As India celebrates International Burger Day 2026 alongside Eid festivities in several parts of the country, burgers have emerged as far more than a Western fast-food import. Today, they represent one of the country’s most dynamic, localized, and innovation-driven food categories—spanning everything from flame-grilled Whoppers and gourmet smash burgers to vada pav-inspired creations and momo-filled fusion burgers.

India’s burger market now sits at the intersection of convenience, delivery-first consumption, regional flavor adaptation, and premium experimentation. The category is witnessing rapid expansion across metros, transit hubs, Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, cloud kitchens, cafés, bakeries, and even traditional vegetarian restaurant chains.

Among the companies redefining this evolution, few brands symbolize India’s localized burger revolution better than Wow! Momo Foods.

The Rise of the “MoBurg”

While global QSR giants built India’s burger culture around patties and buns, Wow! Momo disrupted conventional thinking by creating an entirely new hybrid category—the famous “MoBurg.”

Instead of using a standard potato or chicken patty, the MoBurg places two crispy fried momos directly inside a burger bun, layered with mayonnaise, fiery red momo chutney, and green mint sauce.

The result is a uniquely Indian-Asian fast-food mashup that resonates strongly with younger consumers looking for novelty, spice, indulgence, and affordability all at once.

Variants like the Chicken Cheese MoBurg, Corn Cheese MoBurg, and Veggie MoBurg have helped transform the product into one of India’s most recognizable fusion fast-food innovations.

Importantly, the concept also reflects a much larger structural shift within India’s QSR ecosystem—the growing success of culturally adapted fast-food formats instead of standardized Western replicas.

Wow! Chicken: Reimagining the Burger Experience

Under the same parent company, Wow! Chicken has further expanded the company’s burger ambitions through chicken-focused innovations positioned as cleaner, healthier, and flavor-driven alternatives.

Unlike many conventional fast-food formats, Wow! Chicken emphasizes burgers free from added MSG (Ajinomoto), artificial colours, and chicken skin—an increasingly important proposition for younger health-conscious consumers.

Its Chicken Kurkure Burger stands out for using crunchy masala-coated crumbs inspired by the hugely popular Kurkure-style texture profile familiar to Indian snack consumers.

The menu also experiments aggressively with international flavor inspirations:

• – Korean Barbeque Burger with sweet-spicy glaze and cheesy jalapeños
• – Tandoori Grilled Chicken Burger with smoky Indian flavors
• – Peri Peri Chicken Grilled Burger for spice-loving consumers seeking grilled alternatives

This ability to blend global trends with local familiarity has become one of the strongest growth drivers in India’s modern burger category.

India’s Burger Ecosystem Is Rapidly Diversifying

The Indian burger market is no longer controlled solely by multinational giants.

Today, the ecosystem is structurally divided across multiple layers:

The Global Giants

McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Wendy’s continue to dominate large-scale organized burger retail through aggressive value pricing, deep app integration, delivery-led sales, kiosks, and high-frequency digital engagement.

India’s Homegrown Burger Specialists

Brands like Burger Singh, Jumboking, Biggies Burger, The Burger Company, Wat-a-Burger, Burgrill, and Goli Vada Pav have successfully localized burger culture for Indian tastes and price sensitivities.

These players are expanding rapidly into Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets where aspirational fast-food consumption continues to accelerate.

Gourmet & Smash Burger Innovators

Leon’s, Good Flippin’ Burgers, Louis Burger, Burgerama, BurgerMan, and BOSS Burger are driving premiumization through gourmet buns, smash techniques, artisanal ingredients, and cloud-kitchen scalability.

Traditional Indian Snack Chains Entering Burger Culture

One of the most interesting developments is how traditional Indian snack chains and bakery brands are quietly integrating burgers into their menus.

Haldiram’s, Bikanervala, Nirula’s, A2B, Saravana Bhavan, Sangeetha, Theobroma, and Chappan Bhog are all participating in this larger fast-food convergence through localized veggie burgers, paneer burgers, slider formats, and fusion snack counters.

