India Is Loving​​​​​​​ Healthy Dining

Nowadays, it seems that to make any business to succeed one must be aware of the trends surrounding its realm. This is more crucial for the F&B industry. One has to be constantly on one’s toes to know about the diners’ evolving needs. Today, in the Indian food service industry we are experiencing a constant evolution in the diners’ preferences and it seems that to have enduring success in this highly competitive business one has to not only keep abreast of consumers’ present dining preferences but probably be able to foretell their future yearnings and cravings related to their dining choices as well.

Ashok Malkani takes a look at some of the prevailing healthy food trends taking place in the Indian food service industry. He finds that health consciousness is topmost in the minds of the millenials who form a major chunk of the dining out segment in urban India.

- Ashok Malkani

Food trends keep on changing around the globe and in India, a country which has perhaps the most diverse cuisine in the world, it can be no different. The country’s changing demographics, coupled with the influx of quality international and domestic operators, and several other reasons have contributed towards metamorphosis in our eating out culture. Today Indians do not eat out only on occasions; eating out has become an integral part of lifestyle of a great multitude of urban Indians during the last decade or so.

The recent report by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) says that the size of the Indian food services industry is estimated to reach Rs. 408,040 crore in 2018.

The report states that Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and casual dine-in formats account for 74 percent of the total chain market, while cafés make up for 12 percent with fine dining and Pub Bars Club & Lounges (PBCL) comprising the rest.

Reasons and Influences

The reasons for the increase in the rate of eating out in India are wide and varied. They could be summed up as:

Rise in disposable incomes, increasing consumerism

Longer opening hours of restaurants

Increasing influence of globalisation

Increasing influence of media and technology on our lives

These factors in turn have given rise to various eating out trends in India.

All-day dining emerging as a popular category, rising presence of organised domestic food chains, increased investment in the Indian food service industry, increasing acceptance of global food and beverage trends on our taste palates are some of the trends influencing India’s food service industry.