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Festive seasons in India are much more than family gatherings and cultural traditions. They also play a big role in boosting the restaurant industry. Every major festival brings with it a rise in demand, and restaurants see this as a chance to grow. From Diwali and Navratri to Christmas and Eid, food businesses witness a sharp increase in both dine-in and online orders. Families often prefer eating out together or ordering special meals at home. This rise in demand is not limited to big cities. Smaller towns are also seeing the trend, with restaurants creating special menus and offers for festive occasions.

Over the past few years, the way people celebrate with food has changed. Customers now look for variety, festive-themed dishes, and faster delivery. Restaurants have adapted by designing seasonal menus, partnering with delivery platforms, and even creating festive hampers. This shift shows how festivals have become more than cultural moments. They are now key business drivers for the food industry. The restaurant sector in India continues to evolve, turning every festive season into both a celebration and an opportunity.

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Festivals Bring Big Business

For many restaurants, festivals mean a spike in revenue. During Diwali or Christmas, some restaurants report a 30-40% increase in sales. Families, friends, and colleagues often prefer dining out together or ordering large meals at home. Delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy also report record sales during festive seasons. Quick commerce companies such as Dunzo or Zepto now help restaurants deliver festive meals faster, meeting the growing demand for convenience.

Festivals are no longer just about celebrations; they have become strategic opportunities for restaurants to boost revenue. Restaurants plan their operations months in advance, stocking up on ingredients and hiring temporary staff to manage the surge in orders.

Menu Innovation and Festive Specials

One of the biggest ways festivals are changing the restaurant industry is through menu innovation. Limited-time festive menus are now a common trend. These menus often include special dishes, fusion meals, and themed desserts that customers can only enjoy during the festival period.

For example, Diwali thalis with traditional sweets and savory items are now popular across India. Many restaurants also add fusion dishes, such as Diwali-inspired pizzas or Navratri vrat-friendly meals made with ingredients like buckwheat, samak rice, and water chestnut flour. Christmas menus often include cakes, puddings, and roasted items that cater to both Indian and Western tastes. These special menus not only attract more customers but also create a sense of exclusivity, encouraging people to try new dishes. Customers now expect restaurants to innovate during festivals and offer something unique.

The Rise of Delivery and Quick Commerce

The rise of online food delivery has changed how restaurants work during festivals. Earlier, most people went out to eat. Today, delivery and takeaway make up a large part of festive sales. This change has opened new ways for restaurants to connect with customers and grow their business. Delivery apps have become powerful partners for restaurants. They create festive offers and highlight special menus to attract more buyers. Customers get to enjoy:

• Festive bundles for families and groups
• Combo meals at affordable prices
• Exclusive discounts for online orders

These options make festive dining easier and more accessible.

Quick commerce platforms have also become a key part of this shift. They allow restaurants to deliver food and festive hampers in less than an hour. For busy families, this service is a big advantage. They can enjoy traditional meals without spending time cooking or waiting long hours. The mix of delivery apps and quick commerce is changing the way restaurants run during festive seasons. It has made the industry faster, more flexible, and focused on customer needs. This model is now central to how restaurants plan for festivals.

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Changing Consumer Trends

Consumer behavior during festivals has shifted dramatically. Families now prefer group dining, large combo orders, and festive hampers. Many customers are willing to pay extra for premium meals, healthier options, or dishes made with fresh and organic ingredients.

The trend for experiential dining is also growing. Restaurants are creating themed experiences for festivals, from Diwali decoration setups to live music performances. Customers are looking for more than just food—they want a complete festive experience that they can enjoy with family and friends.

Digital Marketing and Technology

Technology is helping restaurants make the most of festive seasons. It allows them to connect with customers in new and smart ways. Digital tools are now a major part of their growth strategy. Restaurants use several methods to reach people during festivals:

• Digital campaigns with festive themes to draw attention
• Influencer tie-ups to create buzz around special dishes
• Discounts and offers that encourage higher sales
• Customer data to study past orders and design menus that sell

Social media also plays a big role. Restaurants post short videos, recipe stories, and decoration highlights to keep audiences engaged. These posts make customers curious and increase orders. By combining technology with tradition, restaurants not only boost sales but also build stronger brands. In a highly competitive market, these digital efforts help them stay visible and relevant, turning every festive season into an opportunity for growth.

