foodService India, the Indian edition of foodService Europe & Middle East, is India’s most authoritative trade publication on the HoReCa sector in India. This magazine is a comprehensive source of industry information, market trends & insights and takes stock of the Indian foodservice sector in a holistic manner. It also serves to create a platform for all stakeholders in the foodservice sector to initiate discussions, collaborate and work in unison. The target readers of the magazine are the high potential decision makers of the hospitality industry. This magazine is distributed to Managing Directors, CEO’s, Directors, GMs, F&B Managers, Executive Chefs and other decision makers of food brands, restaurant chains, institutional caterers, hotel chains, pubs, bars, taverns, food suppliers, interior designers& architects.

The post FoodService India May-June 2017 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

What can you expect at a gathering that attracts the most eclectic bunch of cognoscenti from the Food Retail industry? As is customary at the annual India Food Forum (organised by IMAGES Group and publisher of FoodService India), the Conclave this year rippled with energy and its usual share of heat and light that the conferences, workshops, exhibitions, live shows and networking sessions radiated.

Industry mavens who spoke on different themes and topics at the numerous panel discussions threw up interesting insights on the Food Retail industry. Discussions also led to information on trends, emerging product categories, understanding consumer behaviour, and on marketing and promotion strategies – all of which, as everyone agreed, are integrally knit into the performance and growth metrics of food service operators.

This issue of the magazine offers a focused round-up and conspectus of the slate of discussion and debate on various topics related to food retail at India Food Forum. For those who were not there, we bring you the interesting bytes and meaty morsels of information exchanged at the Forum. Turn to pages 64 to 65 to find out the outstanding achievers who won the Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards for excellence in different categories of food retail.

My congratulations to all the winners and my heartfelt thanks to the participants at the Forum for making the show a great success. I also express my gratitude to everyone in the industry for making India Food Forum a stellar platform for articulating the vision of the food retail industry in the country and for forging deeper ties and understanding with all stakeholders.

The post FoodService India March-April 2017 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

The advent of a new year raises optimism and hope. It makes us look forward to a bright new future marked by new achievements, goals and milestones. The sentiment is contagious and more pronounced in the foodservice industry, the flag bearer of good cheer and conviviality. Understandably, the industry is looking to herald new beginnings and build on its past achievements.

The year gone by saw the food industry evolve further on many fronts. For one, technology saw greater adoption by restaurants, QSRs, cafés, pubs and lounges. Newer, edgier and cutting edge retail formats popped up, elbowing out tired themes. We also saw a surge in demand for new cuisines, concepts and food innovations. The trends will gather even greater momentum in the days ahead with a plethora of new age dishes, haute cuisines and even bolder and imaginative food concepts ready to spring.

At the forefront of this great culinary celebration will be the phalanx of forward thinking, avant garde chefs looking to launch fresh nouvelle cuisines that can get the taste buds slavering. Joining in this grand culinary odyssey will be a raft of new blue chip kitchen equipment, accessories and exotic ingredients. So expect to see more new recipes being conjured, more classic recipes getting a dust off, old menus being reincarnated in newer avatars, kitchens getting a facelift, more cookery shows on TV channels, chefs moving the creativity needle further and restaurateurs scrambling for newbie ideas that can turn their ventures into the proverbial Pied Piper.

To give you the real pulse of the food service industry in India and the many profound changes shaping its contours, leading HoReCa professionals from the country and abroad will gather at the upcoming Indian Food Service Forum, from 31st January to 2nd February in Mumbai. It will be interesting to hear them out on how they are leveraging industry trends across various formats and price points. Besides the Forum also gives you a chance to check out on new products and the latest technology solutions by experts, and meet potential business partners.

The post FoodService India January-February 2017 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

Change is the order of the day, especially so in the food service industry where new tastes and preferences of consumers are a regular pheomenon.

To be able to respond to these changes in a befitting manner, India’s food service space is leaning on creativity and innovation so as to make the dining experience more interesting and enjoyable. Restaurant operators are constantly looking for unique ways to entice and retain customers.

The Indian market has evolved beyond defined boundaries. Both established players and new entrants are creating niche dining experiences as they encourage opportunities for customer engagement, and enhance their culinary experience by blending in art, music, culture, and fine decor, and thereby creating their own unique product positioning.

