244 stories in the archive
NRAI Bengaluru and Mitti Café held an inclusive job fair at Mirage on St Marks Road, connecting more than 110 people with disabilities to hospitality jobs. Over 30 restaurant brands took part, including Empire and Samosa Party. Siddhant Vinod became co-chapter head and Dheeraj M. Kumar treasurer, and Ajay Kumar K R joined as marketing head.
Hyperpure, Zomato's B2B sourcing and supply-chain platform, delivers ingredients from farmers and mills to food businesses in over 100 cities, serving more than 200,000 commercial kitchens. Its Samalka fulfilment centre in New Delhi opened in April 2019, with capacity for 5,000 metric tonnes a month. Sourcing from FPOs has cut procurement costs by an average 15 percent.
RATIONAL has opened India's largest training centre, in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. Its location was picked for Hyderabad's growing catering and hospitality sectors, and it houses iCombi Pro and iVario Pro cooking systems plus the ConnectedCooking platform. Visitors can attend training sessions, live demonstrations and industry events. The company's Bangalore centre opened about two years earlier.
Wow! Momo Foods is reportedly seeking Rs 250 to 300 crore to fund Indian restaurant expansion, with an IPO possible in 18 to 24 months. The Kolkata-based company, which runs Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken, targets about Rs 1,050 crore of revenue in FY27. The plan is unconfirmed, and the company has not disclosed investors.
Ben's Cookies has opened its seventh Indian store, in Kala Ghoda, its first in South Mumbai. The chain now has seven outlets across Delhi NCR and Mumbai, opened within four months. The Kala Ghoda store seats 10 to 12 customers and sells all thirteen flavours. The brand plans eight to ten stores this financial year, then four to six.
Westlife Foodworld, which runs McDonald's restaurants across West and South India, reported Q2 FY27 revenue of Rs 747 crore, up 16 percent. Same-store sales growth reached 10.1 percent, led by guest counts. Operating EBITDA rose 29 percent to Rs 98.1 crore, and the network reached 492 outlets after 11 openings. The company is close to its 500-restaurant milestone.
Fastrr, the AI-native commerce platform from Shiprocket, has entered food commerce with restaurant partners Vegorama Group, the operator of Punjabi Angithi, and Bikkgane Biryani. The tools aim to help restaurants run their own ordering channels, spot returning customers and flag risky cash-on-delivery orders. Delivery will use Shiprocket Quick's rider network, and D2C food products are being explored.
Known for live cooking and build-your-own boxes, the brand has more than 50 locations across those four countries. Oodles Wok, a UK Asian fusion chain founded in Leicester in 2010, is entering India through a partnership with FranGlobal, the international arm of Franchise India Group. India will be its fifth market after the UK, UAE, Canada and Qatar.
McDonald's India's operator posted a narrower quarterly loss, as deals drew in customers.
The Japanese food brand Harajuku Tokyo Café raised US$3 million in a round led by Zero W. Existing seed backers Indian Angel Network and Samved VC invested again, and new investors include Blume Founders Fund. Outlets and revenue have both doubled since the August 2025 seed round, and the brand targets Rs 100 crore for this financial year.
Chins Bar, Coffee & Kitchen will soon occupy a three-floor, 400-seat space on Lavelle Road in Bengaluru. It is an evolution of Chinlung and will initially run from 11 am to 1 am, with breakfast added after the first month. The menu spans sushi, dim sum, Indian grills and pizzas, and coffee anchors the day.
Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licences of 25 food establishments, including hotels, bakeries and canteens. Four units making edible oil and spices were also suspended. About 81,330 kg of suspect food stock, valued at Rs 1.73 crore, was seized from 37 establishments. Separately, banned products worth Rs 18.83 lakh were seized, and 10 FIRs were registered.
Sapphire Foods, which runs KFC and Pizza Hut, added 15 KFC outlets in Q2 FY27, reaching 1,086 restaurants. Restaurant sales rose 20 percent to Rs 885.3 crore. KFC revenue grew 26 percent, its fastest in 16 quarters, helped by value offers, while Pizza Hut rose 7 percent. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 39 percent to Rs 62.4 crore.
Swiggy said sweet orders climbed 36.4 percent from a year earlier between October 17 and 20, during Navratri and Durga Puja. Rasgulla was the top sweet, averaging 495 orders an hour, with Gulab Jamun, Kaju Katli and Jalebi also popular. Sabudana dishes topped the fasting list, averaging 1,794 an hour nationwide on October 17 and 18.
Harajuku Tokyo Café, a Delhi-based Japanese-themed café and bakery chain, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Zero W. Existing backers Indian Angel Network and Samved VC participated, alongside new investors. The funds will go toward new outlets, central kitchens and team expansion, as the company targets Rs 100 crore in revenue this financial year.
Huzur, a fine-casual restaurant in Bandra, Mumbai, has opened with a menu built on family recipes and Old Bombay food memories. Co-founded by Zareen Baig and Atiq Kapadia, it draws on Lahori, Shinwari and Afghan cooking, with dishes such as Nihari, Haleem and Chooza Tikka. Paya and Haleem are prepared overnight. It seats about 45 and has a courtyard.
Biri Biri, a Prohibition-era-style bar from Coyaba Baklavi, is set to open in Ludhiana. Guests are checked against a guest list and must call through a discreet window before entry. Inside, warm lighting, jazz and cocktails set the tone, with music and ambience built to complement the drinks. It offers an intimate alternative to conventional bars.
Eternal's advertising and sales promotion spend rose 41.2 percent year on year to Rs 1,138 crore in Q2 FY27. Consolidated adjusted revenue grew 76 percent to Rs 24,621 crore, and adjusted EBITDA rose 197 percent to Rs 666 crore. Quick commerce grew fastest and turned adjusted EBITDA positive at Rs 184 crore, helped partly by a revenue model change.
Flipkart is reportedly preparing to challenge Zomato and Swiggy with a food delivery service. It is piloting the service internally with riders from logistics arm Ekart, sourcing restaurants via ONDC and direct onboarding. Trial orders have started in Bengaluru under the Eat-in by Minutes brand. Bernstein estimates the market is growing 18 to 20 percent a year.
Makaan, a vegetarian Gujarati restaurant in Juhu, Mumbai, opens to customers on October 20, 2026. Restaurateur Samyukta Nair, behind LSL Capital, is partnering with Karan Shah, who spent years helming Swati Snacks. It is her first restaurant project in India, drawing on a decade of building restaurants abroad and her childhood years in Juhu.
