Tongue ‘n’ cheek

Vada pav takes on the burger

'Another one bites the dust', I muttered to myself when I heard a Mexican fast food chain promoter proudly proclaim, "We plan to set up 500 outlets in India" a few days ago.

Such declarations make me wonder whether these chains actually conduct any research before entering a market because if one were to assess their performance, there will be one thing in common - performance below expectation.

Take for instance a leading burger chain that has even got Sholay's thakur to fall in love with it. Ever since it started operating in India in 1996, it has managed to open only 47 outlets across the country; not quite the figure it originally had in mind. The chain now plans to double this number in the next five years. Take the case of a particular pizza chain that believes that all it takes to keep a customer satisfied is to serve them within 30 minutes. It too started off ambitiously hoping to capture a fat share of the market but it is only managing to trudge along, slowly.

The fact remains that despite initial success with the Indian palate, international fast food chains find it difficult to grow rapidly. We could be 'lovin it' but at the end of the day it is still the vada pav that people want to eat. Am I saying that nothing sells better than Indian food in India? Of course I am, and likeminded people like me will share this view. Because while Indians love to gorge on a burger or tacos occasionally, they will still prefer a ragada pattice or even a simple dal rice.

Take F&B operations in hotels. During my trip to Delhi recently to one of the city's most prominent five-star hotels, I found it difficult to get a table at its popular Indian haunt but could book almost all tables at its Continental counterpart.

The fact of the matter is that most of these chains today are riding high on the mall explosion. Even a part of their target audience, the call centre and BPO employees, still opt for Indian food over pizzas and burgers. Yes, there is a lot of disposable income but it will be interesting to find out how many are spending it in international fast food restaurants. The owners of the restaurant chain, that turn 'ruby red' on a particular day of the week would know. They ought to.

If you thought that 500 outlets within the next couple of years is a far cry, you must read about the Indian company (featuring two internationally renowned fast food brands in the pizza and chicken segments) that is looking at over 1,000 outlets across India in the next decade. The only piece of advice I can give, if they care to heed it, is not to count their chickens before they hatch, especially when you have PETA putting a spoke in your meal. There is opportunity and there is no denying that. But it would be vain to assume that Indians are enamoured by international brands; in branded consumer goods maybe, but not in food. It is still ghar ka khana for us.

Savio Rodrigues
editorial@expresshospitality.com