This Independence Day savor these especially curated dishes by chefs to make the most of the festival

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.

Pic Courtesy: Wordpress.com