Delivery, Quick Commerce & Convenience Are Reshaping Consumption

The burger category’s growth is being accelerated significantly by food delivery and quick-commerce infrastructure.

Platforms like Swiggy and Zomato have normalized burger consumption across lunch, snacking, dinner, and late-night ordering occasions, while Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart are rapidly enabling ready-to-cook burger products to reach homes within minutes.

Consumers are increasingly replicating café-style burger builds at home using frozen patties, sauces, buns, and ready-to-cook kits.

This convergence between QSRs, frozen foods, quick commerce, and delivery ecosystems is creating one of the most competitive and innovation-heavy categories within Indian foodservice today.

Burgers Are Becoming Deeply Indian

Perhaps the biggest transformation of all is cultural. India’s burger market today is no longer simply copying Western formats. Instead, it is creating entirely new food identities built around:

• – spicy potato patties
• – paneer fillings
• – tandoori marinades
• – momo-burger hybrids
• – smash-style local adaptations
• – vada pav inspirations
• – Korean and Asian flavor mashups
• – street-food influenced sauces and textures

The modern Indian burger is becoming a reflection of India’s own evolving urban food culture—young, experimental, delivery-friendly, highly visual, affordable, and constantly hybridized.

And if the rise of products like the MoBurg is any indication, the future of India’s burger industry may increasingly belong not to imported concepts, but to homegrown innovations that reinterpret global fast food through an unmistakably Indian lens.

The post As India celebrates International Burger Day 2026 alongside Eid festivities, India’s burger boom is becoming bigger, bolder and more local appeared first on Business of Food.

Reflecting on the brand’s uncompromising commitment to quality, Ben’s Cookies will launch with a diverse selection of favourite flavours, ranging from the classic Milk Chocolate Chunk and White Chocolate & Macadamia to Ginger & Dark and a dedicated eggless variant. Positioned for those who appreciate a freshly baked treat, the brand will also offer simple gifting solutions, ideal for sharing during festive and corporate occasions. With individual cookies starting at Rs.325 and gifting options reaching upwards of Rs.1500, the partnership aims to share a premium standard of quality and freshness with cookie lovers across the country.

Sanskriti Gupta, Ben’s Cookies, India, laid her emphasis on the synergy between the two entities by saying, “The arrival of Ben’s cookies in India marks a significant milestone in DS Group’s strategic expansion within the premium food retail sector. We are delighted to introduce a piece of British heritage to the Indian market, combining a forty-year legacy of artisanal baking with DS Group’s rooted understanding of Indian palette and the ever-evolving consumer preferences. We have a robust retail expansion strategy which represents a significant pillar of DS Group’s growth objectives for Ben’s Cookies in India, with a target to establish eight to ten physical stores across India in the current financial year.”

To ensure a fresh cookie is always within reach, Ben’s Cookies will also be available on major ecommerce and food delivery platforms.

Luke Menezes, Ben’s Cookies’s UK spokesperson also expressed, “To ensure our traditional, quality standards are mirrored in India, every Ben’s Cookies boutique will feature a live-oven baking fresh batches throughout the day. Beyond our world-famous cookies, we look forward to sharing an array of delicious treats, including rich cookie shakes, coffees, and cookie ice cream sandwiches. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to work with DS Group and look forward to becoming a cherished part of the Indian dessert landscape.”

The partnership arrives as more consumers in India are looking for authentic, handcrafted treats. The domestic cookie market, valued at USD 1.3 billion in 2024, is on an aggressive growth trajectory and is projected to reach USD 2.3 billion by 2033. This surge is fuelled by rising urban affluence and a profound shift toward “premiumisation,” where consumers increasingly seek authentic, handcrafted indulgence. Ben’s Cookies is positioned to bridge this gap, offering handcrafted, freshly baked cookies and simple gifting solutions for those who value authenticity and freshness.

The post DS Group Inks Exclusive Partnership with Iconic British Brand ‘Ben’s Cookies’ for India Entry appeared first on Business of Food.

The Mumbai-born sourdough pizza chain has appointed retail veteran Gaurav Sachdeva as Chief Operating Officer at a time when the company is scaling rapidly across India’s urban foodservice landscape.

