Images Business of Food – October 2025

Description

In today’s restaurant economy, technology has amplified visibility but also reshaped power. Food delivery aggregators have helped restaurants reach new customers and scale faster than ever. Yet, this convenience comes at a steep cost: commissions of 20–30%, discountdriven promotions that drain margins, and an ecosystem increasingly tilted toward customer acquisition over restaurant sustainability. Our feature on page 50 explores how a smarter hybrid of physical and digital touchpoints is emerging as the restaurant world’s counter-narrative. The solution isn’t to reject digital but to reclaim it—on the restaurant’s own terms—by balancing aggregator visibility with owned digital channels and loyal walk-ins.

This month’s cover story (pages 18–29) spotlights Zorawar Kalra, son of the late Jiggs Kalra, the revered “Czar of Indian Cuisine.” Zorawar has built his own empire of innovation through Massive Restaurants—home to Masala Library, Farzi Café, Pa Pa Ya, Made in Punjab, Swan, Bao Tai, and cloud kitchen formats like Louis Burger and Sliced Pizza. Over the past decade, his philosophy of “progressive Indian cuisine” has rede􀏐ined what Indian dining can be—authentic yet experimental, rooted yet global. With over 40 outlets across India, the UK, the US, Canada, and the Middle East, Zorawar represents the new face of Indian gastronomy—an entrepreneur blending art, analytics, and audacity to make Indian food a world conversation.

And as India steps into its most vibrant quarter, our special feature (pages 30–38) delves into how Food as Gifts continues to embody India’s sweetest sentiment—now reimagined through the lenses of health, speed, and sustainability. From mithai to millets, and from heritage boxes to ten-minute deliveries, festive gifting has become both an emotional and economic engine. In 2025, food gifting captures India’s changing aspirations—where conscious indulgence meets instant gratification, and where every box exchanged carries a fllavour of progress as much as affection.