Indian food industry to touch Rs.408,040 crore by 2018

The current size of the Indian food industry stands at Rs.247,680 crore per annum and is expected to grow at 11 percent to touch a staggering Rs.408,040 crore by 2018, an official said here Tuesday.

In terms of market segments, the Quick Service Restaurants and casual dine-in formats account for nearly three-fourths of the total chain and cafes make up 12 percent, with fine dining outlets, pubs, bars, clubs and lounges comprising the rest.

This is the key highlight of the "India Food Service Report-2013" of the National Restaurant Association of India, which was released Tuesday afternoon by Maharashtra Tourism Minister Chhagan Bhujbal here.

The report states that the chain and licensed stand-alone industry would contribute around Rs.11,500-11,900 crore in 2013, which will more than double to Rs.25,000 crore by 2018.

This would provide the government an opportunity to generate an additional collection of Rs.17,000-Rs.26,000 crore through closer monitoring of tax collection from the unorganised sector, said NRAI Mumbai chapter head Amit Jatia.

"The Indian food services industry has witnessed strong growth over the past few years and is expected to continue growing at an exponential rate over the next five years. It is expected to touch $28 billion on the back of changing consumption habits of consumers and emergence of new players in the sector," said Jatia.

However, he lamented that this healthy growth is marred by multiple taxes, high food and commodity costs, shortage of skilled human resources, infrastructure development to help better manage the supply chain and cold storage systems, and multiple licensing issues.

The report also draws awareness to the opportunities and challenges which the Indian restaurant industry has been facing and recommends solutions to overcome them.

The report says that the key growth drivers and emerging trends include increased share of delivery and take-away formats focussing on convenience, experimentation, Indian brands going global, larger focus on value meals, tech-savvy consumers using online, social media, food websites and mobile applications, and growing interest from private equity and venture capital investors in the food industry.

Founded in 1982, the NRAI represents independent and chain restaurant owners and operators in the country with over 1,200 members in 20 cities.