Food players eyeing bigger pie of Indian market
Food players eyeing bigger pie of Indian market

While international juice makers like Joost and restaurants like Habanero Foods and Burrito Boyz are all set to dip their feet in the Indian market, the domestic QSR players like JumboKing and Foodabhi.com are too gearing up to increase their market presence to serve wide young consumers.

It was observed in the Startup Summit 2015 Mumbai that the international and domestic restaurant players are widely factoring upon large demographic dividends, while upgrading their cuisines for unique consumer experience.

“I think India is a great market for Habanero, as the Mexican food is very similar to Indian food. The test profile and flavor is similar. Typically, I see a family coming in restaurant and enjoying the food, including the grandparents. There is something familiar about the product that everybody enjoys. Mexican is quite rare international cuisine in India,” shares Griffith David, Founder and CEO, Habanero Foods International.

Observing the wide consumer base with rising disposable income here, Habanero is planning for aggressive expansion in metros. “We want to be in all the major markets. We are in Banglore, Chennai and Hyderabad. We also want to be in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Punjab markets. We are looking to grow franchises predominantly. We are looking at doing 50-60 Burrito Boys franchises in the next three to four years. And we would like to do 10 Hebanero’s in the next four years,” adds David.

Furthermore, the premium Australian juice brand Joost, which operates through over 200 franchises around the world, is also planning to tap the large Indian premium consumer base with its unique juices at select locations in the country.

“There’s a huge potential in the Indian market and for us the opportunity is large and substantial. We can be in hospitals, gyms, and retail and transport hubs as well. By 2018, we are planning to have around 30 quality stores. We have rich products and we don’t compromise with quality,” asserts Olivia Esley, Global Business Development Manager, Retail Zoo.

Running ahead of its competitors, the home-grown Vadapav chain JumboKing is planning to keep its business simple by remaining technologically advanced. The brand is looking to serve its offerings through ATM store model, where consumers can pick up Vadapav on-the-move.

“With ATM model in place, we ensure our store presence at every nook and corner. People can come in, pick up and move on. There will be no sitting arrangement and waiter services. It’s very simple,” explains Dheeraj Gupta, MD, JumboKing.

Further sharing his aggressive expansion plans, Gupta adds, “For the next four to five years, we are planning for 100 stores every year. We are opening our 100th store June this year. We are planning for each city – adding at least one store every month.”

Even the online tiffin service provider Foodabhi.com is adopting various measures to tap metropolitan office goers and others. The brand delivers freshly prepared homelike lunch and dinner meals through various food vendors. Foodabhi’s customers can now order wholesome meals across Mumbai starting at Rs 70 from a variety of cuisines and tastes. “Meals are hygienically packed and delivered by Foodabhi’s logistics team at customers’ doorsteps and desktops,” tells Amit Dubey, Co-founder, Foodabhi.com.

Thus, we can say that Indian consumers and food business will see a lot of disruption in the industry in future – be it online service providers or restaurant operators – all will look for a better way of growth.

 
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