Challenges for Restaurants

While festivals bring business, they also come with challenges. High demand can lead to shortages of ingredients, and restaurants must maintain quality while handling a large number of orders. Staffing is another challenge. Temporary workers are often needed, and training them quickly is essential to ensure smooth operations.

Competition is also fierce. Every restaurant wants to attract festival-goers, so marketing and innovation become crucial. Those that fail to adapt may lose customers to competitors who offer better menus, faster delivery, or a more immersive dining experience.

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The Future of Festivals in the Restaurant Industry

The impact of festivals on the restaurant industry is only growing. Businesses are treating festivals as long-term revenue opportunities rather than short-term spikes in sales. Expect to see more fusion menus, premium dining experiences, and personalized festive offers in the coming years. Restaurants are also investing in technology to manage orders, track customer preferences, and optimize delivery times. Quick commerce partnerships will become even more important, ensuring that festive meals reach customers quickly and efficiently.

As consumers continue to seek unique experiences and convenience, restaurants that innovate and adapt will thrive. Festivals are no longer just a time to celebrate—they are a time to grow, engage, and build lasting relationships with customers.

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The Bottom Line!

Festive seasons have changed the way restaurants operate in India. They are no longer just cultural events but strong business opportunities. Restaurants use this time to launch new menus, try creative dishes, and offer unique dining experiences. Delivery and quick commerce add another layer, making festive food more accessible than ever. Digital marketing has also become central. From online campaigns to influencer tie-ups, restaurants are finding new ways to reach customers. Social media helps them showcase festive specials and build stronger connections.

Challenges such as high competition and rising costs remain. Yet, the opportunities are much larger. Festivals bring higher revenue, bigger customer reach, and chances to stand out in a crowded market. For restaurants that adapt to these changes, every festive season becomes more than a business boost. It turns into a celebration of growth, innovation, and long-term customer loyalty.

Restaurants on special occasions and festivals come out with lucrative deals and offers. Consumers obviously have the win-win situation here, but one cannot resist thinking that how do restaurants get benefit after steep discount? Restaurant India will try and gauge the issue in an effort to give you a closer look!

Indian restaurant industry driven by eating out culture and higher disposable income is growing at a CAGR of 17-18 per cent estimated at 78 billion by 2018.

What’s trending?

Restaurant business in India has grown at a rate of 15 per cent in last five years. From global chains to local leaders, restaurants and cafes in India have spent a lot in placing their products right in the market.

Using social media channels to word-of-mouth and advertising via media kit is very common in any business but showering festive deals is something which is rampant in entire retail industry, especially in the restaurant segment.

Restaurant chains like Khandani Rajdhani, The Mix, Mamagoto, Kebab-E-Bahar and Viva by Taj Begumpet Hyderabad, Mad Over Donuts amongst others are showering great offers on lunch and dinner buffets. Khandaani Rajdhani is organising ‘Utsav’ marking the festival of Sankranti in North, West and South India. The customers can enjoy the festive spread at Khandani Rajdhani outlets from 13th to 16th of January 2015.

Viva by Taj Begumpet is offering a special Sankranti brunch, keeping up with the festive delights. Spreading the zest of the festival with authentic and delicious Sankranti dishes, Chef Arjun Yadav has created a sumptuous spread for a perfect traditional meal. The customers can have a taste of the lip smacking menu on 14th January.

On the other hand, The Mix by The BrewMaster, a chain grown in the regions of Punjab and Delhi-NCR is celebrating Lohri by serving authentic Punjabi foods till January 18, 2015. The offer is available at Dinner time between 7:30pm - 11:30pm.

