The growth of restaurant franchise opportunities in India and recent trends

by shufflehound    January 16, 2024

Today, the restaurant franchise industry in India is worth more than Rs. 75,000 crores and is growing annually at the rate of 7%. The industry consists of more than 1.5 million eating outlets, of which a little more than 3,000 outlets form the organized segment.

The growth of the restaurant franchise opportunities has coincided with the growth of Indian middle class. Rapid urbanization, liberalization, incorporation of Western lifestyles into our daily lives, women empowerment and higher income are few of many factors which have helped Indian economy and restaurant industry grow widely in India.

Another interesting development for the restaurant & food industry was the rise of niche restaurants serving specific cuisines and specialities. But, 1996 was the real game-changing year with the entry of American fast food chain franchise such as McDonalds into India. Indians, who had limited exposure to American food until then, quickly adapted to its taste and gave rise to a huge upsurge in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry.

This further introduced the food and beverage-franchise system and its restaurant franchise opportunities to Indians. Food franchise is nothing but an expansion of restaurants and cafes etc. through corporate-owned outlets. These outlets are popularly known as ‘chain stores’. This industry has been very successful over the past few years. This intrigued Indians and so did, government. Every other strong brand names established their presence in India through these franchise models. Pizza Hut franchise, Domino’s Pizza franchise, KFC franchise, Subway franchise, Baskin Robbins franchise have made India a foodie-hub!

But establishing a restaurant or franchise is a never-ending business. There are several challenges down the path. Keeping up with market trends, having sufficient capital, hiring executive staff, time management; to name a few. But your real work begins when it comes to the working of a restaurant. By that, we mean designing of a commercial restaurant kitchen. No matter what type, size, or location - every restaurant has a basic layout that includes some general areas including an entrance, the dining and restrooms. However, these areas are often overlooked in the general design of a restaurant, when new owners tend to focus on the dining room or bar. If small restaurant designers start paying attention to the restaurant kitchen design, it will help produce a positive customer experience and build the business right from day one.

One of the biggest investments in opening a new restaurant is set up of a commercial kitchen.The kitchen is command central of any restaurant, the place where food gets ordered, prepped, cooked, and plated before being served to customers.It is a place where your menu comes alive.Whether its spacious or tiny, if a restaurant kitchen design is carefully executed, its staff can consistently deliver hundreds of meals in an evening. A commercial kitchen needs industrial grade equipment that will withstand a busy restaurant schedule.

There are 5 key principles, one needs to consider while setting up a commercial kitchen.

1)Simplicity: Consider designing a restaurant-kitchen with simplicity in mind. Because no matter how tidy you keep it, kitchen are meant to clutter. So to maximize space and effectiveness, the simple aspect of the layout will be more than convenient.

2)Flexibility: A commercial kitchen is a dynamic place, so its layout should be able to accommodate change, in case you redesign the menu or hire new chefs.

3)Process flow: Kitchen is a busy place, but it doesn’t need to be chaotic. Hence, it is important to understand where to place what. Don’t build a sink on the dry storage platform. While designing a commercial kitchen, keep in mind the flow of materials and personnel, and you’ll have yourself a logical yet a stylish kitchen.

4)Hygiene: Now, that is the most important factor when it comes to maintaining a kitchen. Optimize the cleanliness because neither your customer now you would like to dine in a place where food doesn’t feel safe.

5)Efficiency: Space out when you know there’s going to be too much of a cooking to handle. Crowding up your kitchen will cause nothing but inconvenience. To increase the efficiency of your cooking, optimize the space in a well-planned manner.

In conclusion, if you are looking for setting up a new venture that would yield a good amount of profit, then investing on a restaurant could be one of the best options for you, with numerous franchise opportunities. Yes, the restaurant industry has boomed up in the last two decades owing to the extensively busy and mechanical lifestyle of people. Also having a meal in a good restaurant has become a symbol of status and who does not want to hold a high status in the society. Thus, with the invasion of western culture into the day to day life of the masses, the restaurant business is also on a hike.