Yellow Tie Hospitality to open 25 stores of Wrapchic in India

Samosa Singh, a lip-smacking fast food outlet, founded in 2016, announces a pilot association with Reliance's grocery store chain with an aim to offer a tailor-made menu to Reliance grocery store customers.

Speaking about the association, Shikhar Veer Singh, the founder and CEO of Samosa Singh said, “Our aim has always been to appeal to the masses and for them to enjoy Samosa with the convenience of being available anytime, anywhere. This association helps us further our goal of reintroducing the new generation to Samosa, a snack Indians have relished across generations,”

Starting with a first few Reliance Smart stores in Bengaluru, the startup aims to soon expand its partnership to other stores gradually. “Citizen Customers expect modern, interesting, food ideas from a platform like SMART Superstore. Food in India is full of exciting possibilities. Providing a platform to an innovative startup like Samosa Singh comes naturally to Reliance Smart. I am said it will add one more reason that makes shopping at SMART, more interesting.” said Damodar Mall, CEO, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail.

In the starting of this year, Samosa Singh raised a funding of Rs 17 crore in a Series A funding round that was led by She Capital which was aimed to scale up its operations, increase its production capabilities and expand in multi-cities, while  allowing it to enter the households through their quick delivery via cloud kitchen model.

Not just this, the outlet now claims to have sold more than 20 million units and aims to expand itself throughout the southern part of India in the upcoming year. This progress already halfway through as it opened its outlet at Bangalore international airport and has partnered with brands such as INOX, PVR Cinemas and Cafe Coffee Day, said Samosa Singh.


 

There is good news for all the vegetarian lovers. Jumboking, India’s leading QSR company has launched the Tangy Mexican burger on March 1, 2020 across 117 stores.

The Tangy Mexican burger is part of the fast-food chain’s seasonal product launch calendar for Q4 FY 2019-20.The burger comes with a delicious patty made of Latino greens, cooked chickpeas and black chana and is topped with fresh tomatoes, onion slices and crisp cabbage. Not just this, it is well bathed in a special Mexican bread spread between freshly baked buns.

“The Tangy Mexican burger is a welcome addition to the other flavours, and a good option to try out this summer,” says Poonam Singh, a marketing executive in Mumbai.

Advent of fast foods in India

In India, the changing lifestyle has in turn increased the frequency of dinning out. With the onset of big fast food chains like McDonald’s in 1996, and soon other big outlets like Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC started the fast food chain in India and ever since then, its popularity has only been growing among people of every age group.  

As per a report, Indian fast food market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent by the end of this year due tothe change in consumer behaviour and demography.

This is surely indicative of the fact that India and the US are almost the same when it comes to people’s love for fast food. This might be good for the fast food business but studies have shown that in order to live a healthy life, it is important to keep a check on our fast food consumption. A healthy balance is always important to maintain when it comes to our health. 

McDonald's, the brand that introduced India to burgers, announced the launch of its 300th restaurant in West and South India, at Churchgate, an iconic landmark in Mumbai.

Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL), the master franchisee of McDonald's in the region, commemorated this milestone by reinforcing its commitment to grow the business sustainably - in a way that's good for the people, the community and the planet.

HRPL has always ensured sustainability across its business - including things that the customers can see and those that they cannot. Over the last few years, HRPL has leveraged cutting-edge technology to consciously minimize its landfill, moderate its energy consumption, cut its carbon footprint and create eco-friendly processes to run restaurants. The Company has deployed an Energy Management System to minimize energy wastage, by monitoring in-store resource consumption across all restaurants. Last year, the Company also started converting used cooking oil from its restaurants to 100% bio-diesel to fuel its delivery trucks, saving diesel, a scarce and expensive national resource.

As a result of these initiatives, the Company has managed to conserve 28 lakh units of electricity, 300,000 litres of water, 550,000 litres of diesel and 2,400 gas cylinders, cutting its overall carbon footprint by a whopping 4,300 tonnes. Going forward, the Company is committed to leverage technology to accelerate its sustainability efforts to create a bigger environmental impact.

Commenting on this, Smita Jatia, Managing Director, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., said, "Businesses can thrive only when they create a symbiotic ecosystem that is conducive to long-term sustainable growth. We have always created benchmarks for the QSR industry by taking a lead in innovation and best practices. We believe that with a footprint of 300 stores, we are in a very strong position to take bold steps and make a significant difference to society at large."

Sustainability has always been an integral part of the business at HRPL. Since its inception, the Company along with its partners invested over Rs. 1,000 crores to ensure best-in-class agricultural practices and a sustainable supply chain. Today, 95% of the ingredients used at HRPL are sourced locally and sustainably. The product packaging is also created with paper that is Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) certified, that ensures that it is sourced from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly. The Company has also introduced bio-degradable cutlery across all restaurants, eliminating any customer-facing single-use plastic. 

HRPL has also leveraged technology to transform the customer experience by launching the new 'Experience of The Future' or 'EOTF' restaurants. The new restaurants with Self Ordering Kiosks, table trackers and air chargers elevate the dining experience significantly. Keeping with the evolving needs of the customers, the Company also re-engineered its menu to make it more nutritious and wholesome.

With an objective of offering an indigenous, nutritious and wholesome menu/local taste in an international format, McDonald's has constantly reinvented itself to remain relevant to its customers. Path-breaking menu innovations, technology advancements, robust supply chain and sustainability initiatives, along with strategic bold moves have helped McDonald's create various trends in the QSR industry thus maintaining its leadership position.

Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRPL), a McDonald's franchisee, told the Delhi High Court that the US fast-food giant's plea to stop it from using the brand name was an abuse of the process of law.

McDonald's has sought that CPRPL, a 50:50 joint venture of the US company and its estranged Indian partner Vikram Bakshi, be restrained from using its name as the franchise agreement with the Indian entity has been terminated.

CPRPL, on the other hand, told the high court that it has challenged the termination in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) where it is pending consideration and hence the suit filed by McDonald's was an "abuse of the process of law".

The joint venture (JV) company also told the court that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had told the fast food giant not to interfere in the management of CPRPL, but this direction was being violated by McDonald's by writing to the suppliers not to supply food products and packaging to the franchisee restaurants.

CPRPL has alleged that by writing to the suppliers, McDonald's has interfered with the affairs of management and is therefore, in contempt of the NCLT direction.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, before whom the proceedings in the civil suit are going on, listed the matter for further hearing on February 5.

The court on the last date of hearing had declined to pass an interim order restraining CPRPL from selling products under the name of McDonald's.

During the day's arguments, McDonald's told the court that a terminable agreement or contract cannot be enforced and the only remedy was to seek damages.

It also said that re-instatement of Bakshi as the Managing Director of CPRPL would not be a deterrent against termination of the franchise agreement.

Bakshi has been at loggerheads with the fast-food chain over the management of CPRPL after he was ousted from the post of MD of the McDonald's franchisee in August 2013. He had moved the NCLT following termination of the license by McDonald's.

McDonald's in its plea in the high court has contended that the franchisee restaurants were using products and packaging which did not measure up to its quality standards as different suppliers were being used.

The fast food company has sought orders restraining CPRPL and Bakshi from "duplicating the McDonald's system" which pertains to its food and packaging quality standards.