Reason for such deals

Whereas food forms the nucleus of the issue, other factors like ambience, design and service cannot be regarded as peripherals now. Restaurants and beverages people feel that to pull the customers and to ensure that new customers keep coming to them can either done by presenting great food or showering great deals.

“People usually remember and visit a restaurant for its food. Hence, a good menu and excellent quality food is the major contributor in restaurant business. Quality of service also plays an important role followed with ambience and location,” says Sanat Chitrakar, Sous Chef, Taj Banjara.

According to experts, during the festive season, the food lovers are open to trying out new dishes by spending some extra penny. They look for the best restaurants to party and for festive dishes to indulge in.

“The evolving taste buds have given a reason to the customers in experimenting new and there is always a need to satisfy them through constantly updating the current menu, adding special menus from time to time and playing with season specific ingredients. This helps in building excitement and also delivers a change in flavours and offerings,” adds, Shobita Kadan, President Marketing at Impresario Entertainment.

Meanwhile, these offers also give restaurants an opportunity to hold on to their lost customers. However, the real catch of these deals is not the revenue in monetary term but the returning customers.

Restaurants in India have adopted various methods to place themselves in the highly competitive market in the country.  As a restaurant, using Facebook, Twitter and other social media platform are about strategic timing, personality and presenting offers. Offers are restaurants’ products and services. To give customers a delight of the same, these restaurants are bombarding the market with lucrative deals and new product offerings.

The Beer Cafe, which has already became one of the known brands serving world class beer, has introduced Witlinger – India’s first indigenous speciality beer in the market which will be available through its outlet in Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra. The cafe has the first mover advantage in terms of introducing the Pour Your Own Beer (PYOB) concept in the country. On the other hand, Pause Wine, which has pioneered wine drinking in India, has introduced choicest dessert wine varietal and a specialty ‘Indian Nectar’ in India to celebrate the festive season of Christmas and New Year.

Seal the deal

Introducing new products and offerings not only increases one’s clientele, but also help in getting back the lost customers. Benihana, the Japanese restaurant which entered India early this year is bombarding customers with new offers, including the DJ nights and free drive to hold on to the Indian customers.

Commenting on the same, Divyansha, Marketing Head, Benihana, says, “Benihana is an international brand which believes in innovating the concept of dining in. We keep coming up with engaging promotions for our customers. The customers will keep coming to us because our motto is providing them ‘Eat-a-tainment.”

“Beer drinking in India is changing drastically. Consumers are trying different flavours and style of beers. Kaama’s focus has always been beers and we are overwhelmed with the outstanding response Witlinger has received. To serve the same to Indian masses, we have introduced it in India,” shares Anuj Kushwah, Managing Director, KaamaImpex, which hosted the launch of India’s first specialty beer along with The Beer Cafe.

Sharing the same insight, Rajesh Patil, Chairman and MD, Rendez-vous Wines India Pvt Ltd, says, “We hope to strike a sweet chord with Indian wine lovers over a bottle of ‘Indian Nectar’. This nimbly sweet wine with hints of fruit flavours is sure to appeal the Indian palate. And what could have been a more opportune time than the festive season to gift our wine lovers a reason to relax and rejoice with a specialty that will spread joy and sweetness in every celebration.”

Spreading the ‘word’

Unlike the other F&B promotions, where print and television is involved, restaurants like Benihana, The Beer Cafe and Farzi Cafe are now using direct marketing at store level. Benihana and other food joints are also marketing through their PR agencies by sending information to all media houses.

On the other hand, major wine makers like Pause Wine and The Beer Cafe are using social media platform to sell their products.

Budget for the seasonal deals differs from the regular budgets that restaurants keep for their promotional activities. According to the experts, the budgets imposed on these deals are half of the normal budgets required to promote a restaurants. At the same time, restaurants are expecting half of the profits this festive season, somewhere around 6 per cent as compared to their regular 12 per cent benefit.

To conclude, there is a huge opportunity for the locals in the city to avail these benefits and hangout at their favourite food joints to enjoy the season of delight.

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