Table 1 Phase-wise expansion of India's... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Phase-wise expansion of India's food services sector from 1991–2020

	Concentration areas	Business types	Business model	Key driver	Key challenge
Transforming India (Introduction) 1991–2000	Mega metros (2 cities) and mini-metros (6 cities)	International (mainly US) brands and home-grown brands	Complete ownership, or franchising with self-funding	Opening up of Indian economy and end of license-raj era. Accelerated economic growth and rise of the services sector. Growth of the middle class and rapid expansion of metro cities with cosmopolitan cultures	Limited infrastructure and connectivity. Issues of logistics and lack of skilled manpower. Limited market research and lack of availability of consumer data. Culture shock for international brands to Indian food preferences (McDonalds beef controversy)
Ambitious India (Growth) 2001–2010	Tier-I cities (20 cities in total)	Diversification of sector and customer clusters, new brand entries	Franchise and emergence of joint ventures partnerships and public equity, angel investors	Growth of regional cities in state capitals, satellite cities and industrial, commercial and IT hubs. Attraction of foreign investment and international players into India's growth story (India Shining Campaign)	Limited market research and availability of consumer data. Growing but nascent Internet landscape. Adoption of digital technologies. Insularity of India's growing middle class toward new lifestyles. Building the food services sector as a lifestyle choice
Digital India (Expansion) 2011–2020	Emerging lower Tier cities and towns	Expansion of multiple American brands across Indian subcontinent	Joint ventures driven by IPOs and angel investments	Increasing urbanization, accelerated economic growth and an enabling regulatory environment with lifting of restrictions for international players. Rapid proliferation of Internet and mobile telephony	Developing loyal customers in an increasingly crowded market. Digital proliferation. Leveraging CRM initiatives. Market segmentation and diversification. Disruptive effects of food-technology firms
Transfiguring India (Disruption) 2021–2030	Pan-India expansion and presence	Food-tech aggregator and cloud kitchen driven	Hyperlocal, with partnerships and tie up with local businesses	Expansion of smartphone usage. Growth of cash-less and contact-less payment methods. AI, Machine learning and data mining	Monopolization of digital market. Commoditization of food service. Decline of dine-in formats. Government intervention

	Concentration areas	Business types	Business model	Key driver	Key challenge
Transforming India (Introduction) 1991–2000	Mega metros (2 cities) and mini-metros (6 cities)	International (mainly US) brands and home-grown brands	Complete ownership, or franchising with self-funding	Opening up of Indian economy and end of license-raj era. Accelerated economic growth and rise of the services sector. Growth of the middle class and rapid expansion of metro cities with cosmopolitan cultures	Limited infrastructure and connectivity. Issues of logistics and lack of skilled manpower. Limited market research and lack of availability of consumer data. Culture shock for international brands to Indian food preferences (McDonalds beef controversy)
Ambitious India (Growth) 2001–2010	Tier-I cities (20 cities in total)	Diversification of sector and customer clusters, new brand entries	Franchise and emergence of joint ventures partnerships and public equity, angel investors	Growth of regional cities in state capitals, satellite cities and industrial, commercial and IT hubs. Attraction of foreign investment and international players into India's growth story (India Shining Campaign)	Limited market research and availability of consumer data. Growing but nascent Internet landscape. Adoption of digital technologies. Insularity of India's growing middle class toward new lifestyles. Building the food services sector as a lifestyle choice
Digital India (Expansion) 2011–2020	Emerging lower Tier cities and towns	Expansion of multiple American brands across Indian subcontinent	Joint ventures driven by IPOs and angel investments	Increasing urbanization, accelerated economic growth and an enabling regulatory environment with lifting of restrictions for international players. Rapid proliferation of Internet and mobile telephony	Developing loyal customers in an increasingly crowded market. Digital proliferation. Leveraging CRM initiatives. Market segmentation and diversification. Disruptive effects of food-technology firms
Transfiguring India (Disruption) 2021–2030	Pan-India expansion and presence	Food-tech aggregator and cloud kitchen driven	Hyperlocal, with partnerships and tie up with local businesses	Expansion of smartphone usage. Growth of cash-less and contact-less payment methods. AI, Machine learning and data mining	Monopolization of digital market. Commoditization of food service. Decline of dine-in formats. Government intervention

Source(s): Adapted by the author from Barbeque Nation Hospitality Limited (2021)