'Restaurant Sector to grow aggressively in India'

New Delhi: India`s restaurant sector, currently pegged at Rs 3,09,110 crore ($48 billion) and growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent to Rs 4,98,130 crore by 2021 as tier-2-3 regions are set to drive growth, the two-day Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 that opened here on Monday, was told.

Apart from Indian cuisine, Indian filter coffee is also making a comeback with pan-India growth plans as the Coffee Board of India plans a marketing and branding push to expand this niche market.

"Our vision is to create a pure Indian filter coffee. By next year, we will have modern, clean, cool and affordable Coffee Houses across India offering Indian filter coffee and snacks. Till now, India has been a tea country, my objective is to also make it coffee country," Srivatsa Krishna, CEO & Secretary, Coffee Board of India said at the Congress.

Zorawar Kalra, Founder and Managing Director, Massive Restaurants which owns Farzi Cafe and the conference chairperson, said: "We are an important industry in India. The Indian restaurant market is 40 times that of Bollywood. The Indian food industry produces 2 per cent of India`s GDP and is second largest employer of human capital in after agriculture. 

"As the Indian middle class is now spending more and more, food sector will automatically receive larger share out of their spending," Kalra added.

Restaurateurs, chefs and industry leaders including Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar, Unnat Varma (MD, Pizza Hut- India Subcontinent), Ashish Kapur (Founder & Director, Moods Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.), Sameer Bhasin (CEO, Barbeque Nation) and Varun Tuli (Director, Yum Yum Cha), among others, are attending the event.

"Today consumers who are drawn to an experiential dining experience are willing to pay more, too. Indian Restaurant Congress 2017 will share the building blocks of the food service in an innovative ecosystem. It is the platform where restaurants, chefs, brands would find future business models and ideas to address tomorrow`s market demand", said Ritu Marya, Director and Conference Convener, Franchise India.

North Indian is the highest preferred cuisine at 28 per cent followed by Chinese at 19 per cent and South Indian at 9 per cent. Many Indian restaurants are now also looking to expand to global markets apart from Britain in the fine dining space.