On their part, consumers are welcoming and exploring specialised food experiences; they are looking for experimentation and exposure to unique concepts. The differentiating factor could be the menu, the ambience, style, novelty, or service.

For these evolved consumers, eating out is an indulgence and an enjoyable experience. Not surprising then that the country is seeing a fresh crop of thematic and specialty restaurants, cafes, lounges and bars that are offering new menus with unusual dishes, food fusions, and cuisines from across the world.

Alongside this, music, sports, live entertainment, stand-up comedy, karoke, etc, is bringing in the value proposition for them – both in terms of brand-building and business. It goes without saying that the ability to ideate, innovate, and execute the consumer’s craving has always been and will continue to be a game changer – and a key success quotient.

In this issue, we present new trends in the casual and premium casual dining space, viz, emerging formats, store concepts, and cuisines.

The post FoodService India November-December 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

The food-tech industry has come a long way from the traditional set-up to the current new-age tech set-up. Today, technology is making an impact on all aspects of the foodservice industry – from sourcing to reservations to on- demand delivery. It has led to the emergence of new business models such as restaurant aggregators, cloud-based kitchens that support home cooks and online food delivery. In recent years, several new food tech start-ups have emerged that have helped organise the unorganised food retail industry by enhancing access to small restaurants and home chefs

Online sales form a small fraction of the total foodservice sales pie. However, its prominence is increasing at a rapid pace. It is estimated that online foodservice sales has witnessed a 2x increment in the past couple of years. Big Data analytics and cloud computing assist restaurant owners to derive value out of data, improve the management and customer experience, facilitate inventory management, customer management, order management, among others.

Restaurants and cafés have started using digital devices such as digital kiosks and tablets for displaying menu items, place order and provide feedback, which are helping enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. In turn, consumers have also started to rely on technology to compare restaurant ratings, menu items and user reviews for making decisions about their eating preferences.

Going ahead, it is expected that new niche start-ups will continue to emerge, picking up specific gaps in the entire food- tech ecosystem and building their business around it. But it’s not that there are no challenges to be addressed. The market in general is still quite fragmented and there are many other issues. However, no matter what the challenges are, a new breed of crazy and determined entrepreneurs will continue to create viable and sustainable business out it.

The post FoodService India September-October 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

The Indian foodservice industry offers a fantastic growth opportunity unmatched anywhere else in the world. Foodservice, with a value of USD 48 billion at current prices, is emerging as a key driver of growth for the Indian economy, which was estimated to be worth USD 2.3 trillion in 2016. Already, the foodservice industry is larger than the pharmaceuticals and FMCG sector in India and its potential growth will be powered by the changing consumer dynamics and increasing market proliferation by brands in the space.

The one way to take the industry forward is to encourage more Indians to eat out more often. Consumer spending on eating out can get a boost if restaurants can attract more people to have breakfast. This is one day-part that is largely untapped by the industry, mainly because most Indians are culturally habituated to have the day’s first meal at home. But if foodservice players can unlock the key to selling breakfasts in India, it will prove to be a goldmine for them. In the West, a substantial chunk of sales in restaurants occur before 11 am, while in India they are just about stirring to life at that hour.

The other avenue for growth available to the industry is geographical expansion. The major portion of the foodservice industry of India is still largely concentrated in the northern and western parts of the country. Players need to renew their focus on the south as well as make inroads into the largely untapped eastern India. Also, the QSR format – growing at an annual rate of 16% – is proving to be popular with Indian diners. New and local players need to tap this segment and come up with unique and innovative formats. Going ahead, it is expected that we will get to see more interesting formats and concepts. Along with the incumbents, the newer players can lead the charge to the lesser penetrated markets and geographies and drive the industry toward a more elevated growth path.

The post FoodService India July-August 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

foodService India, the Indian edition of foodService Europe & Middle East, is India’s most authoritative trade publication on the HoReCa sector in India. This magazine is a comprehensive source of industry information, market trends & insights and takes stock of the Indian foodservice sector in a holistic manner. It also serves to create a platform for all stakeholders in the foodservice sector to initiate discussions, collaborate and work in unison. The target readers of the magazine are the high potential decision makers of the hospitality industry. This magazine is distributed to Managing Directors, CEO’s, Directors, GMs, F&B Managers, Executive Chefs and other decision makers of food brands, restaurant chains, institutional caterers, hotel chains, pubs, bars, taverns, food suppliers, interior designers& architects.

