THE SECRET INGREDIENTS IN THE FOOD BUSINESS

Food in India is as diverse as its culture. Just walk a mile; you can feel the difference in the taste and preferences of eating out behaviour. As Indians are a big foodie, their love for va­riety makes restaurant and food as a good business idea. With the Indian fran­chising industry expected to reach $35 billion, there are opportunities galore for both international and home-grown brands to capture the bigger pie of this market.

According to a KPMG India report, the food and beverages sector is expect­ed to grow at 9 per cent by 2017 from 5 per cent in 2012, opening about 27,000 franchised outlets, which in itself are giving room to restaurant brands to expand their wings.

Customer is the King

The food business sce­nario in India is growing at a hefty amount inviting global brands to enter into the Indian market and promoting Indian brands to expand overseas. Since, majority of the population that the country has are young, aspirational and well travelled with high disposable income, eating out in itself is going to be fun and experienced rather than just feeding the belly.

“You need to choose your segment and under­stand your customer,” shares A. D. Singh, MD, Olive Bar & Kitchen, who believes that food has taken a new dimension in India and today one needs to bring lots of Tamasha along with the food.

According to latest reports, India is going to be the largest market for consumer in terms of consumption by 2030. And with this it brings lots of opportunity for emerging players like Tea Trails, Brewberrys Cafe, Genuine Broaster Chicken, who wants to expand via fran­chising.

Young blood

The key preferences for a franchisor while vouch­ing for a partner are a franchisee should have enough money to invest into the brand, and must have certain experience to the table. But now the franchisors are prefer­ring the young over the rest, as they see the passion and the dedica­tion in them. Explain­ing the same, Karan Tanna, CEO, Yellow Tie Hospitality, which runs Genuine Broaster Chicken in India, says: “Major pivot between success and failure of any franchised outlet is the fire to do something innova­tive and the enthusiasm that remains the same. With young franchisees on block, owners assure that these two are fulfilled.”

Since, long-term sustainability is an important aspect, which the food business demands today, aspirational young partner with a passion to drive the business will be a key to remain at the top.

The Right Place

The location acts as a catalyst in the food business. No matter how young and fresh your concept is, if you have not a right location then you are super flop. And, whenever a brand expands its demography, it looks for a franchi­see partner because the partner has a better knowledge about the market and the location. Location also decides the capital expenditure incentive of a busi­ness, since footfall is an important part in getting the revenue. “Location with high footfall saves headache in the long run,” adds Singh, who is running his restaurants at some of the best locations in India.

A profitable business

Restaurant business is not every one’s cup of tea. Just because a particular brand is making the headlines doesn’t mean you should invest in that brand. A brand needs to be profitable if you are looking to invest in it. With the food business becoming the hot discussion of the Indian ecosystem, everyone today wants to own a restaurant or a delivery business but how many of them actually survive remains an unsolved puzzle. “Make sure you invest in a business that is profitable,” points Srikanth Narasimhan, Founder & Direc­tor, Veda Corporate Advisors.

Hence, we can say that with lots of start-ups entering the space, franchise is an impor­tant part to grow the business. However, franchising in itself is a partnership, the vision and the goals need to be aligned to build that partnership. Though, there is no set formula that makes your restaurant a hit. But the ingredient lies in the basic principles, and the flavours in flourishing a brand.

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