology deployment in a conventional restaurant design

- Networking with HNIs, PE/VC & Funding bodies

- Collaborating opportunities for Restaurant Franchisors & Franchisees

- Company Owned vs. Franchise Stores – comparison of the business growth strategies

- Learning best practices for the vendor selection process

The foodtech market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 12% during 2016 -2021. With increasing private equity and venture capital funding, the foodtech companies are focusing towards expanding their business in Tier II & III cities across India. With growing competition, online food ordering companies are focusing on providing faster delivery in major metro cities to increase their customer base.

Spearheading the technology and digital thrust of the Restaurant sphere at the Indian Restaurant Congress, Anand Thakur, Chief Digital Officer, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd shares the technological dominance that has changed the delivery and dining experience altogether.

The Win Win Situation

With technology overpowering the Restaurant Business, there have been partnerships created that benefiting both the diners and the partners. When asked about the same, Anand said,” Technology is big and it has been coming off age for the past years.”

As far as food tech is concerned, Anand continued,” This is the era where things will change with concepts like social media, digital marketing and democratising delivery in the Restaurant space with technology touching all the multiple aspects of the Restaurant Business like customer acquisition, delivery and dining.”

“It is important to have a strategy in place to ensure that you are on that bandwagon and do not miss out on this wave of technology”, added Anand. 

Think Big: Delivery or Dining?

The dining experience changed with technology capturing the restaurant space. Few months ago, technology for restaurants was perceived to be something where you order and the food gets delivered at your doorstep.

Anand opines,” Without any doubt, dining makes the restaurant business more feasible. It is important that the Restaurant Business in general, cracks the right balance between dining and takeaway.”

Still Lagging Behind

It is no more an unknown fact that the concept of 30 min delivery as promised by Dominos is not that fulfilling anymore. When asked about the same, Anand said,” Apart from the product itself, delivery is our forte. There has been a huge and tremendous growth in the recent past and with technology growing faster, there have been certain issues where Dominos as a brand has not been able to fulfill the 30 minutre delivery promise. Given all the delivery businesses in the country, we are still the fastest and the best. Our intent for the future is to make sure that the phrase of 30 min quick delivery is fulfilled.”

Multiple aspects of food business which starts from customer acquisition, to the experience within the restaurant that includes not just the lighting or ambience but also food and with technology in hand, it is facilitating the whole experience.

Food For Thought

Indian Restaurant Congress 2018 brings together the biggest minds of the industry, sharing plethora of knowledge and ideas with each other.

“I am here to share my understanding of food and tech put together. Gaining knowledge from top players in the business of how they see technology and delivery with measures taken to fulfill the much awaited gap in the market”, said Anand, CDO, JubilantFoodworks Ltd.

With so many changes taking place in both the Restaurant industry and the region at large, Indian Restaurant Congress 2018 has set a benchmark for empowering the Restaurant and Food service sector.

Indian Restaurant Congress 2018 captured the four facets that will move the cheese for the industry from Good to Great including; Innovation, Experience and Scale and most Importantly a strong Business Culture that creates successful and sustainable restaurant enterprise.

The day one of the congress focused on building and nurturing the business of food and the innovation ecosystem for supporting entrepreneurs and creating platforms for collaboration. It is the platform where restaurants, chefs, brands found future business models, menus and Ideas to address tomorrow’s market demand.

The Congress was kick started with the inaugural session led by Rajeev Varman, CEO, Burger King India; Anjan Chatterjee, Founder, Speciality Restaurants along with Ritu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India Group signifying an auspicious start to the proceedings.

Some of the other leading thought leaders at the conference included Unnat Varma, MD, Pizza Hut (India); Ashish Saxena, Tex Mex Cuisines(Chili’s Restaurants); Ashish Kapur, Founder, Moods Hospitality(Whisky Sambha); Jaspal Sabharwal, Senior Director, Everstone Capital & Co-Founder TagTaste Foods; Rajat Tuli, Principal, AT Kearney; Anand Thakur, Chief Digital Officer, Jubilant Foodworks; Chef Nishant Choubey, Corporate chef, Roseate House; Sahil Jain, Co-Founder, Dineout amongst others.

The inaugural session was about The Business of Restaurants: Predicting Tomorrow, Today. The session was mainly concerned about the state of the Indian Foodservice Industry which led to a discussion on Leaders Viewpoint and Expectations on Innovation, Experience & Scale.