“43 stores, 12 cities — aiming to take it to 200-plus restaurants in the next few years,” says Sachdeva, summing up the ambition driving the brand’s next phase of growth.

But Si Nonna’s story is not merely about expansion. It is about building an entirely different pizza culture in India.

Beyond Conventional Pizza

Founded in 2022 by Ayush Jatia, Si Nonna’s entered a market long dominated by value-led, delivery-heavy pizza chains. Instead of competing on discounts or speed, the company built its identity around slow fermentation, artisanal preparation and immersive dining experiences.

The brand’s core differentiator lies in its sourdough philosophy.

Its pizzas are crafted using long-fermented dough, inspired by authentic Neapolitan techniques, creating a lighter, airy and flavour-forward crust that stands apart from conventional commercial pizza bases. The company has consistently highlighted craftsmanship, fermentation science and ingredient quality as central to its proposition.

Si Nonna’s also became India’s first pizzeria to receive certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), the globally recognised authority that preserves authentic Neapolitan pizza traditions — a milestone that significantly elevated its credibility in premium culinary circles.

Building a Menu Around Craft and Freshness

Unlike mainstream chains that rely heavily on standardised mass-market offerings, Si Nonna’s menu has evolved around artisanal combinations, fresh ingredients and elevated comfort food.

The menu spans:

• Classic Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas
• Burrata-based pizzas
• Truffle-infused variants
• Fresh mozzarella and ricotta-led combinations
• Roasted vegetable toppings
• Pepperoni and gourmet meat selections
• Handcrafted appetisers and sides
• Desserts inspired by Italian café culture
• Specialty beverages and coffee pairings

The company has also built strong appeal through its open kitchens, visible dough preparation and wood-fired cooking processes that turn pizza-making into a theatre-led dining experience.

In many ways, Si Nonna’s operates closer to a modern lifestyle café than a traditional QSR chain.

Its outlets are designed to encourage community engagement, long-format dining and social sharing — a strategy that resonates strongly with younger urban consumers seeking experiential food brands rather than transactional eating occasions.

Dine-In Energy with Digital Reach

While dine-in remains central to the Si Nonna’s experience, the brand has simultaneously leveraged digital platforms to expand accessibility.

The company is available across major food delivery platforms including Swiggy and Zomato, allowing it to participate in India’s rapidly growing premium delivery economy without diluting its experiential positioning.

This hybrid strategy — combining artisanal dine-in culture with digital convenience — has helped the company scale faster across markets.

The brand now operates across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Surat, Indore and several other cities, largely focusing on premium malls, high-street destinations and affluent urban catchments.

Why the Brand Is Scaling Fast

Si Nonna’s rise reflects larger shifts underway in India’s foodservice industry.

Urban consumers today are increasingly willing to pay more for:

• Authenticity
• Ingredient quality
• Better fermentation and healthier formats
• Open kitchens and transparency
• Instagram-worthy dining spaces
• Global culinary storytelling
• Community-led food experiences

The premium pizza segment, especially sourdough and artisanal formats, is emerging as one of the fastest-growing sub-categories within organised foodservice.

Si Nonna’s has managed to position itself at the intersection of premium dining, café culture and modern lifestyle consumption.

Its rapid expansion from a single Mumbai outlet to 43 stores across 12 cities in a short span underlines the growing consumer appetite for differentiated food brands.

Enter Gaurav Sachdeva

As Si Nonna’s prepares for its next expansion phase, the company has brought in a leader with deep experience in scaling consumer-facing businesses.

Sachdeva joins after serving as Chief Retail Officer at BlueStone and brings over two decades of experience across Bestseller India, Puma, Hero Cycles, VF Corporation and Genpact.

Originally from Shimla, he often speaks about resilience as a defining influence in his life.

“Hailing from Shimla, my school was a 4 km uphill walk every day. I did that for 12 years and resilience is my biggest gain from there,” he says.

An alumnus of Pearl Academy of Fashion, LDT Nagold and INSEAD, Sachdeva believes strongly in people-led leadership and brand-building.

