Quick service restaurant chains to grow fast in India: report

KOLKATA: Changes in food consumption habit in India has spurred domestic and foreign quick service restaurant (QSR) chains to implement aggressive expansion plans in the country, says a recent study by Rabobank.
"QSRs will be a double-digit growth story in India in the medium to long term, as food consumption habits in India are changing fast," says Rabobank India Head F&A research & advisory Asitava Sen.

"A younger population, high rate of urbanisation, large disposable income, high protein consumption, increased participation of women in the workforce and exposure to western lifestyle are leading to the experimentation and adoption of new dietary habits and more occasions to eat out," says Sen.

The report says that to sustain this growth, QSRs will have to build collaborative and dedicated supply chains - connecting local business partners, high quality vendors and supply chain solution providers.

While the Indian food service sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% till 2015, the QSR segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30% in the same period.

At present, according to the National Restaurant Association of India, 50% of consumers are eating out at least once every three months, and this shift is epitomised by the growing presence of QSR concepts.

Relationships between QSRs and their channel partners have worked well in categories such as cheese, poultry and frozen foods in India and there is room for such partnerships to flourish in other key categories of commodities and processed foods.