Global brands have always stayed at the top when introducing newness into the Restaurant Business. The next session talked about what innovation meant for Global Brands. The session was led & moderated by Ritu Marya, Editor-in-chief, Franchise India, Unnat Varma, MD, Pizza Hut India Sub Continent; Ashish Saxena, CEO, TexMex Cuisine India Pvt. Ltd; Sharad Sachdeva, CEO, Lite Bite Foods; Sahil Jain, Co-founder, Dineout; Chef Sumant Vikas, Corporate Chef, Cremica Food Industries Ltd.

The first half of the Conference witnessed several panel sessions with speakers like Jaspal Singh Sabharwal, Co-Founder & CEO-TagTaste & Senior Director-Everstone Capital; Pavan Jambagi, Founder & Director, Carnatic Café; Varun Kapur, ED, K Hospitality Corp; Savar Malhotra, Managing Partner, The Embassy Restaurant who addressed the conference and enlightened the audiences with their golden words.

On the second half of the conference, there was a panel session on the ongoing top techniques & tools for controlling Manpower costs, new age customers, supply chain issues and technology at the larger extent.

The evening was welcomed with CIGAR & BAR SUMMIT, where the stage was set for the leading lounge, bar, and nightclub owners who rose a toast for unlocking the opportunities and the next big bar and Lounge trends in the market. 

The day two of the conference was more focused on delivering expereince in the restaurant bsuiness here top chefs and restaurant owners discussed and debated on topics like growing home chef culture, food truck business, new catering opportunities to name a few. 

Adding glitz to the glamour was the Indian Restaurant Awards 2018 that also celebrated and honoured victory of chefs and restaurateurs who have made a difference in the restaurant business with their offerings by staying ahead of the curve. The Indian Restaurant Awards also welcomed famous cricketer and 34 year old Delhi boy Mr. Amit Mishra who has a record of 1000 wickets in first class cricket. He is the only Indian Cricketer who has taken 3 hat-tricks in Indian Premier League and is the highest wicket taker in IPL; Thought Leader and Author, Mr. Gurcharan Das; INC Spokesperson Prof. Dr. Gourav Vallabh as some of the top dignitaries to present awards to the top winners. 

India’s restaurant sector, pegged at Rs 3,09,110 crore ($48 billion) is growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent to Rs 4,98,130 crore by 2021 as tier-2-3 regions is all set to drive new growth and innovations. The Second Edition of Restaurant India, West India held on 9^th June 2018 in Mumbai set a cult for the business makers and chefs from the region by inviting them to discuss and debate on thought provoking trends and culture.

“Mumbai is a dream and an ideal market for any restaurateur who wants to build a good, significant business,” shared Ritu Marya, Editor-in-chief, Franchise India and Entrepreneur Media, adding that Mumbai has given a culture of eating out to the rest of the country and has been a trendsetter when it comes to setting up new formats and culture in Indian restaurant scenario.

Restaurateurs, chefs and industry leaders including Chef and Restaurateur, Hemant Oberoi, Akshay Bector, Chairman & MD, Cremica Food Industries Ltd, Celebrity Chef Vicky Ratnani, Celebrity Chef and twice Winner of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant, Dharshan Munidasa of Ministry of Crab- Srilanka, Deepinder Batth, COO, Gourmet Investments which owns PizzaExpress in India, among others attended the event.

Restaurants in tier-II cities are likely to achieve break-even much faster on lower lease rentals and attrition rate than metro cities, despite having lower market size to penetrate and are much better than metro cities as the pressure of high lease rentals and labour attrition does not take a toll on the operations.

“This business has made me a restaurateur two years back which I haven’t thought working with Taj for almost four decades,” shared Oberoi who believed in staying ahead of the time by starting Zodiac Grill in 1989 as the first fine-dine restaurant in India.

Sharing his view on the restaurant growth, Akshay Bector, Chairman & MD, Cremica Food Industries Ltd, said “Restaurant business is a very tough business. Continuous innovation and consistency is very important as it makes or breaks the business and it is something which is controllable and manageable in-house.”

The Restaurant India Mumbai also celebrated and honoured victory of chefs and restaurateurs who have made a difference in the business with their offerings by staying ahead of the curve. Best Chef led Restaurant of the Year : Hemant Oberoi, Food - Fusion Leadership Award, Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi; Celebrity Chef and Director; Turban Tadka Hospitality Private Limited, Night Life Creator of the Year, Priyank Sukhija; Chairman, First Fiddle Hospitality to a name of few.

