Wok The Talk

Aayush Agrawal tells us the story behind the country's largest Indo-Chinese quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand, Chinese Wok.

- Tsunami Costabir

Lenexis Foodworks does Chinese fast food under the brand Chinese Wok, previously called Wok Express; and Indian food under the brand Big Bowl. Chinese Wok and Big Bowl run in about 200 stores across 25 cities. Lenexis Foodworks has a nine-year-long story in the food business. Cracking down on consumer insights and riding the tech wave to achieve consistency and scale, their Founder, Aayush Agrawal, tells us their story.

Q. Tell us about the insight that birthed your food brands.

A. We realised that Indo-Chinese is the second most preferred cuisine after Indian food in the country. And there aren't many QSR brands at scale that sell Chinese food in India. We started Wok Express in 2015 and customised our offerings for the Indian palate.

India was never a bread-eating culture. Our primary diet was rice. That is why our offering is different from a Subway, McDonald's or Domino's—they have bread in their offering and we have noodles and rice.

Chinese food has always been consumed in India, either in restaurants or on the streets. Our offering is somewhere in the middle of those price points. So we have the opportunity to take both restaurant casual diners and people who indulge in street food.