Indians love to try out different cuisines and restaurants. And therefore with this segment growing at an astounding rate, casual dining is changing its nature to keep pace with new demands
Over the years, casual dining has become one of the fastest segments to grow, capturing both quick service and fine dining customers. With 33% of market share, the sector has become investors’ first love in the food service game where they prefer putting in their hard-earned money. And, as people are eating out more day by day, this segment of the market is divided into two parts depending on the location and the target group.
“Customers have money and they like to experiment, so when a new concept is launched most people give it a try. If the concept wins the guest by good service, affordable price, and innovative ideas, there is a repeat visit and the concept is successful,” shares Sharad Sachdeva, CEO, Lite Bite Foods, adding that as casual dining is getting more and more acceptable, restaurant owners are dividing it into two categories on the basis of location and customer. According to the latest research done by CBRE, casual dining restaurants (CDR) has been a category that has gained significant traction in the past couple of years, accounting for almost 46% of all restaurants that were a part of the survey.
In terms of location, more than 60% of CDRs in the survey were found located on high streets. As the food and beverage landscape matures, it has given enough opportunity for the emergence of home-grown chains. With the availability of funding and PE investments in the F & B business, operators have expanded their brands across cities. NCR and Mumbai are the cities that witness the most ‘cross-expansion’, with chains headquartered in either of the two cities and expanding to the other city fairly quickly. “The customers are less choosy yet very impulsive while dining out. It is not essentially affordability that is important for customers but also the QSC (quality, service and cleanliness) at any dining segment which is mandated to magnetize repeat visits,” points out Abhinav Yadav, COO, Cybiz Bright Star Restaurants (P) Ltd. which runs the burger chain Carl’s Jr. in India.
Driven by New-Gen Customers
Casual dining restaurants are very different as they focus on customer experience; however, their USP remains affordable pricing. “For millennials pricing is the most important aspect apart from innovative ideas and service and most affordable casual dining concepts address all these aspects,” adds Sachdeva who launched Tappa and You Mee to give unpretentious food at very affordable prices with excellent service and ambience that youngsters love these days. Commenting on the same, Atit Verma, Co-Founder, Tpot Café, says, “India has a big appetite for eating out. The economics of running a restaurant isn’t keeping up. The amount of real estate available to restaurateurs is limited, rentals are constantly increasing and yet consumers are going for (cheaper) casual dining, making it harder for us to break even.”
And, as most of the target customers’ in this segment are well-travelled and well-read or informed, they know the importance of good ingredients and amicable food at pocket-friendly prices. “Unlike a quick service restaurant, the casual dining restaurant not only focuses on the quality of food to be served or delivered but a lot more on value-added services and add-ons to this particular format,” adds Yadav. With dominance from domestic players, ACDRs have seen high growth, inviting international chains like Pizza Hut and Carl’s Jr. to invest deeper into the segment.
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