How food start-ups are targeting Indian F&B industry?
How food start-ups are targeting Indian F&B industry?

Restaurateurs in India are coming up with new ideas and innovations to cater to the needs of rising demands and taste of food lovers.

In last one year, Indian F&B industry has seen more than two dozen food start-ups venturing into the business. IIT graduates, software professionals and management trainees have left their jobs to enter into the fast growing Indian F&B industry which is estimated to reach at 78 billion by 2018.

New in the segment

The new entrepreneurs in the food business are targeting larger group of people. They have entered into the offline as well as online space to meet the odd hour demand of its customers. Offering healthy food options like salads and fresh fruits to online ordering convenience and home deliveries and midnight deliveries, these start-ups have entered into each segment as they have understood that the way to cashing out is only through food experience.

Restaurants like The Hiatus, Zu Tisch, Boveda, The Ancient Barbeque, Rodeo, Sakae Sushi amongst others have set up their physical presence to offer global cuisine to its customers. Meanwhile, online food deliveries like FRSH, TinyOwl, Cooked at Home, Holachef, Spoonjoy, Frsh, Yumist, Eatlo, Biryani 360, Tapcibo are here to serve the evolved tastes of the Indian customers.

Why food as biz

Over the years, we have seen that the industry is coming up with innovations in the segment. From existing players to the new comers all are ready to tweak their menu. The industry is growing at a CAGR of 17 per cent making Indian F&B industry as one of the largest industry in terms of consumption contributing to country’s economy as a whole.

According to experts, the trend is linked to multiple factors like growing Indian economy, widening global outlook of Indians due to increased foreign travel with high disposable income among youth. Meanwhile, people are now more pro-active in social gatherings over a business discussion or just catching up with friends.

Zu Tisch, which is an initiative by group of IITians is of the opinion that, “besides, the love for good food and the known fact that there is so much innovation possible in this industry. We felt compelled to start a place of our own that could someday be a benchmark for service, food and the overall experience for customers.”

“Food is my passion. Experimenting with new flavours and trying different cuisines was something that always managed to capture my interest. Even though I had a strong inclination towards real estate, I knew that food industry is the ultimate destination for me,” adds Prateek Mittal, Owner, Torrp-It-Up who is also a realtor and owns SGM Enterprises.

Targeting the online customers

As these entrepreneurs have tech background, they know how to target the young middle class Indians who still prefer to be in their comfort zone by ordering food online or looking for a home delivery option. FRSH, an IIT-Delhi backed start-up which delivers healthy and fresh breakfast options in Gurgaon takes orders via online orders and then deliver the order to the mentioned address.

On the other hand, FoodieCompass is an online venture which gives you an idea to select your food while looking at the menus online. Manish Goyal, an IIT graduate left his job in October 2013 to start his venture helping people to choose what to eat by looking at their pictures.

“To improve decision making of the customers before placing any order, the pictures form an integral part of the decision. The customers will always form an opinion of a restaurant based on what they choose to eat, not the rest of the menu. FoodiesCompass simply helps them choose wisely. It is like a sneak peek into what can be expected if you order an item,” says Goyal.

And in the years to come we can say that these ventures gives us a clear picture that the food business is evolving in the country. Investors are attracted by the growth in the business and are ready to fund these start-ups and scale their business. Hence, we 2015 will welcome more food start-ups in its calendar.

 
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