Wake-up Call

AS BUSINESS CAME TO A STANDSTILL DURING LAST YEAR’S LOCKDOWN, FOOD RETAIL COMPANIES AND RESTAURANTS EMBRACED TECHNOLOGY TO STAY AFLOAT

- AJITA SHASHIDHAR

₹4.23 LAKH CRORE

Size of India’s foodservice industry

₹1.48 LAKH CRORE

Share of organised food service

Mumbai-based fine-dining restaurant, Bombay canteen’s mother’s day brunch, along with fancy cocktails and music, is something many upmarket residents of maximum city look forward to every year. However, for the second consecutive year, mother’s day had to be celebrated indoors because of the lockdown. Since restaurants are allowed to do home deliveries this time round, Bombay canteen founders Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage saw an opportunity in recreating their signature mother’s day brunch experience at their patrons’ homes.

They created a mother’s day brunch box, which had a pre-curated menu that was delivered to guests who ordered from them. The highlight of the brunch box was a Qr code, which took guests to a Spotify playlist — they could play their favourite music as they relished their brunch. Similarly, for Bombay Sweet Store, their high-end sweet retail brand, the duo decided to have an Instagram poll on what should be the Mother’s Day signature ice cream flavour this year. Instagrammers voted for their popular Gymkhana Cold Coffee ice cream, and they launched limited-edition Gymkhana Cold Coffee tubs.

F&B DYNAMICS

The pandemic has led to a bloodbath in the restaurant and food retail industry. Around 30 per cent restaurants have closed down and job losses are at 40 per cent