The post FoodService India May-June 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

In recent years, we have seen the emergence of new food trends transforming foodservice and shaking up consumers’ expectations everywhere. Trends might be difficult to spot early on. But sooner than later, businesses glom on to the new currents sweeping in. They identify and understand those forces because it is in the nature of businesses to keep in step with the evolving consumer demand. Nimble businesses are quick to adapt and capitalise on the trends lest the forces of change shift the ground beneath their feet.

Today, we are seeing many new trends knocking on the doors of foodservice business. With health and environmental concerns becoming more widespread, locally sourced vegetable and fruits have become a norm and many chefs and restaurateurs are taking to it with a new- found passion. While on the one hand, it’s more cost and time effective for restaurants to develop their own produce, on the other plucking and using fresh produce in the dishes gives guests a whole new dining experience, which is more engaging.

If fusion was the fad until a few years ago, the concept of progressive cuisine is now fast taking hold. Using modern culinary techniques, latest technologies and cutting-edge styles of presentation, progressive cuisine aims to showcase foods from around the world in a contemporary manner for an increasing number of new-age diners looking for out-of-the-box concepts and something that breaks the monotony of home dining. New international cuisines such as Vietnemese, Cambodian, Mexican and Lebanese are already witnessing a surge in popularity and the trend is likely to continue and gather pace in the years to come. Also, with diners becoming more adventurous and ready to experiment in order to find newer and finer flavours, use of many international ingredients in Indian dishes and many Indian spices / ingredients in international favourites are pushing the traditional culinary boundaries further.

There are quite a few other trends in the making, which will push foodservice into charting new waters and taking on many novel dimensions. I am sure that going ahead, the foodservice industry will become a hotbed for product innovation by tapping into consumers’ desires for new experiences, personalisation, and health.

The post FoodService India March-April 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

Is the high noon of fund raising in Food tech a thing of the past? While it may be premature to pass any hasty judgement, the feeding frenzy has slowed down considerably in recent months. Companies like Food Panda, TinyOwl, Zomato and many more, which at one time were riding the crest of a powerful business wave, are now witnessing sobering times. For instance, discovery and food ordering app Zomato has shut down its online ordering service in Lucknow, Kochi, Indore and Coimbatore, where it had ventured a few months ago.

What is interesting about this retreat is that cities like Coimbatore and Kochi are no pushovers in technology adoption. Kochi in Kerala boasts of some of the largest IT parks in the country, and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu sits on the high table of world’s top global outsourcing cities. So, why did the business cookie crumble for India’s top food tech brand in these putatively technology-friendly cities?.

Perhaps, start-ups should rethink their go-to-market strategy. A business model that works well in bigger metros can come a cropper outside tier 1 cities. Most food tech start-ups have existed purely as an order delivery chain in the metros. Even though they have been delivering food to customers at a higher cost in the hope that they will form a habit of ordering food, the volumes have been attractive enough to make business sense for the companies in the long run.

In most tier-2 cities – even with visible tech permeability – most people still prefer to walk into an outlet fi rst before buying online. It is therefore wiser for food tech companies to fi rst test the waters in these places before taking the full plunge. There are examples replete where companies have had to wait out patiently and get involved in building the market before they could start counting the pennies. But then, such forbearance calls for staying power and deep pockets, which our new-age companies are mostly bereft of.

The moot thing is not to lose heart in the business potential of our smaller towns. Technology is a great enabler and a few years down the line, it will be these places that will become the magnets and hotbeds for the food tech companies. All that is needed is to keep the faith and not stop probing the waters.

The post FoodService India January-February 2016 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.

foodService India, the Indian edition of foodService Europe & Middle East, is India’s most authoritative trade publication on the HoReCa sector in India. This magazine is a comprehensive source of industry information, market trends & insights and takes stock of the Indian foodservice sector in a holistic manner. It also serves to create a platform for all stakeholders in the foodservice sector to initiate discussions, collaborate and work in unison. The target readers of the magazine are the high potential decision makers of the hospitality industry. This magazine is distributed to Managing Directors, CEO’s, Directors, GMs, F&B Managers, Executive Chefs and other decision makers of food brands, restaurant chains, institutional caterers, hotel chains, pubs, bars, taverns, food suppliers, interior designers& architects.

The post FoodService India November-December 2015 appeared first on India Retailing Book Store.