Indian Restaurant Congress sprinkles new flavours this season

Restaurant business look glamorous and luxurious to everyone who wants to own his own restaurant, but the truth is it goes through lots of challenges and hurdles. Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai together captures INR 5820 Crore chain market which is bigger than Delhi and Mumbai alone, says NRAI Food service report. Seeing the opportunity that the market holds there are lots of start-ups ad foodpreneurs entering the space. There is no denying to the fact that Bengaluru is becoming the next Vegas of the world and is now home to over INR 5015 Organised Standalone restaurant business.

Restaurant India 2016 south India edition brought market leaders to discuss the biggest market trends that is hitting the Southern region and is pushing the others traditional restaurant to go their way:

Emergence of Pub and Nightlife culture: With a population that is well travelled and experienced, Bengaluru has seen many pubs and microbrewery entering the space. Places like Indiranagar, Whitefield have become the next stop for the young population that promotes it. “Bengaluru is known for its pub culture and we proudly can say that we are pioneer in microbrewery culture,” says Chander K. Baljee, Chairman & Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels.

Catch them Young: “Give people what they want,” shares Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor who believes that South India has been a trendsetter in Restaurant and food business. From opening o first speciality restaurants, to going back to roots the region has caught up things early.

The rise of multi-cuisine Restaurants: Places like Social, Vapour have added a feather to the restaurant business by taking a step ahead and choosing multi cuisine over a single cuisine. “Fine dine is dead- don’t go into the business,” says AD Singh, MD, Olive Bar & Kitchen which owns some of the young and fresh concepts restaurants like Monkey Bar and Fatty Bao.

Digital disruption: Technology can help you get the best food delivered at your door step. In the last two years Bengaluru alone in the region has become a market for food-tech players. From subscription based platforms, online delivery, app based to chef based apps one can linger into best foods and salads. “Technology can help customers get the best foods delivered and also identify the best locations to eat out,” adds Sahil Jain, Co-Founder, DineOut.

Healthy is the new Green: With more people opting to go vegan, healthy food has created a new wave in the market. Restaurants have started coming up with a separate menu to cater to the need of health conscious crowds. “We have a low calorie section of 650 calorie and blow which is providing an option to people who are looking for healthy diet,” points Ashish Saxena, CEO- TexMex Cuisines which runs Chili’s Bar & Grill.

Hence, with the opportunity that the market holds, building brand wouldn’t be a challenge if you are catching up the trend young and early. 

Like previous year conferences, the Indian Restaurant Congress 2015 was a successful one too, which was well accepted and witnessed huge participation from the restaurant guild. Eminent Speakers, Policy Makers, food service professionals and consultants, as well as food ingredient and raw material suppliers  had come together on a single platform to discuss the change of the hour, the biggest ‘Disruption’  which the industry is experiencing today.

Chaired by Sunil Kapur, Chairman, K Hospitality Corp, the show was rewarding in creating awareness about the biggest trend in the industry with a focus on the four major points of Disruption (Bizruption+Foodruption+Youngruption+Techruption).

The inaugural session started with a welcome note by Ritu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India Group. Other speakers who were part of the healthy debate on issues in restaurant industry included, Riyaaz Amlani, President- NRAI & MD &CEO, Impresario Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Amit Burman, Chairman, Dabur India & Vice Chairman, Lite Bite Foods. Themed under the title ‘Economics of Indian Restaurant in 2015 & Beyond; the inaugural session set the tune for the two-day event.

Other major topics of discussion at the congress included factors which have brought the biggest-ever change in the Restaurant industry with boom of sectors like technology, innovation, consistency, food policies and law and proficiency amongst others.

Sharing insights on the same, Kapur commented, “Howsoever successful the concept may be you have to always keep the value. Nobody today believes in eating the same food, we have to introduce that change, whether in terms of menu change, recipe change, design creation, or improvement in technology. But the thing is, innovation is a must. There is no rule today where we can survive in the fast growing market without innovation.”

Likewise, speakers were also of the view that the government policy has become like a big gorilla in terms of hindrance it is creating in the growth of Restaurant Industry. The industry which is 25 times bigger than the Bollywood industry in India has to go through 30 or more licenses to open one single restaurant which in itself is one of the biggest blockage for the smooth run of any restaurant business in the country.

Restaurant thought leaders also discussed about the consumer eating out behaviour in general.

In the two days Restaurant congress organised by Franchise India, some of the key topics which was discussed by the industry people and the speakers were Open spaces restaurants, Food Trucks, Tourist Hubs.

According to Riyaaz Amlani, President NRAI and MD and CEO, Impresario Entertainment, “Delhi needs to have places with open spaces restaurants, more Food Trucks on the roads and tourist hubs which should attract tourists along with food and entertainment.”

Not only this, an NRAI delegation led by President Riyaaz Amlani met senior Delhi officials the same day, i.e 26th August to discuss a range of ‘practical’ issues which is actually blocking the industry’s growth.

Citing restaurant industry 25 percent bigger than the Bollywood and Telecom industry, Amlani also pointed Government polices as the big gorilla in the room.

“It was a very fruitful meeting. The government is committed to getting things done for Delhi’s benefit,” said Amlani.