India’s restaurant sector, currently pegged at Rs 3,09,110 crore ($48 billion), growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent to reach Rs 4,98,130 crore by 2021 as tier-2-3 regions are set to drive growth, reports the two-day Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 held on 28^th and 29^th August. Apart from Indian cuisine, Indian filter coffee is also making a comeback with pan-India growth plans as the Coffee Board of India plans a marketing and branding push to expand this niche market. “Our vision is to create a pure Indian filter coffee. By next year, we will have modern, clean, cool and affordable Coffee Houses across India offering Indian filter coffee and snacks. Till now, India has been a tea country, my objective is to also make it coffee country,” shares Srivatsa Krishna, CEO & Secretary, Coffee Board of India speaking at the congress. .

Zorawar Kalra, Founder and Managing Director, Massive Restaurants who owns Farzi Cafe, Masala Library and Papaya to name a few and the conference chairperson, says, “We are an important industry in India. The Indian restaurant market is 40 times that of Bollywood. The Indian food industry produces 2 per cent of India’s GDP and is second largest employer of human capital in the country after agriculture. As the Indian middle class is now spending more and more, food sector will automatically receive larger share out of their spending.”

Restaurateurs, chefs and industry leaders including Celebrity Chef Akmal Anuar (Co-Founder & Chef, 3Fils Restaurant),Unnat Varma (MD, Pizza Hut- India Subcontinent), Ashish Kapur (Founder & Director, Moods Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.), Sameer Bhasin (CEO, Barbeque Nation) and Varun Tuli (Director, Yum Yum Cha), among others were some of the speakers at the event.

Talking about consumer psychology in food and restaurant business, Indian Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar points “It’s important to know what consumers want, but it’s also important not to just give them what they want,” addingthat food is the balance of what consumers want and what you want to sell. And today there has to be a certain aspiration, certain newness behind any cuisine or concept in market. Otherwise, it’s like there is no expression left in the business.

According to the industry analysis and experts, North Indian is the highest preferred cuisines at 28% followed by Chinese at 19% and South Indian at 9%. Many Indian restaurants are now also looking to expand to global markets apart from the UK in the fine dining space.

The Restaurant Congress also organised a Bar & Cigar Summit and a Chai n Bun Summit on the sidelines of the two day conference.

"Today consumers who are drawn to an experiential dining experience are willing to pay more. Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 will share the building blocks of the food service in an innovative ecosystem. It is the platform where restaurants, chefs, brands would find future business models and ideas to address tomorrow's market demand", adds Ritu Marya, Director and Conference Convener, Franchise India.

Indian Restaurant Congress also organised, Indian Restaurant Awards on 29^th evening to appreciate the brands in the industry. Award honoured over 90 restaurateurs and foodpreneurs for their outstanding work and prominence by acknowledging outstanding creativity, customer service and top quality dining that is on offer throughout India. Mr. Zorawar Kalra was awarded National Restaurateur of the Year, Chef Ranveer Brar was awarded est Chef of the Year, Mr. Priyank Sukhija of Lazeez Affaire Group was awarded Restaurant Icon of the Year, Maplai Restaurant was awarded by Best Indian Cuisine Restaurant of the Year-South, The Darzi Bar and Kitchen- A Unit of Radioactive Hospitality LLP was awarded Best Theme based Gastro-Pub of the Year, Chai Galli was awarded Best Regional Café of the Year – South to name of a few.

New Delhi: We are delighted to enter in the seventh year of the Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 which will be held on 28th- 29th August at JW Marriott, Aerocity, Delhi. Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 is the leading Business and Knowledge platform for the restaurant and food industry.

Zorawar Kalra, Founder and Managing Director, Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd, Conference Chairperson for the Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 says “Culinary innovation and contemporary presentation should be the key focus for restaurants in the coming year. Chefs and restaurants should also back to their roots for bringing out the traditional, lesser known dishes to the forefront and contemporising them for today's well-travelled, curious and adventurous diners, to deliver a stellar dining experience”.

This year restaurateurs, chefs and industry leaders who will grace the two day event with their presence are Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, Mr. Unnat Varma (MD, Pizza Hut- India Subcontinent), Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, Mr. Unnat Varma (MD, Pizza Hut- India Subcontinent), Mr. Ashish Kapur (Founder & Director, Moods Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Sameer Bhasin (CEO, Barbeque Nation), Mr. Varun Tuli (Director, Yum Yum Cha) to a name of few.

Internationally acclaimed Celebrity Chefs and World’s leading Restaurateur will also be seen at IRC 2017. Chef Akmal Anuar (Co-Founder & Chef, 3Fils Restaurant) is one of the leading chefs of World's 50 Best Restaurant, and Celebrated Chef Romy Gill (Celebrity Chef & Restaurateur) from UK and dearly termed as the Curry Queen will speak on building Experiential food experiences. Mr. Stelio Nathanael (Chief Executive Officer, Gold Brands) of the Largest Food chain from South Africa & the only Listed food company in South Africa will address on building a food empire and his plans for India market. The two day conference would also witness Speakers and delegates from UAE, UK, US, Malaysia, Singapore and the South African regions.