“At work my biggest kick is when someone I worked with gets promoted to the next level. At home the same kick comes when someone loves what I cook,” he says.

That blend of operational scale, consumer understanding and passion for experience-driven brands could prove critical as Si Nonna’s attempts to transform from a fast-growing premium pizza chain into one of India’s defining modern foodservice brands.

The post Si Nonna’s: Crafting India’s Sourdough Pizza Movement as Gaurav Sachdeva Joins Growth Journey appeared first on Business of Food.

Built on the everyday appeal of Indo-Chinese cuisine, Lenexis has quietly assembled one of the most formidable homegrown QSR platforms in the country. Its flagship Chinese Wok, alongside The Momo Co. and Big Bowl, taps into a rare sweet spot—high-frequency consumption, strong delivery demand, and deep cultural familiarity. What began as Wok Express in 2015 has now evolved into a multi-brand engine serving millions of customers across metros and emerging cities.

At the heart of the company’s next chapter is a sharply defined ambition: to build a ₹1,500+ crore business with 600+ restaurants by March 2028. This is not incremental growth—it is a scale leap that demands operational muscle, capital efficiency, and brand consistency across geographies.

Lenexis’ rise is rooted in its ability to formalise what has long been an unorganised category. Indo-Chinese food—arguably India’s most ubiquitous “outside food”—has traditionally been fragmented across local eateries. By standardising taste, ensuring hygiene, and delivering affordability at scale, Chinese Wok has effectively institutionalised a street-born cuisine into a national QSR format.

The brand’s footprint— 260+ restaurants across 50+ cities—already places it ahead of most organised players in this niche. But the real opportunity lies beyond metros, where rising disposable incomes and delivery penetration are expanding the addressable market at an unprecedented pace.

Arvind R P’s entry brings both depth and range. An MBA in Marketing from Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirapalli, with a foundation in Statistics from Delhi University, he combines analytical rigor with consumer-centric thinking. His executive education includes programs at Kellogg School of Management (advanced marketing and data analytics), Hamburger University, Chicago (enterprise leadership), and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, reflecting a strong grounding in modern marketing science and organisational transformation.

Across a career spanning over 25 years, Arvind has built a reputation for turning brands into growth engines:

• At McDonald’s India (South & West), he drove marketing, digital commerce and category innovation while owning revenue and margin outcomes—helping deepen the brand’s integration with delivery platforms and younger consumers.
• At Kaya, he led a significant brand repositioning while building omnichannel capabilities and scaling a new products business.
• At Levi Strauss & Co., he spearheaded a brand relaunch and retail identity transformation, earning a Global CEO Award (2013) for a successful new brand launch.
• Earlier roles at Britannia and TVS Motor saw him work across product strategy, market entry (including Indonesia), and consumer insights—laying the foundation for his cross-category expertise.

This blend of brand-building, digital acceleration, and P&L ownership aligns closely with what Lenexis now requires: scaling fast, but with precision.

What makes Lenexis particularly interesting is its portfolio approach. Instead of betting on a single format, it has created multiple consumption occasions:

• Chinese Wok for core meals
• The Momo Co. for snackable, impulse consumption
• Big Bowl for convenient, bundled formats

This layered strategy allows the company to maximise kitchen utilisation, optimise delivery economics, and cross-leverage real estate, especially in cloud and hybrid store formats.

Lenexis Foodworks: Growth Blueprint at a Glance

The timing of this expansion is significant. India’s foodservices market is being reshaped by three powerful forces:

• Delivery-first consumption becoming the default, not an add-on
• Premiumisation at the top, value expansion at the bottom
• Organised players capturing share from unorganised incumbents

Lenexis sits squarely at the intersection of these trends—offering value-driven meals while leveraging aggregator platforms and digital ordering to scale rapidly.

As the company steps into its next phase, a few priorities will define the trajectory:

• Standardising supply chains across an expanding national footprint
• Balancing franchise-led expansion with operational control
• Driving throughput and speed in kitchens to protect margins
• Strengthening brand recall beyond metros into emerging cities
• Leveraging data and CRM to build repeat consumption, not just trial

The larger question is not whether Lenexis can grow—it already has. The real test is whether it can scale without dilution: of taste, of experience, and of economics.

