New Delhi, September 09, 2016: The Indian Restaurant congress 2016, organised by Franchise India in association with Cremica, was held at JW Marriott, Aerocity on August 29 & 30, 2016. The extravagant event acknowledged the contribution of market leaders and innovators from the Restaurant fraternity. In the last five years, Indian Restaurant Congress has taken the baton to identify and acknowledge industry brands from the food and beverages sector in the country.
The event was attended by Celebrity Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, AD Singh, MD, Olive Bar & Kitchen, Leena Singh of Ashima Leena, Sahil Malik, MD, Da Milano and Priyank Sukhija. Some of the brands spotted at the event were Burger King, Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialties Ltd., Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd., K Hospitality Corp., Select CityWalk, Lazeez Affaire Groups amongst other.
According to NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) IFSR (Indian Food Service Report) 2016, it is estimated that the Indian restaurant industry alone will contribute 2.1% to the GDP of India by the year 2021. Today, the entire food service market stands at INR 3,09, 110 crores with a growth of 7.7%. It is estimated to further grow to INR 4, 98, 130 crores at a CAGR of 10% by 2021.
Talking about the conference, the first day was power packed with attendees expecting insights and knowledge about the industry. The Proceedings started with a welcome note by Ritu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India.
“The Restaurant and food industry comprises of some of the most creative entrepreneurs working amid an extremely demanding industry. Restaurant industry has been transforming at a rapid pace and is all about direct consumption.. Eating out has become more of experimentation and the last mile experience that is driven out of it. I feel in the last decade, variety of food has really gone up. Let’s if a diner wants to have South Indian, he has other options apart from Sagar Ratna. If we observe the flip side of this, customer loyalty has dipped and today, getting diners in restaurants has become very tough. But, this has further motivated restaurateurs to come up with ideas such as Fun Mondays, Crazy Tuesdays and Women Wednesdays. These ideas have given a reason for diners to go back to their favourite restaurants. With the kind of taste and variety available today and amount of diners willing to experiment, we can call it Foodtainment Industry”.
This followed with the lighting of the lamp which was done by Mr Sachin Marya, President, Franchise India, Shri Pawan Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Mr Niren Chaudhary, President, KFC and Mr Akshay Bector, Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited.
As per Shri Pawan Agarwal, “Restaurant Industry is a very important part of the food business and is also getting more diversified with time. Many brands today do not compromise with the food safety aspect. In India, comprehensive food regulation is a fairly new chapter. Couple of days back, we commemorated the 10th anniversary of ‘Integrated Food Law’. The anniversary event was attended by some of the stalwarts of the industry. And, in this star studded event, we showcased a presentation highlighting the fact that though the law is almost a decade old, but actual work on it started only five years ago. Earlier, any firm which wanted to enroll for the FSSAI certification had to display the registration on licensing certification on food premises under the Schedule-4 of FSSAI. However, recently the norm has been replaced with food safety display boards, which are more appropriate and make more sense”.
The proceedings at day one started with an opening session on ‘Changing the food service game in 2016 & beyond’ mainly focusing on food safety and raising the bar of food services. This session was elaborated by Shri Pawan Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Mr Niren Chaudhary, President, KFC and Mr Akshay Bector, Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited. Other sessions included ‘The Restaurant of the future is the New consumer Mojo’, ‘Capital Connection – Putting in perspective Investment Strategies and Outlook for Food Business’ and ended with ‘Bar Summit’, focusing on leading lounges, bars and nightclubs and trends in the market.
Day two highlighted sessions like ‘Chai & Bun Summit’, ‘The new of food menu trends & the changing consumer’, ‘Fine Dine Summit’ and workshop sessions.
The event was closed following The Indian Restaurant Awards which felicitates brands in the food industry for their hard work and contributions.
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