"Today consumers who are drawn to an experiential dining experience are willing to pay more, too. Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 will share the building blocks of the food service in an innovative ecosystem. It is the platform where restaurants, chefs, brands would find future business models and ideas to address tomorrow's market demand", says Ms. Ritu Marya, Director and Conference Convener, Franchise India.

International speakers like Chef Akmal Anuar (Co-Founder & Chef, 3Fils Restaurant), Mr. Stelio Nathanael (Chief Executive Officer, Gold Brands) biggest brand of South Africa and Chef Romy Gill (Celebrity Chef & Restaurateur) will be sharing their business instinct and food knowledge’s for the first time in India. The two day conference would also witness Speakers and delegates from UAE, UK, US, Malaysia, Singapore and the South African regions.

The Theme for Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 would revolve on ‘Experience’ including- Food, Service, Design, delivery and the Digital Experience and new ways of engagement of the customer with the brand. Highlights from the event include the sessions that would focus on every single aspect that helps in building a Restaurant Experience – Food Trends, The new law in food game, Innovation etc. On the sidelines of the main conference, there will be a BAR & Cigar Summit on 29^th evening followed by, CHAI & BUN Summit on 30^th morning. For the first time, Indian Restaurant Congress is also having a session on Tech Munch which will be attended by the renowned Digital Food Influencers and Food Critics.

Our partners are Cremica (Title Partner), Fusion Restro (Technology Partner), Posist (Associate), Go Cheese (Cheese Partner) Mobikon (Session partner), Francorp (Knowledge Partner), Indian Culinary Forum (Supporting Associate) and many more. 7^th Annual Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 details can be found at http://www.restaurantindia,in/congress

With rising disposable income and time poverty, eating out has tremendously grown in India with consumption expenditure accounting for 60% of the total GDP. Western India market which remains a top market to invest in for both global as well as domestic investors has given the industry some of the key trends and leaders. Being a market which has 37% per cent share of the quick service restaurants west was the first region to create nightlife scene in Indian market. It is also home to the lost Iranian cuisine and local regional delicacies, including coastal cuisine, Marathi cuisine amongst others.

Indian Restaurant Congress which has become an important destinations for Restaurant and Food service brands to discuss and debate about the key trends in Indian food business after doing six mega editions in Delhi, thought of capturing the regional markets by doing Restaurant India at all the four regions India has. Building on its success, Franchise India replicated the platform in the southern region with the launch of Restaurant Congress in Bengaluru on 18^th December at Hotel Sheraton. And, now the much acknowledge show is coming to West India to take a bite of the western region. The show will also acknowledge the region’s top achievers at the gala awards evening on 19^th March at Hotel Westin Pune.

“The Restaurant Market in West India is clearly calling for an exponential expansion, requiring brands to open more restaurants at faster pace and in optimal locations,” says Mr. Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India, adding that, as Indian palate gets more diverse, restaurant owners must find a niche market, distinguish themselves from their peers, and maintain a nimble attitude. Majority of the beneficiaries will be the stand alone restaurant operators expanding in an organised format.

Themed around ‘A Bite of West India– Innovation with Growth’, the show will focus on the juggernauts of restaurant business in west market which has created an impact in the overall restaurant business by introducing the best of concepts and bringing the best menu to the table.

The congress will be attended by more than 300 restaurateurs and over 50 restaurant industry leaders, and chefs along with an incredible speaker line up including Riyaaz Amlani, President- NRAI, Sanjay Vazirani, CEO & MD- Foolink Services Pvt Ltd, Akshay Bector, CMD- Cremica Food Industries, Chef Vicky Ratnani, Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, Anurag Katriar, ED & CEO- deGustibus Hospitality, Tanmay Kumar, CFO- Burger King India to name a few.

Sponsored by Cremica Foods, Restaurant India Pune will be a one stop platform for knowledge sharing and networking for all the shareholders of the ecosystem. We, on behalf of Franchise India, welcome you to the Congress.

Keep posting about the Congress!

@IndianRestCong #Restaurant2017 #Pune

The Indian food service industry has evolved tremendously over the past few years as the country has seen an upsurge in the innovative and trendy concepts. Today, food business has moved past just being bread and butter business; it has caught attention of many multinational companies.

Indian Restaurant Congress saw grand success of its sixth edition this year with top names of the industry coming together. Building on its success, Franchise India is set to replicate the platform in the southern region with the launch of Restaurant Congress in Bengaluru on 18^th December at Hotel Sheraton. The show will also acknowledge the region’s top achievers at the gala awards evening.