With a clear target, a differentiated category position, and leadership that blends analytical depth with brand instinct, Lenexis Foodworks is now stepping into a far more demanding arena—one where execution, not intent, will determine whether it becomes India’s defining Indo-Chinese QSR powerhouse.

The post Arvind R P Joins as CEO Lenexis Foodworks; Charts ₹1,500 Crore, 600-Store Hyper-Growth Path appeared first on Business of Food.

“Crossing ₹100 crore in FMCG is not just a revenue milestone for us, it’s proof that a QSR-born brand can build large, scalable consumer packaged businesses when execution leads to strategy, we have always believed that our restaurants are not the end point, but the launchpad. This is the outcome of years of building categories, not chasing trends,” said Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder & CEO, Wow! Momo Foods.

The Footprint Maximisation: With a formidable footprint across both Q-Com and Modern Retail, Wow! Momo FMCG is present across 450+ Cities in the country with over 6,000 touch points. In modern retail, the brand is present across leading chains including Reliance Retail, DMart, SPAR, Metro Cash & Carry, Nature’s Basket, and Modern Bazaar, alongside strong regional players such as Vijeta, Sangeetha, and Arambagh. 

Across quick commerce, Wow! Momo FMCG enjoys near-universal presence on Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, and Amazon, ensuring high visibility and velocity in impulse-led food categories.

Over the past 30+ months Wow! Momo FMCG has been able to establish presence to category leadership across both quick commerce and modern retail, making it one of India’s most widely distributed new-age FMCG brands.

Growing Beyond Frozen

Wow! Momo FMCG continues to lead the momos category across platforms, while Cuppa Noodles has emerged as a key growth engine. The cup noodles range currently clocks approximately ₹3 crore in monthly revenue and is available in over 1,000 Reliance Retail stores nationwide, alongside strong traction on quick-commerce platforms.

In January 2026, Wow! Momo FMCG entered packaged pouch noodles with 5 uniquely curated Korean Noodles range; a never-before taste culmination bringing the whole soul of Seoul in a single pouch. A move expected to accelerate growth in the ambient foods segment. The company has also initiated a focused general trade rollout in Karnataka and West Bengal, prioritising depth of distribution and on-ground execution. The on-going LPG crisis has pushed the consumption to consolidate around convenience – making Wow! Momo’s, Momo’s range, cup-noodles scale strong, grow by 20%-30% MOM.

Scaling Frozen and Ambient Food Categories

Wow! Momo FMCG’s portfolio is anchored around two core pillars:

1. Frozen Foods: Momos, Protein Rich Smileys, and frozen grated coconut, where the brand has emerged as category leader. The next big thing this summer remains: Launch and scaling of Wow! Kulfi, the recent rollout marks its entry into the fast-growing frozen dessert segment this summer.

2.Ambient Foods: Cup noodles, pouch noodles, and a growing pipeline of oriental cuisine-led offerings.

Global Expansion & Building Fortifying Exports

Exports have become a key growth pillar for Wow! Momo FMCG. The brand is currently present across Germany, the UK, Singapore, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, with the GCC emerging as a priority market.

In the Middle East, Wow! Momo FMCG is distributed by Al Tayeb, part of the LuLu Group, providing strong market access across the Gulf. With strong momentum across domestic channels and international markets, Wow! Momo FMCG is redefining how Indian QSR brands can successfully build large, scalable FMCG businesses. In India and internationally.

“From India to the world, our goal is simple, to build food brands that travel, scale, and endure,” Daryani said.

The Wow! Momo FMCG Saga

The brand’s FMCG story is all about focused category leadership, backed by execution, not experimentation. It is is turning QSR muscle into FMCG scale, building categories, creating heroes, and taking Indian food brands to the world. 

The story is about Indian entrepreneurship, building connections with the consumer and a story that starts from QSR kitchens to national shelves, from share of the stomach to share of your kitchen. It is about the company rewriting the playbook for how Indian food brands scale.

About Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd.
Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest-growing QSR chains, known for pioneering the momo category with innovative formats and flavours. With a strong presence across multiple cities and a diverse portfolio including Wow! Momo, Wow! China, and Wow! Chicken, the brand continues to drive category innovation and high-impact consumer campaigns.

The post Wow! Momo FMCG crosses ₹100 Crore ARR, redefines QSR-to-FMCG scale in India appeared first on Business of Food.

For decades, stations remained a captive market trapped in outdated catering structures. This new decision marks a decisive shift from a low-investment “chai–poori” stall model to a structured, audit-driven, QSR-ready retail ecosystem comparable to airports and global rail hubs.

Why This Decision Took So Long — The Real Factors Behind the Delay

1. A catering mindset — not a retail vision

Food at stations was treated as a compliance necessity, not a revenue engine. Legacy contractors operated on low CapEx and low hygiene standards, keeping organised players away.

2. Infrastructure wasn’t QSR-ready

Stations lacked essential back-end systems:

• power and exhaust capacity
• grease traps and drainage
• waste management
• clean back-of-house zones
• fire-safety compliant kitchen spaces

QSR-grade formats cannot scale without QSR-grade infrastructure.

3. The policy architecture needed modernisation

Railways functioned under zone-wise catering rules, unlike airports (concession model) or malls (retail leasing). A unified, retail-first policy came only with the November 2025 Railway Board circular.

4. Redevelopment had to come before retail

The last six years saw the rise of modernised stations like:
Rani Kamlapati (Bhopal), Gandhinagar Capital, Ahmedabad, New Bhubaneswar, and SMVT Bengaluru.
These upgrades demonstrated what world-class concourses and commercial zones could look like — creating the foundation for branded QSRs.

India’s Largest Untapped F&B Real Estate — Now Unlocked

The Indian Railways network is the single largest retail real estate portfolio in the country. The comparison below shows why the opportunity is unprecedented.

Railway stations → Largest network + highest daily footfall + widest geographic reach.
No other real-estate asset in India offers this level of throughput, consistency and natural demand.

Globally, travel hubs generate the highest F&B revenue per sq. ft. Indian Railways is finally aligning with this model.

The QSR Advantage: High Volume, Low CAC, All-Day Demand

Railway stations create a uniquely favourable business environment for QSRs:

• Near-zero CAC — passengers arrive organically
• Crores of daily footfalls
• High impulse-driven consumption
• Long dwell times during delays
• Family/group travel behaviour amplifies ticket size
• 24×7 operational potential

Even a 0.5% conversion at a major station can outperform many high-street locations.

Who Is Driving This Transformation?

The shift is being enabled jointly by:

• Railway Board — policy & category approval
• Commercial Department, Zonal Railways — site allotment, licensing
• IRCTC — e-auctions, food plazas, operational audits

This is the first time all three arms are aligned under a retail-centred approach, not a catering contract structure.

How Brands Can Enter Railway Stations — The New Process

QSR Application Pathway

1. Track IRCTC/Zonal e-auctions for “Premium Brand Outlets”.
2. Register as a vendor — PAN, GST, FSSAI, DSC, financials.
3. Submit technical + commercial bid on e-procurement portals.
4. Secure a 5-year licence with renewal based on performance.
5. Execute fit-out per railway guidelines.
6. Operate under continuous hygiene & service audits.

This marks the beginning of a formal, scalable, modern retail ecosystem inside stations.

High-Potential Stations for QSR Expansion

A mix of footfall, redevelopment status, traveller profile, and city-level consumption makes the following stations particularly strong candidates for branded F&B:

Data Source: Official station passenger figures and classification list (annual passengers) — Indian Railways station classification / revenue dataset (2024 list).

How Big Can This Market Become?

If even:

• the top 200 stations adopt premium-format F&B
• with 3–5 outlets per station

India instantly creates a pipeline of 600–1,000 new QSR outlets — equivalent to the full footprint of several established chains.

With hundreds of stations under redevelopment, the long-term potential is significantly larger.

