Why Food Business Could be a Good Franchise Option If you wish to make it big in the Indian food franchise business, focus on innovation and customer care to excel

In comparison to any kind of franchise business today, the food industry takes the pie.

According to industry experts and a study carried out by the apex industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the quick service restaurants (QSR) sector in India is currently growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%, and is likely to touch the Rs 25,000 crore mark by 2020 from the current level of Rs 8,500 crores.

By 2020 it is expected that 35% of India's population will be in urban areas touching 52 crores in numbers compared to the current urban population of 34 crores. Therefore, this urban spender will have to be spoilt for choices, at least in eating options.

Food Options Galore

With high disposal income and extremely busy work schedules, majority of the younger working population prefer to catch a quick bite on the move. They are now looking for healthy but quick food options. So here comes in the roles of salads, quick bite takeaways and even better, home delivery franchise models of set food options. In the franchise business, stick to the main food item and see how does your target audience respond to that one product. Obviously, you should be selling volumes like a Mc Donald's to make a decent profit.

Hit-or-Miss

Food veterans like Ritu Dalmia and Zorawar Kalra till some time ago gave a merely 7 percent success rate to any restaurant to survive in the world of food. But the story remains somewhat similar, "Unless you can maintain and sustain a quality of your key offering, the business of food is a dangerous one to be in," speak the experts.
In order to maintain the quality, it is best to concentrate on every food order that goes off from your place. So, if you are working your deliveries through an aggregator, ensure that each delivery experience is a satisfying one. Therefore, keep your channels of communication with your target audience open at all times. With application based orders, this has become easy. But the key to complete success is to keep an eye on the feedback as it comes and then take corrective action, wherever needed.

Innovate and Move

The franchisee has its ears to the ground. So should the franchisor himself. Best way to survive and then excel is to keep innovating. Do customer experience sessions, offer free samples with any order of a certain amount or more and ask your customer what is the next best experience they are looking for in their food experience. This should be a continuous exercise till you learn to see the signs in the market and can have innovation incorporated quickly into the franchise model. As a franchisor, have sessions with your franchise partners and take their feedback on possible innovations. Believe it or not, the best way to excel in the business of food is to innovative as quickly as your customer's taste changes.

Had Mc Donald not developed the "Indianised' range of food offerings, they would have been shown the door much before they could set food into the rare market India is.

The article was originally published on Franchise India by Uttara J.Malhotra.