“I welcome you to the Restaurant India 2016 South India edition, which is being held in its very first edition,” said Mr Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India. The objective of the conference, added Mr Marya, is to make a difference in the South Indian restaurant sector whether it is a small restaurant chain in a tier 2 city or an international chain entering India or perhaps a brand on the anvil of disruptive growth by creating the way forward for the change we all are experiencing in the industry today.

Themed around ‘Thought for Food with a Regional Touch’, the show will focus on the juggernauts of restaurant business down south which has created an impact in the overall restaurant business by introducing the best of concepts and bringing the best menu to the table.

The congress will be attended by more than 300 restaurateurs and over 50 restaurant industry leaders, and chefs along with an incredible speaker line up including Niren Chaudhary- President, KFC Global, MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor, Celebrity Chef & Restaurateur, AD Singh- MD, Olive Bar & Kitchen and Chef Ajit Bangera- Senior Executive Chef, ITC Grand Chola to name a few.

Franchise India also thanks Shri U.T Khader - Hon’ble Minister Food, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution; and Shri Priyank Kharge - Hon’ble Minister of State- IT, BT & Tourism for honouring us by confirming their presence as Chief Guest and Speaker at the congress and awards respectively.

Sponsored by Cremica Foods and supported by DineOut, DS Spiceco along with StudioJ as design partner, Restaurant India will be a one stop platform for knowledge sharing and networking for all the shareholders of the ecosystem. We, on behalf of Franchise India, welcome you to the Congress.

Keep posting about the Congress!

@IndianRestCong 

#Restaurant2016 #Bengaluru

World Franchise Congress 2015 was organised by Franchise India and PepsiCoIndia, was convened to fuel the growth of franchise industry in India.

The leadership conventions’ aim was to explore and assess the impact of current and future franchise trends on businesses, investors, financial institutions, technology, government’s entrepreneurial drive, and at large on society.

While giving keynote address, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent charge), said, “The biggest challenge is to get people skilled in a structured manner and since Skill, Entrepreneurship and Franchise are linked, the franchise model becomes a great way to bring together entrepreneurs of the country. The government’s new model skill India will help young people build their skill and be future entrepreneurs and franchisors.”

Shiv Shivakumar, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India, in his address, said, "The franchise model is one of the most versatile and flexible business models. It is the most sought-after models in all categories from luxury goods retailing to distributing basic consumer goods. The franchise model helps build powerful ecosystems. The World Franchise Congress is an initiative supported by PepsiCo to help discuss and debate the best that this model offers."

While speaking on the occasion, Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India, commented, “With changing consumer behaviour our need is not only for more franchise models but also a sustainable franchise model. We need a mega franchise model in India which can create a greater brand out of India- which can go global. The need is to produce original concepts”.

World Franchise Conference 2015 brought together over 30+ thought leaders, investors and forecasters to engage in a business dialogue with 250+ franchisors, master franchisees, large retailers, entrepreneurs, channel partners, and CXO’s of consumer and service brands through keynotes, panel discussions, master classes, and networking. Some of the eminent speakers included Andy Williams, President - Global Franchise, PepsiCo, Rod Young, Chairman, DC strategy, Australia,  Ravi Jaipuria, Founder Chairman, RJ Corp, Vasanth Kumar, Executive Director, Max Retail, OP Manchanda, CEO, Lal Path Labs, K B Kachru, Chairman – South Asia, Carloson Rezidor Group, Alok Gupta, Chief Architect & CEO, Essar Retail, Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice President-Retail & Marketing, Titan, Gaurav Mahajan, President, Raymond Group.

The World Franchise Congress 2015 also recognised and felicitated achievers, innovators, smartest futurists and franchise leaders from all over the world, who have contributed significantly towards the development of current and franchise future trends in business, government and technology and society. 

Starbucks Coffee, which is known for blending the perfect cup of coffee, has initiated the ‘Race Together’ campaign in America.

The coffee company has partnered with USA Today to tackle the issue of racism in America.

This week, baristas at 12,000 Starbucks locations nationally will try to spark customer conversation on the topic of race by writing two words on customer cups: Race Together.

Also, a special "Race Together" newspaper supplement, co-authored by Starbucks and USA TODAY, will appear in USA TODAY print editions starting from 20th March and will be distributed at Starbucks stores.

How it began

As racially-charged tragedies unfolded in communities across the country, the Chairman and CEO of Starbucks didn’t remain a silent bystander. Howard Schultz voiced his concerns with partners (employees) in the company’s Seattle headquarters and started a discussion about race in America.

