“The food and beverages industry accounts for 3% of India’s GDP and is the single largest employer in the country, with more than 7.3 million workforces. The nationwide lockdown set this industry on a downward spiral with some predictions suggesting that nearly a quarter of all restaurants may shut down by the end of 2020. India’s US$50 billion restaurant industry is set to lose US$9 billion in 2020 according to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).” (IBEF Report)
When we speak about Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), a report offers a very promising future for the same. The report states that “The Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 18% during 2021-2025 due to increasing urbanization, rapid expansion in food delivery services, expanding young & working population, a growing number of dual-income families and rising disposable income in the country.
While studying trends in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in India during the pandemic, online food ordering and delivery apps acted as ‘messiahs on wheels’ for the food and beverage industry, giving a certain amount of solace and salvaging the situation. The covid-led lockdown, social distancing norms, and the fear of the infection hit the eating-out sector hard. Home deliveries recovered significantly. QSR chains perfected the delivery and convenience formats in India, riding on food aggregator platforms and their apps. It is pretty evident if one adapts to the changing market trends quickly during the time of adversity, businesses can survive, sustain, and eventually thrive.
In the QSR sector, after studying the patterns of declining footfalls in their respective restaurants due to the pandemic, most of them pivoted and launched ‘cloud kitchen models.’ The major advantage of adopting this model is that food aggregators can tie-up and offer online ordering and delivery options for customer convenience. A recent report by Dineout, a table booking platform, said that “Cloud kitchens that have a current market share of 13% will increase to 30% in the coming year. It further expects takeaway and delivery channels to grow by 15% and 30.5%, respectively.”
QSR chains are bound to benefit immensely in the post covid world due to their strong ability to adapt and leverage based on their strong digital presence because of their apps and being present on other digital platforms. An efficient delivery model is a bonus for QSR chains because there is a shift in the consumer’s behavior towards delivery and takeaway because of the skepticism of contracting the virus from dining in at restaurants.
An important aspect to be noted here is that consumers will decide the long-term fate of the QSR chains, as consumers will choose to consume food from trusted QSR brands that uphold their safety and hygiene measures.
According to the Financial Express, “The choice of offerings on your delivery-only menus may get more varied. Indian restaurants are preparing to launch cloud kitchens and delivery-only brands to serve more patrons. In a pandemic-riddled year when dine-ins and food fests took a backseat, consumers thrived on food deliveries; more people explored the concept which otherwise was subscribed largely by corporates and millennials.”
Delivery platforms may have acted as ‘messiahs on wheels’ for QSRs, but now more than ever a long-term strategy is required. QSRs need the assistance of ‘angels on earth’, for the food and beverage industry, in the form of Food Service Consultants.
Food Service Consultants are industry specialists who provide their clients (belonging to the Food and Beverage industry) with long term strategies and solutions based on studying the client’s business model and market trends. These consultants bring years of experience, market expertise, and knowledge to the table.
Food Service Consultants are technically sound and well-acquainted with changing patterns in the foodservice and hospitality industry. The consultant’s main agenda is to prepare their client to be market-ready in every possible situation with a single goal of enhancing the client’s business.
- Food Service Consultants specialize in:
- Managing accounting & finance for their clients
- Obtaining compliance certification
- Suggesting dietary & nutrition plans for client food set-ups
- Designing food production systems
- Engineering menus as per client’s demands
- Advising clients on how to maintain food safety & hygiene
- Setting up human resources
- Operating Procedures & Systems
- Developing strategies for revenue generation
- Assisting with strategic financial analysis
- Assisting with architectural design & space planning
- Training of the workforce through education and workshops
- Devising a solid business strategy
- Providing a team for legal advice/litigation support
- Planning market promotions
- Focus on sustainability
- Applying principles of waste management design
- Due Diligence
- Raising Capital
Food Service Consultants are hired by food and beverage businesses when:
They require expert advice
Their strategy has failed to yield results, therefore requires the assistance of specialists such as Food Service Consultants.
They require industry knowledge to re-engineer a foodservice operation/concept.
They require a long term strategy to survive an adverse situation and thrive in the future.
In a time of changing market landscapes, food service consultants will be in high demand, to guide the food and beverages out of the uncertainty with ease.
Hiring the best minds in the industry is of paramount importance. That is why one can trust the Food Service Consultants at HPG Consulting. This foodservice consultancy firm provides a wide spectrum of food management services to hotels, restaurants, schools, commercial facilities, etc. Some of the best names in the Food and Beverage industry, namely Taj, Marriott, Punjab Grill, IIM, TCS, etc, are loyalists of the services and strategies HPG Consulting provides them with.
Food Service Consultants at HPG Consulting are trained specialists who provide their clients with market analysis and insights, that leads to optimum productivity and profitability.
Want to adapt quickly and be a winner in the food and beverage industry in the post-covid world? Well, it’s time to get the best brains to work for your business. Get in touch with a Food Service Consultant at HPG Consulting today.