'GOING FORWARD, OUR THRUST WILL BE TO GROW IN SMALLER TOWNS'

Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman of Westlife Development, on vegetarianism, growth plans, and how he forged a winning partnership with McDonald's in India

- UDAYAN MUKHERJEE

Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman of Westlife Development which runs the McDonald's outlets in the West and South of India-is an unlikely 'Hamburgerologist' (one who has a degree from the Hamburger University run by McDonald's). Jatia, a vegetarian who hails from a north Indian business family, was happily running his family's industrial chemicals business when he decided to enter the world of quick service restaurants (QSR) by partnering with McDonald's. Today, he presides over a chain of 325 McDonald's restaurants dishing out vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare. In an interaction with Business Today's Global Business Editor Udayan Mukherjee, Jatia talks about how the global burger chain customised its menu for India, why vegetarianism is important for him, how he deals with inflation, and his expansion plans. Edited excerpts:

Q: The first thing which leaps out from your CV, Amit, is that you have a degree in something called Hamburgerology from an American university! I never knew such a thing existed. What on earth is Hamburgerology?

A: That is true, Udayan. Even I never knew before McDonald's that there was something called Hamburgerology. Essentially, it's a graduation degree from the world-famous Hamburger University that McDonald's runs-at that time, in Oak Brook, Chicago. What it entails, quite surprisingly, is not so much the process of making burgers but also how to deal with people because that's such an integral part of this business.

Goal setting, ensuring that there is profit in the business; it was an all-encompassing degree. I spent nine months at it before I could be called a qualified Hamburgerologist. So, it took nine months but it worked out quite fine and gave me a very broad understanding of the QSR business in totality.