Despite raw emotion around racial unrest from Ferguson, Missouri to New York City to Oakland, Schultz said, “We at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America."

Adding further, he said, "Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are."

Partners were not silent. For more than an hour, at an all-hands meeting at the Starbucks Support Centre, partners representing various ages, races and ethnicities passed a microphone and shared personal stories.

“The current state of racism in our country is almost like humidity at times. You can’t see it, but you feel it,” said one of the partners.

A thousand more voices have joined the conversation

Over the past three months, more than 2,000 Starbucks partners have discussed racial issues at open forums in Oakland, Los Angeles, St Louis, New York and Chicago.

In the midst of a conversation with partners in St Louis, a soft spoken young man shared that he was proud to have reached the age of 20.

“The magnitude of that statement might have been lost on many in the room, but for me, it brought to light a deeply troubling situation. For some young people in our country, just staying alive is their biggest and most important accomplishment,” said Kelly Sheppard, a Starbucks 15-year partner who attended two of the forums. “How could that be in 21st century America with all of the promise and opportunity our nation provides?”

In each forum, partners demonstrated vulnerability and courage as they shared personal stories.  The gatherings highlighted the mission and values of Starbucks, and the partners’ desire to do more.

Inviting customers for discussion

Baristas in cities where the forums were held said they wanted to do something tangible to encourage greater understanding, empathy and compassion towards one another.

Given their willingness to discuss race relations, many partners wanted to begin conversations with their customers too. Partners in New York, Chicago, St Louis, Oakland and Los Angeles have voluntarily begun writing “Race Together” on Starbucks cups.

Partners in all Starbucks stores in the US will join them today. Partners in Starbucks stores may also engage customers in conversation through Race Together stickers available in select stores, and a special USA Today newspaper section arriving in stores later this week.

In addition, full-page ads in The New York Times and USA Today support the Race Together initiative, which will be further outlined during Starbucks 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Seattle on Wednesday.

Race Together is not a solution, Schultz acknowledged, “It is an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society – one conversation at a time.”
 

Dasara food committee is planning to organize a ‘food mela’ for processors to showcase their products in order to attract more footfalls this year, as reported by Economic Times.
The food festival will be organised at Mysore scouts and guides grounds from 25th September to 2nd October.
Dasara Food Fair Committee will provide accessibility to food processors and manufacturers. The Dasara Food Celebration Committee in Mysore has come out with an idea to attract the people in large numbers for the ‘food festival’.
The Committee has provided direct accessibility of the fair to food processers and manufacturers by asking them to set up their own stalls in the mela.
“Each food processor will be provided with a 10 x10 ft or 10x 20 ft stalls at the venue and they can set up their shops. Food processors would also show case their products and directly sell them to consumers and bulk buyers under direct sale from factory to consumers,” said Suresh Kumar Jain, Food Sub- committee Chief. He further shared that besides consumers and visitors, this will also help processors and manufacturers to do their business.
Jain disclosed that various organisations in the field including CFTRI and DFRL have come forward to show case their innovations and provide information on various support schemes and subsidies available for establishment and expansion of food processing and manufacturing industries by Indian government.

Top restaurateurs, policy makers, food service professionals and consultants came together at the Indian Restaurant Congress & Awards 2013 to interact and share their knowledge and experiences on various topics related to customer engagements, food taste, quality, best practices, regulatory issues and future trends in the food service industry. The Congress brought close to 350 professionals from F&B service companies from India and abroad.

A report by National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Technopak reveals that the size of the food services market in India is estimated at $48 billion in 2013. This is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11 percent over the next five years to reach $78 billion by 2018. As such the theme of the conference was ‘Indulgence’ and it worked on a 4-tier approach for restaurant business – exceptionally good tasting food, customer experience, remarkably good for bottom line and good business value.

Good Tasting Food

Consumers actively seek quality from food operators and restaurants. To this AD Singh, MD, Olive Bar & Kitchen, said, “Keep working on your core. Secondly be innovative and keep products fresh to be in people's mind space; we have been successful over the years through innovation and ideation of concepts. So don’t take your eye off your product (the core) and innovation.”

Talking on the concept of keeping food fresh and tasty, Gaurav Ahuja, COO, Red Ginger Hospitality, said, “Freshly made food add value for money prices. If the taste of the prepared food is not right, nothing can work for a restaurant. People travel long distances just for tasting food. If any amount of marketing or passion from the entrepreneur does not translate into good taste, it is not going to work.”