According to the release by NRAI, the AAP government may approach Delhi’s civic bodies, including NDMC, asking them to allow restaurants to serve food in open spaces. Tourism minister Kapil Mishra has requested deputy CM Manish Sisodia to take up matter with municipal corporations.

Mishra met with the NRAI earlier in August to discuss initiatives like new tourism hubs. He was also receptive to NRAI’s proposal for guidelines on the use of open spaces in the light of the ongoing sealing of terraces & open spaces attached to Delhi restaurants.

“We met the minister to request him to resolve this issue. All across the world where there are tourist hubs, open air restaurants and terrace seating is extremely popular. Delhi needs to have a policy to allow this here as well,” added Amlani.

Last month, NDMC had banned serving of food at rooftops and terraces of restaurants in Connaught Place. Sources said the action was taken because there was no policy to guide usage of open spaces. NDMC had disallowed the practice for various reasons, including encroachment, illegal construction and improper fire safety practices. The council has, however, also said it will be willing to consider cases where fire and excise departments have given permissions.

In his letter to Sisodia, Mishra said restaurant owners were being given permission from excise and fire departments to serve in open spaces but the corporations and NDMC were not allowing them to do so. “There is a need to review licence conditions and permit food service in such areas. These areas should include open spaces, terraces and gardens available to restaurants. It is pertinent to mention that the organized industry, which is compliant with hygiene and safety requirements, is being denied this permission,” he said.

Mishra said that by not allowing food service in open areas, not only were the restaurant owners facing losses, but also the government was losing out on VAT and excise revenue. “Internationally, open-air cafes add considerably to the charm of the cities. There is no reason why Delhi should not enjoy such a privilege,” stated Mishra in his letter.

Restaurant industry in growth mode

Today restaurant industry is growing at a very fast pace with 77 per cent industry constituting of QSR and casual dining segment.

Not only this, the investment scenario in the sector has changed; today food-tech and healthy start-ups are the new game-changers with unique and scalable concepts getting a total of approximately $150 investments till July 2015.

And hence, Indian Restaurant Congress with a huge participation from restaurant professionals, chefs, suppliers, technology providers and investors, is one of the Biggest show in the industry with over 500+ restaurant professionals, 300+restaurant brands and 1000+awards nominations.

Better networking and Knowledge sharing

Any business is build around relationships and education and likewise restaurant and food business is today one of the most talked about business in the country.

Growing at a CAGR of 17 per cent, the food business has scaled a significant growth of Rs 2.04 lakh crore in 2015 and has long-term target to reach 3.8 lakh crore by 2017.

And platforms like Restaurant can create ample opportunity to share and communicate ideas from the experts in the industry.

The congress that was . . .

The congress, which is one of the largest platforms to discuss the business of food in India, has got an overwhelming response in the last few years. Niren Chaudhary, who chaired the conference in 2012, believed "We have collectively seen what we can do to manage the infrastructural challenges. Hence, the Indian Restaurant Congress."

Meanwhile Anjan Chatterjee who chaired the congress in 2013 shared, “I believe that the greatest reward for passion is work itself. But once in a while, others in the trade or industry recognise the passion and drive in the form of awards and accolades and those become my milestones in personal and professional journey. Sharing the same view in 2014, Amit Burman of Lite Bite Foods opines, “The new trend in the industry is sustainability, investments and brands as no goal is unachievable if you have the right approach.”

At the same time, the congress witnessed participation from Ajay Kaul of Domino’s, Chetan Arora from Subway, Sagar Ratna and celebrity chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor, Hemant Oberoi, Surjan Singh Jolly and the legendary chefs like Imtiyaz Qureshi of ITC adorning the attendee list, the congress has garnered opportunities and discussions over the growth and development in food business in the country.

The upcoming congress!

Disruption is the current wave that is blowing the industry’s growth in 2015. With food players entering the Unicorn club, The 5th Indian Restaurant Congress, themed ‘Disruption’ will discuss all the related topics when it comes to the biggest talk on food. Chaired by Sunil Kapur, Chairman, K Group, the congress will deliver the best practices when it comes to delivering the best in the industry. It will focus around the four biggest talk points:-  Bizruption, with industry targeting a growth of CAGR 17 per cent annually; Foodruption, with concepts like Fast Casuals and Kiosk replacing the QSR business; Youngruption, where 50 per cent of the people eat outside at least eight times a month and the Techruption, as  Digital disruption is peeping hot! With food-tech players getting thumps up!

Commenting on the talk points that the Indian Restaurant Congress 2015 have on its agenda, Sunil Kapur, Chairman, K Hospitality Corp shared, “I am honoured to be the Chair for 2015 Indian Restaurant Congress, and I am looking forward to exchanging ideas on how we can continue to grow and evolve the Indian restaurant industry.”

Kapur also pointed that platforms like the ‘Indian Restaurant Congress’ are a must attend for new as well as seasoned restaurateurs, to meet and share ideas to help take the industry ahead. Scheduled for August 25-26 2015 at Hotel JW Marriott, Aerocity Delhi, the congress has experts like Sanjeev Kapur,

Riyaaz Amlani, Vicky Ratnani and Mohit Khattar to name a few already on the panel. 

For more info on the congress: login to www.restaurantindia.in/congress