Don’t we just love eating out! And especially when foodies like us include eating good food in our list of top things to do every day, we simply either hog on the home food or move out to our favourite restaurants. Now, how has this habit or behaviour of eating out changed the restaurant business over the years?
Well numbers do speak for themselves; the Indian Restaurant Industry is expected to grow by 5% this year and by this year-end would’ve employed about 13.3 Mn people. Now what’s causing this increase in the business? Well its people like us who just love eating out! To re-iterate my point further, I recently visited an opening of a branch of an American fast food joint with several branches in India, in the capital city of Kerala.
To my surprise there would’ve at least been 1000 people cramped inside the 4000 Sq Ft layout with the people queuing up by the 10s in the different counters as if they were serving free food! No surprises that the particular branch made a record opening day turnover of about Rs. 6-7 Lacs – the highest for any branch opening for that brand in India! And yea I forgot to mention there was no single advertisement about the opening even in the local news papers!
This could be a good case to deliberate more on the eating behaviour of us foodies in relation to the restaurant industry. Some reasons for this frenzy could be:
Follow the herd – One thing about eating out is that many a time it’s an impulse decision. You learn about some group going and eating at some place and you simply want to be the next on trying that place out and spread the word!
It’s all in the name – Be it Mac D ( more formally known as McDonalds) or Saravana Bhavan, the name of the restaurant holds weight and we Indians love talking about these names and the countless times we have visited whenever the topic of food comes out! SO anything has an interesting name – we foodies would love to try it!
Quality Conscious– Now these are for the serious foodies, often very loyal guests to restaurants. They love quality in food and don’t mind paying a bomb to get their delicacies.
Corporate Friendly – Many outlets, especially in metros are coming up with menus, themes and their location suiting the corporate! A corporate customer is more likely to head back to the same restaurant for better proximity and that quick meal between meetings!
Mall Mania– Restaurants, particularly in malls seem to attract customers in herds! The very concept of eating in a mall with the lively atmosphere, LCD screens all around, choice of outlets and proximity to your favourite shopping outlets leave no option but to eat in these outlets itself! So additional factors also influence eating behaviour with respect to eating out!
Well this is one industry which looks like will never see the bottom. No wonder they say, this is one industry in which you invest in the morning and get your profits by evening- thanks to the foodies!
