Popular Fast Food Franchises to Invest in India

The fast food industry in India has evolved with the changing lifestyles of the young Indian population. The sheer variety of gastronomic preferences across the regions, hereditary or acquired, has brought about different modules across the country. It may take some time for the local enterprise to mature to the level of international players in the field. Fast Food is a term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.

A fast food chain is simply a large consortium of restaurants spread throughout different parts of a nation, serving fast food under a common brand name that is easily recognizable and marketable. The fast food chain culture is rapidly gaining popularity in India because of the intelligently tailored marketing strategies, advertisements and brilliant products and services. These chains of fast food are mainly targeted at the kids and rich youth with a flair for western tastes and many times they serve as a meeting place more than a restaurant.

The visibility of the fast food chains has increased manifolds in the past few years. One can easily spot at least a dozen of fast food joints in a city. These chains of fast food are mainly located in shopping malls and office complexes where a lot people gather on a regular basis. The menu at these restaurants is very attractive and prized in a very sensible way. The fast food joints cut down the waiting time and also provide ready to serve food with instant appetizers to satiate almost everyone’s fetish running in a tight schedule.

When we talk about successful franchise models, the first few names that strike our mind are that of the food & beverage industry. Food and beverage industry uses the franchising concept more than any other industry. You will be amazed to find the number of popular food chains available out there as you look around the market place. There are many popular brands such as KFC, Subway, Starbucks, Pizza Hut and so on.

With increasing competition, retailers are looking at different fancy ways to woo the customers. Many fast food chains like Burger King and McDonalds are trying to Indianize their menu by introducing products that suit the tastes of the local customer base. Some franchises have introduced fast food joints at college campuses with special rates and other offers to attract young customers. As the competition intensifies and with more globally acclaimed fast food chains and café chains like Starbucks and 7-Eleven planning to step into the market, the customer is sure to benefit.

Despite a slow start, India is beginning to develop a taste for western-style fast food.

During the mid-1990s, chains such as Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) and KFC – owned byYum Brands (NYSE: YUM) – all tried to make it in India. But they found it tough going.

Try as they did, they couldn’t match up to street vendors’ traditional spicy foods or the elaborate home-cooked meals Indian women regularly prepared for their families.

Acknowledging their failings, the chains spiced their menus up, and added vegetarian and low-priced options to appeal better to the general populace. That helped, but so have the changing times…

Hectic schedules and rising incomes – and the fact that around 60% of Indians are under 30 years old – are creating new appetites among Indian consumers. Dining out is fast becoming a typical expenditure for more and more of them.

As a result, sales at both western and local fast-food chains are growing 28% per year!

Indians spent an estimated $1.3 billion on “chain restaurants” in 2009. According to the research firm, Euromonitor, about $400 million of that was at fast food restaurants.

Euromonitor also pointed out that major urban centers don’t have a monopoly on those eating habits. Fast food stores are also gaining favor in India’s smaller, second-tier cities as well.

It comes as no surprise that many U.S. fast food chains are expanding so rapidly in India.

Domino’s is growing by leaps and bounds, with 364 outlets in 55 cities, thanks to its partner. All of those are run by its Indian franchisee, Jubilant Foodworks, in New Delhi.

Jubilant, which is listed in India, opened 54 new stores from April to December in 2010. That boosted sales by 61% compared to the same time in 2009.

No wonder private equity-owned Dunkin’ Donuts announced last month that it was teaming up with Jubilant in India.

Subway is also gaining popularity there with 199 outlets. And Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) is gearing up for its debut later this year.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s plans to open 30 new outlets in 2011 through Hardcastle Restaurants, one of its two Indian partners.

Successful fast food chains need to understand the obstacles in their way…

• Real estate poses one big problem. Large, crowded Indian cities provide few suitable spots for restaurants.

• And the local competition isn’t anywhere near close to rolling over. Along with local street vendors, there are a growing number of Indian fast food restaurant chains opening as well.

• Many of the latter specialize in serving up Indian and Asian dishes. And to many of the locals, that’s much more appealing than spiced up versions of western foods.

The flocking of world’s best in the business of fast food chains to India is a sign of the enormous success of India’s Globalization policy. Ever since India opened its doors to global players, many internationally successful fast food chains have shown great interest in opening up their franchises in India which is now slowly turning into world’s economic hub. With global biggies like McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's and many others who have already established a very firm fan base in India and trying to hop on to every opportunity to seize a larger share of the market, the competition is bigger than ever.

Over the past few years, India has emerged as a hot favorite location for great fast food at reasonable rates. You will easily find world-known brands here such as KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominos and many more. The rising number of working women and nuclear households, and an increase in general affluence have led to higher discretionary spending on fast food.

So, if you are looking to start a new business venture in India, taking up one of the established fast food franchises might be the best decision of your life. These days, when more and more people love eating out especially during holidays and weekends, these restaurants are a great way to earn huge profits in the shortest time possible.

