The diversity in Indian restaurants

In a country like India where people celebrate food, eating outside of home is like a routine for Indians. 

Who doesn’t like to eat outside? People of India are big foodies and at least go out to eat meals thrice a week on an average. With friends or family they enjoy their time out along with their varied cuisines of their taste. Most people have fixed days of the week, when the home kitchen will be shut and food will be either ordered from local Indian restaurants, or they will dine-in at any hotel. There are a plenty of restaurants, AC, Non-AC or sometimes even a small shop selling food stuff in India which attracts a variety of consumers of India.

The fact that India is a diverse nation with plenty religions and internal specification of each, food is also one of the most important differentiation seen with varied religions and states. Where are Gujarati would before strict vegetarian or Jain food other castes like Punjabis might not. Thus, it is very important for the hotel industry to make sure all such consumers are satisfied in order to cater to all and increase profits. Most of the Indian restaurants are either multi-cuisine or serve some variety of each of the different type of food of India. Either they are generalized, or specific wherein they only serve one type of food, such as thali or only strict Chinese food, depending on the demand.

Another factor what the hotel industry in India needs to pay heed to, is that India is a country of emotions and family bonding. They prefer to dine-in with family or family-friends. Most people of India prefer to go family restaurants, which do not serve alcohol, so that they can dine-in and spend time with their family. Usually these restaurants are sophisticated with a disciplined staff, serving food with kindness. Such restaurants attract family crowds based on their goodwill of food, staff and ambience.

Some people and a certain section of people prefer only having alcohol when the go out to eat, not exactly caring about what food is served. Such people tend to avoid the concept of family restaurants and prefer to go out with friends and colleagues for a drink, usually on weekends. Such restaurants are usually secluded, less sophisticated and seem to be ignored by families. These only focus on the drinking aspect, and their quality of food is not up to the mark as well.

With the variety of people in the market, their taste, their preferences, it is very difficult to run a food based industry in India. Owners of Indian restaurants need to have a proper demand forecasting before stopping in to the industry. People need change every now and then, thus introduction of new delicacies or cuisines is a must to attract crowd. Pricing in India is also a major factor, as a regular Indian would prefer to have a thali of INR 300 instead of having a buffet of Chinese for INR 600. But most importantly it is the variety, which is needed time to time in order to retain market share as well as goodwill in the restaurant industry in India.