Why This Marks a New Era for India’s F&B Industry

This development represents far more than the arrival of global QSR logos on railway concourses. It signals:

• the formalisation of India’s largest unorganised food market
• a decisive uplift in hygiene, safety and service standards
• the shift from legacy catering to airport-style concession economics
• the emergence of transit retail as a high-volume, mainstream F&B channel
• a fully open runway for national, regional and global brands to scale

Railway concourses are no longer functioning merely as transit corridors — they are evolving into India’s next major consumption arenas.

Indian Railways hasn’t just approved branded food outlets; it has unlocked the country’s largest, densest and most commercially powerful F&B real-estate ecosystem.

This marks the start of India’s third — and undoubtedly the largest — travel-retail wave.

The journey from “chai–poori on the platform” to modern, global-standard QSRs in the concourse has truly begun.

The post 3.5 Crore Footfalls, 7,000 Stations, Zero CAC: Indian Railways Is Now Asia’s Biggest QSR Opportunity appeared first on Business of Food.

The post 16 Acquisitions Crossing ₹40K Cr. in the Business Of Food: Business Scale, Deal Logic, and the Big Appetite for Indian Brands appeared first on Business of Food.

This new launch marks the vegetarian brand’s third outlet in Gurugram, emphasizing its expanding footprint across Delhi–NCR and advancing its mission to deliver high-quality, street-style cuisine to food enthusiasts nationwide.

The new outlet is centrally located in Sapphire 83 Mall in Sector 83, Gurugram.  The new menu strives to cater to the bustling local population by offering SGF’s signature dishes such as Afghani, Achari, and Tandoori Soya Chaap, as well as a variety of North Indian dishes and innovative fusion snacks. 

SGF continues to remain a popular choice for vegetarians and street food fans due to its hygienic cooking, robust tastes, and affordable costs.

Speaking on the launch, Kewal Ahuja, Founder and Director, SGF India, said, “We are really excited to launch our third outlet in Gurugram at Sapphire 83 Mall. This marks a significant milestone in our ongoing expansion journey. Our aim has always been to offer tasty, hygienic, and budget-friendly vegetarian meals that blend traditional recipes with modern convenience. Sector 83 is a vibrant and rapidly growing area, and we’re eager to serve the community with our delicious, soul-satisfying menu.”

The outlet is now open for dine-in and takeaway, with food delivery services to be launched shortly through leading platforms. SGF India invites Gurugram’s food lovers to visit the new outlet and experience the flavours that have made it one of the country’s most loved vegetarian brands.

Outlet Address:
SGF India – Sapphire 83 Mall
Ground Floor, Sector 83, Gurugram, Haryana

About SGF India

• Founded in 2012, Spice Grill Flame (SGF) has emerged as a prominent name in the culinary landscape, celebrating a decade of excellence in 2022.
• Specializing in tangy, spicy, and fiery 100% vegetarian cuisine, with a particular focus on vegan offerings, SGF stands as a haven for those seeking flavourful plant-based dishes.
• From its humble beginnings with just two outlets, SGF has blossomed into a network of over 100+ kitchens with 75+ outlets in 20+ cities across India.

The post SGF India Expands Gurugram Footprint with 3rd Outlet at Sapphire 83 Mall appeared first on Business of Food.

India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing international markets for Subway, with plans to become the largest Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain in the country over the next decade. The brand has introduced a modernised store design and fresh menu options to cater to evolving consumer preferences. Recently, Subway launched its indulgent Hot and Cheesy Signature Subs range, featuring 1.5x filling with lots of cheese. It also introduced a Breakfast Special sandwich menu paired with coffee, available from 7 am to 11 am across select locations to meet the growing demand of fresh breakfast options in India.

“Today’s restaurant opening marks a major moment for the brand’s growth in India, where we continue to see huge demand,” said John. “In addition to opening an impressive number of restaurants over the past three years, Everstone has also proven to be a regional leader in implementing the brand’s latest culinary, development and digital initiatives, improving the overall restaurant experience and paving the way for more guests to enjoy Subway across the market.”

Subway’s international growth, coupled with its focus on attracting multi-unit operators, has accelerated new restaurant openings. The brand is on track to more than double its new restaurant openings in 2024.