Speaking on how the current food & Beverage trend is going global, Chef Gautam Mehrishi, Corporate Chef, Sun N Sand Group of Hotels, said, "With the advent of foreign chefs becoming entrepreneurs, the Indian chefs are also inspired by the same; they are not thinking linearly which used to be the case because not too many things used to be changed in food & beverages industry in India. Since the last five years, the thought process has been quite exponential and, with the advent of technology and globalisation, things are changing and Indian cuisine is picking up and is becoming global like Burger Chicken Masala is the national dish of UK. I think within the next five years Indian food is going to make a mark as Chinese food has marked around the globe.

Good for Bottom Line

Restaurants are now placing stronger emphasis on the consumer's overall experience with a noticeably improved food service thereby boosting the bottom line. Speaking on this aspect, Anjan Chatterjee, Founder & MD, Specialty Restaurants, said, “Learn from the Domino’s of the world, the McDonald’s of the world, the Pizza Hut of the world; I think one thing at one time – try doing the best way, replicate it, make it scalable, institutionalise it, make it so good and improve it every day so that you have the logistics, the locations and the backend.”

Emphasising the growth factor in the Restaurant industry, Samir Kukreja, President, NRAI, said, “The food service industry continues to grow both in terms of cuisines and concepts from India and abroad. It is growing at a good pace and shows good growth in the next 4-5 years. The slowdown of economy has had an impact on restaurants but the industry is still growing.”

Speaking on the same lines, Brijesh Rathore, Business Director, Diversey Care, said, "The Food and Beverage industry is currently the fastest growing segment in the country. It is growing annually to 20-22 percent and we see a lot of people coming up to open the restaurant, the international chains are coming up and the national chains have massive spending programmes but we are facing many challenges in the industry. Many of the challenges are related to the Government Control and many are of the ways the industry operates."

Advising entrepreneurs on the challenges, AD Singh of Olive Bar & Kitchen, said, "If you are an entrepreneur who wants to get into the restaurant business, kindly think: our industry is tough; the margins are not good and fairly vulnerable to what is happening to our environment. Most of the people rush to open a restaurant; that's a big mistake. Take a lot of time on product development – decide what you want to do, how to make it better, what's the business plan, how you are going to be different from everybody else and what will bring people to you. Get your product right in the product planning stage to make it a success.”

Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., said, “I think Indian chains also have the potential of reaching the same level as international chains. It is only a question of outlook and easy availability of funding.” He further added that every single metric has to be built so that every store portrays the satisfaction of the customers with a ‘khushiyon ka meter’ reading. This he believes is the reason why not a single store of his closed in the last six years.

Speaking on how the concept of gourmet dining is taken up by standalone restaurants, Chef Soumya Goswami, Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine, The Oberoi Group, said, “Gourmet dining is on the rise; it starts with definitely good produce and good ingredients. Standalone restaurants have jumped at the concept and they are giving hotel restaurants a run for their money. There’s a lot more money involved with standalone restaurant because people understand food more. If you have high quality ingredients only then can you transform them into high quality food. Second is the ambience because you cannot expect gourmet dining kind of atmosphere at a very basic minimalistic restaurant. You need gimmickry in terms of ambience to give a luxury feel to the restaurant which I think is more of the standalone restaurants are doing better and better every day.”

Sunil Kallerackal, Chairman, BookyourTable, said, “There is no science to marketing spends on TV, radio and hoardings and get a direct correlation to the footfall. So it is important for restaurants to figure out an efficient way to marketing locally and move on with the digital age. That is where we come in to say that the ROI of marketing will not work the traditional way because there is no scale like an FMCG brand. Indian restaurant industry is a vibrant industry and it is the third largest growing market. It is an exciting space and in the next 5 years we would see a 20% CAGR growth; one who handle challenges will prevail.”

The Feel Good Factor

Apart from demanding quick service, consumers are also keen on the health quotient and calorie intake of the food they eat. Speaking on this aspect, AD Singh of Olive Bar & Kitchen said, “If I as a consumer hear about a restaurant doing something different or something new, it gives me a lot of confidence that the owner still cares. Customers like to see that the owner still cares. If you can keep a good product and the prices affordable, they will come back to you. Customer is king and any brand or group that does not listen to what a customer says is doomed for failure.”

Sanjeev Kapoor, Celebrity Chef & Owner, Khana Khazana India Pvt. Ltd., said, “The F&B trends are constant ever-evolving. Normally when a change happens the talk happens first. For the last 2-3 years, the talk is moving towards healthier foods. There’s a lot of sensitivity towards localisation of ingredients as that talk has also started to happen. In the next 18 months there will be action in these areas. More and more people will start following healthier foods.”

