How international trends are hitting food scene
How international trends are hitting food scene

As more and more knowledge about being healthy and fit is pertaining in India, people are going back to roots and are inspired by the slow food revolution taking globally. Knowing as the nation for its rich culinary heritage, our country has moved way ahead in naming itself just as a ‘junk and unhealthy’ nation. Today, people are well aware about the global trends and eating habits and are no more addicted to a butter chicken and biryani recipe. They have even mastered the art of making biryani oil free and cholesterol free. And, that’s where the market is heading.

“It’s a global trend. People want to eat healthy and there is a growing need to be healthy. There is a growing trend towards going organic,” shares Manish Tandon, CEO- Au Bon Pain cafe which is known as America’s healthiest food brand.

Counting the calorie

In the last two years restaurant chains are bringing lots of fresh and organic food items into their menu. Instead of importing raw materials from globe, they are sourcing it locally and are relying on local produce and spices to being out the same international flavours giving at an innovation. Gone are the days when people would only eat food just because it has got some taste. Today they want to know the calorie attached to it.

“People are looking at eating fresh food. Frozen food which can be quickly warmed up and served is gone out. We as a brand doing everything from scratch at our restaurant. Secondly, presentation is taken care of. People are looking for a presentation which is more innovative and contemporary,” says Ashish Saxena, CEO-TexMex Cuisines which runs Chili’s in India.

Catering to the right crowd

There is a set rule for geographic expansion in India- North, West, South and East. But thanks to international food shows and chefs promoting global culture, it has taken altogether a different turn. South being an important market especially cities like Bengaluru and Chennai has seen emergence of new and innovative food culture. From Bengaluru becoming a hub to nightlife culture and microbreweries to Chennai getting the first Greek restaurant...there is lots happening in the market. And, seeing these awareness and global trend that is hitting the region many international chains are more poised to enter these regions instead of applying same old formulas.

“Traditionally if you look and study the Indian market the west and south are the first one to embrace any new concept also the acceptability of the product is much faster in these region as compared to north. Though north is the highest market in terms of revenue but they take some time to embrace the new concept,” adds Abhay Sharma, COO- Menchie’s which has chosen South and West over North to setup their restaurants.

Hence, going by these changes we can say that in very short span of time India is going to witness some major culinary changes. There is lots of awareness that is being created in the market. Food promotions, chef based TV shows are creating a great culinary mashups. 

 
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