Tarun Bhasin, CEO, Culinary Brands, shared “We’re thrilled to reach this milestone of 850 Subway stores in India, and we’re grateful to our customers for their loyalty and trust. As we continue to expand our presence across the country, we’re committed to delivering fresh, tasty and customizable sandwiches, wraps and salads that cater to the ever-changing tastes and preferences of Indian consumers. We are excited to introduce new menu innovations, including Hot and Cheesy Signature Subs, and Breakfast Special sandwiches to further delight our customers.” As the exclusive master franchisee for Subway, one of the world’s largest QSR brands, Culinary Brands owns the rights for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other countries.

The post Subway Global Celebrates Milestone with 850th Store Opening in India appeared first on Business of Food.

Spanning over 750 square feet, the new Andheri outlet is the largest Baskin-Robbins location in Mumbai and amongst its largest in the country, symbolizing the brand’s ongoing commitment to offering premium, innovative dessert experiences to its customers. The grand opening event, attended by key stakeholders, industry leaders, and brand loyalists, was a celebration of Baskin-Robbins’ remarkable growth story in India and the SAARC region.

Since its entry into the Indian market in 1993 with Graviss Foods, master franchisee for Baskin-Robbins in India and the SAARC region, Baskin-Robbins has consistently adapted to the unique preferences of Indian consumers, making it a household name synonymous with indulgence and quality. The opening of the 1000th location is a testament to the brand’s successful strategy of using quality ingredients and offering a variety of flavours, which has fuelled its expansion across 290+ cities, including metropolitan hubs, as well as popular tourist and emerging non-metro markets, and made it one of Baskin-Robbins’ largest global markets.

Baskin-Robbins’ journey in India and the SAARC region has been characterized by continuous innovation, from introducing new flavours and formats to expanding its retail footprint through a mix of large locations, kiosks, and modern trade channels. It was one of the first brands to offer ice cream cakes, ice cream pizzas and ice cream “rocks”—bite-sized ice cream treats for easy snacking—in the region.

The brand’s ability to adapt to local market conditions and consumer preferences has been instrumental in its success, making it not just an international brand operating in India and the SAARC region, but an integral part of the consumer experience. Baskin-Robbins offers its popular signature flavours, like Mississippi Mud, Honey Nut Crunch and Bavarian Chocolate, and has also introduced menu items that draw from local sweet delicacies, like Gulab Jamun, Caramel Milkcake, and Rabdi Jalebi. In addition, it was one of the first ice cream businesses in the country to aggressively adopt online ordering several years ago and the first to have a loyalty program for its customer base.

“It’s an exciting day for us at Graviss Foods, the master franchisee for Baskin-Robbins in India and in the SAARC region, along with Inspire Brands, as we come together to celebrate the launch of Baskin-Robbins’ 1,000th location in the region.” remarked Gaurav Ghai, Chairman, Graviss Group. “This milestone reflects our shared values, deep commitment and exceptional execution in this market.”

“We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous occasion of opening our 1000th location in India,” said Michael Haley, President and Managing Director, International, Inspire Brands. “We would like to thank Graviss Foods for being such a strong franchisee in the region for over 30 years, and congratulate them, as well as the Inspire international team, for achieving this accomplishment. Baskin-Robbins’ success here is a reflection of our commitment to delivering exceptional and innovative experiences tailored to the Indian palate. We are proud to be a leader in the QSR space and excited to further expand our footprint in this vibrant market.”

“As India continues its upward march towards becoming one of the world’s leading economies, Baskin-Robbins is committed to being a part of this journey, contributing to the economy, creating jobs, and delivering happiness to consumers through continuing innovation in our products and services,” added Vikram Seth, Managing Director, Graviss Foods.

To cope with growing demand, The Graviss group recently set up a new manufacturing facility for Baskin-Robbins in India. With the 1,000th location milestone in India and the SAARC region, the brand is poised for even greater growth in the coming years, driven by ongoing innovation, strategic expansion, and a deep understanding of the evolving Indian market.

The post Baskin-Robbins opens its 1000th Location in India and the SAARC Region appeared first on Business of Food.