Sunil Kallerackal, of BookyourTable, said, “From the restaurant industry standpoint, the two biggest costs are real estate and people. The only way to optimise that is to do a scale. Connect with the local audience because 70% of business comes from locality. So ideally one should study their eating patterns and their favourite cuisines. If you don't get 30% of the menu reordered or extend the menu adoption to 70%, the customer will not come back. So it is important to connect with the consumer and overlap with the cuisines. It is no point doing something because it is popular.”

Chef James Baika, Executive Chef, Kofuku, said, “Our (Japanese) menu is very much appreciated by Indians. Those who are coming to Mumbai or Kofuku now know about Japanese food. Before that they did not know what Japanese food is. Since they realize that the food is so fresh and healthy, we have a lot of clients.”

Good Business Value

Assurance of good quality, prompt service and the wholesomeness of the food intake are crucially responsible for the footfalls at outlets. Speaking on this aspect of passion, Anjan Chatterjee of Specialty Restaurants said, “Passion with reason: if you don’t value reason, believe me you are dead. In the first five years we were only passion; however in 2006 McKinsey came and asked us ‘where you are putting your money’ and ‘why are you putting your money’. That’s when we started balancing passion and reason.”

Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., said, “For every restaurateur it is very much imperative to establish any new concept in Indian market with Value for Money proposition to gain the initial pull. Value for money strategy has changed the game for Mc Donald’s and it has opened the floodgate of demand for Dominos as well. However every product should not be developed with the same strategy as it tends to lose the essence of the product.”  

Gaurav Ahuja of Red Ginger Hospitality, said, “As a restaurant chain, if you are not particular about how much is going into your final product, you are going to lose big time. If you take decision to start your own restaurant, passion has to drive it but, most importantly, be prepared to dirty your hands. If you have conviction in your idea, you will succeed.”

On ways to grow a successful restaurant business, Anjan Chatterjee of Specialty Restaurants further added, “You need to ensure you have corporate governance and transparency and, you need to be concentrating on the radar exactly like a captain. You need to be aware, to be conscious and alert to monitor what is happening.”

Speaking on the economic scenario and the reasons for the failure of Indian restaurant chains, Akshay Bector, Managing Director, Mrs Bector’s Foods, said, “We are in the middle of slightly difficult situation. The economic scenario is not holding out very well and generally the customers are becoming cautious. Foreign brands are successful because they come on the platform of well-designed management; they have settled supply chains. Indian restaurant chains or local restaurant chains have not been able to pick up as they have floundered on various counts. First and foremost is the recognition of the core product – the USP – which helps in developing the chain. Second is the lack of development of well-designed supply chain; most of the restaurants fail at the start-up point because they did no invest in a sound supply chain.”

In the same thought, Sunil Kallerackal of BookyourTable, said, “Most of the foreign brands come with a lot of process, history and structure. Unfortunately, in India, people scale before they have a characterised or structured model. The second issue is high real estate costs. Food costs have also gone up in 3-5 years. These two directly compound the issue for both Indian and International restaurants. Local restaurants, which stand at 80% today, manage better as they are standalone or unorganised. Big companies struggle a bit because of big issues. The cost of food is 30-40% so some deviation could affect the margin.”

Eric Ho, Founder, Yo Yo Group, said, “Expanding local chain is all about setting up an initial pilot operation. A lot of people open the second store and third store and fourth store and by the second year they disappear. The difference we did was we spend 2-3 years just on the pilot operation – building a strong foundation, building a strong system.”

The Indian Restaurant Awards 2013, which was held in the evening, acknowledged the contribution of market leaders & innovators from the Restaurant industry. Organised by Franchise India and judged by leading business experts, these awards were the perfect opportunity to show the awardees’ outstanding success in the industry as they received national recognition and extensive media coverage with the partners. They also got extensive publicity through various online and offline mediums. The winners were awarded a trophy supported by a certificate.

Such recognition helps create awareness and builds cross-industry association across various sectors covering finance, design and aesthetics, service aspects, merchandising, sourcing and marketing through brand building. In the last two years, Indian Restaurant Congress and Awards have become the authority and the final word when it comes to food and beverage in the country.

A night full of applauds and recognition of customers was sponsored by Cremica (presenting partner), Bookyourtable.com, Frostline (silver partner), POSist (technology partner), Loom Crafts (furniture partner), QwikCilver (gift card technology partner), arttd’inox (gift partner) and Pepsico (beverage partner).

The prestigious brands that were a part of the evening included Speciality Restaurants, Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialties Ltd., Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., Jumboking Foods Pvt. Ltd., Avant Garde Hospitality, Amalgam Speciality Foods (I) Pvt. Ltd., Yes India Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd., Sankalp Recreations Pvt. Ltd., amongst others.