Among all the fast food franchises, KFC franchise is one of the popular choices for both young and adults. The US-based Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC is fast gaining popularity in India, especially over the last decade. In the 90s, global fast food firms placed their bets on India, hoping to hook locals on Western food. Yum entered India with KFC in Bangalore in 1995, but got mired in controversy. Having put that behind, the company worked towards expanding its base and today owns over 60 outlets. KFC franchise has also tailored some dishes for Indian tastes. There's chicken tikka masala pizza, zinger burger, chana crunch snacker, veg pulao and makhni curry, and the recently launched nimbu crushers.

The Yum! Brand also offers a reputation you can rely on, and an economic stability demonstrated over several decades. If you have the necessary capital to grow, opening a KFC franchise in India is a handy business idea. It is not a cakewalk, though; you need a lot of money and a large space to open your restaurant.

Another popular fast food franchise that is spreading its wings in Indian is pizza franchise. Pizza is a universally accepted food item liked across all different age groups, income demographics and regions. If you have dreamed of opening a pizza franchise, there's good news about the industry. There are few businesses that can deliver the profit margin and the excitement of baking and selling pizzas, and there are plenty of franchises to choose from. Today, you will find several pizza franchises in every Indian city. International brands like Dominos, Pizza Hut and Smoking Joe have already established their brands in India.

The first step of establishing a pizza franchise is to choose a company where you want to open a franchise for. This can be as simple as choosing the pizza that you want personally. It can also be as complicated as assessing the details of the financial benefits and disadvantage of the franchise. Be sure that the franchise that you are getting is something that is not yet in your neighborhood since franchisees do not allow multiple franchises in a certain area.

Many of the traditional dishes have been adapted to suit the emerging fast food outlets. The basic adaptation is to decrease the processing and serving time. For example, the typical meal which called for being served by an ever alert attendant is now offered as a Mini-Meal across the counter. In its traditional version, a plate or a banana leaf was first laid down on the floor or table. Several helpers then waited on the diner, doling out different dishes and refilling as they got over in the plate.

In the fast food version, a plate already arranged with a variety of cooked vegetables and curries along with a fixed quantity of rice and Indian flatbreads is handed out across the counter against a prepaid coupon. The curries and breads vary depending on the region and local preferences. The higher priced ones may add a sweet to the combination. Refills are generally not offered.

You won't get much variety if you visit an outlet of Jumbo King, a fast-food chain that is expanding in western India. On offer are vada pavs (a potato-based patty in a bun), Pepsi and lassi. This is fast food Mumbai style. It won't cost you more than a dollar. (The basic vada pav costs just 17 cents and the most expensive 59 cents.

Most Jumbo King Outlets are close to railway stations, with their constant stream of commuters as potential customers. Many stop in to pick up a vada pav. In a city where commuting can take two hours each way and the railways carry 6 million-plus passengers daily, this is often breakfast or dinner. "You can get a vada pav at a roadside stall too," Gupta says. The difference between Jumbo King and the stalls, he says, "is that we are hygienic."

Outlets may be kiosks or stand alone, which may provide no shelter or seating, or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

The capital investments involved in opening a fast food restaurant are relatively low. Restaurants with much bigger sit-in-ratios, where customers tend to sit and have their orders brought to them in a seemingly more upscale atmosphere may be known in some areas as fast casual restaurants.

The diversity of Indian cuisine poses logistical problems when it comes to handling. Hence it is common to serve different cuisines at different counters within the same premises. Presence of a large vegetarian population, who eschew non-vegetarian food, has given rise to outlets which exclusively serve vegetarian fast food. Also, different variety of food may be served depending on the times of the day. Beverages such coffee, tea, soft drinks and fruit juices may also be served in such outlets. Some outlets may additionally have specially designed counters for ice-cream, chaats etc.

Popular formats of fast food business in India have the following features in common:

? Wide opening on the road side

? Easy to maintain and durable décor

? A cash counter where food coupons are sold

? A food delivery counter which invariably is granite topped

? Additional counters for Ice Creams, Chaats, Beverages etc.

? A well fitted kitchen located so as to be visible to the customers

? Tall tables, usually of stainless steel, where one can eat while standing

? A drinking water fountain adorned with a water filter

? Rust-proof and non-breakable crockery

Most of the fast food outlets in India are stand-alone establishment, few of them having more than one branch.

Choosing the fast food company that you want to have a franchise of is only one of the steps that you should take in establishing the franchise business. There is lot of things that you should do even after you have put up the business. Maintaining the business and ensuring that the business that you have established will be successful is the hardest part, it will require a lot of hard work and determination.

Yet even so, the expansion of the fast food culture among India’s younger population is an investment opportunity that will go on for years.

Grahame Clark - About Author:
Franchise Bazar provides information about different types of franchise business opportunities available in the market. Here in this article you can get information about popular food franchise opportunities available in India like KFC franchise and Pizza franchise.

Article Source:
http://www.articleside.com/business-articles/popular-fast-food-franchises-to-invest-in-india.htm

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