Fast Food On Fast Track?

International food chains are attracted to the huge Indian market, but they face challenges they didn’t expect.

- Monica Behura & Paramita Chatterjee

Aus fast food brand recently forayed into India to grab a slice of the growing burger and fast food market. With that, it joined the race to compete with global brands already in the country, including McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, all of which have been in India much earlier.

“The market seemed extremely attractive to us and we wanted to woo the customers here,” says one of the directors on condition of anonymity. However, little did they guess that the going would not be as easy as it seemed. It isn’t just the plethora of players operating in India but the huge challenge from local vendors. “Today, we feel we were not adequately prepared to tap the market at this point in time,” says the director.

Counter Culture

This perhaps explains the anxiety of several international fast-food chains that are in India with aggressive expansion plans to keep pace with the growing appetite of the quick service restaurant (QSR) market.

Carl’s Jr, Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Burger King, Wendy’s and Barcelos, for example, have recently set shops in India, while in the non-burger category, Johnny Rockets started its operations in January 2014 and Dunkin’ Donuts in May 2012.

But that’s not to say the going is better for those already present in the market. To keep pace with the ongoing competition, they too have re-strategised their business approaches while focusing on quality and profits.