244 stories in the archive
Indian QSR brands are widening the occasions they serve, moving beyond meals into drinks, snacks and desserts. Hybrid work and late shifts have loosened fixed meal times, and Gen Z tends to snack more often. Beverage-led formats need much less kitchen space than full meals. Delivery menus favour items that travel well.
TBWA Lintas, a unit of Omnicom Advertising India, has won Starbucks India's creative account after a multi-agency pitch. The integrated mandate covers mainline campaigns, social media, digital activations and consumer participation. The timing coincides with rapid growth in India's café market, forecast to be worth about $1.1 billion by 2034.
Unify Foodworks raised Rs 5 crore in seed funding to scale Moe's Casa Mexicana and Carvel in Delhi NCR.
McDonald's India's north and east business has raised its investment plan to about $80 million over the next two-and-a-half years. The money will fund outlet growth and digital upgrades to keep pace with customer demand. Profitability is still expected to face pressure from surging food and packaging inflation, as competition from Devyani's KFC and Burger King intensifies.
Devyani International posted a net profit of Rs 3.46 crore in the September quarter, against a loss of 23.9 crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 10.36 per cent to Rs 1,519.42 crore, while EBITDA grew nearly 18 per cent to Rs 229 crore. It runs KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee, and added 70 net stores, reaching 2,325 globally.
PizzaExpress has launched a new Sourdough Pizza range across its Indian outlets for the festive season. The eight options cater to vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners, including Truffle Fungi, Burrata and Pesto, and Harissa Chicken. The dough uses a starter culture developed in the brand's test kitchen and is slow-fermented for a light centre and charred edges.
Jasveer Singh, CEO of Knot Dating, has questioned why restaurants add a 15 percent service charge to bills when the menu price should already cover staff and other costs. Singh argued that restaurants should build such costs into prices and that tipping should not fall on customers. The X post sparked online debate about service charges and tipping.
The Competition Commission of India has cleared five deals across food services, renewable energy, power, finance and telecoms. In food services, it approved Sapphire Foods India's merger into Devyani International, creating a restaurant business with over 3,000 stores and annual turnover of about Rs 8,000 crore. It also cleared Aditya Birla Renewables' purchase of Solenergi Power from Shell.
FSSAI suspended licences of Hotel Nayaab and 13 other Hyderabad restaurants; Taj Falaknuma was served notices.
Address Hospitality and Suved Lohia Hospitality are behind Bella, a vegetarian all-day spot in Malad West. Its menu blends Continental, Asian and modern Indian flavours, with wood-fired pizzas, sharing plates and a cocktail programme. It is designed for casual lunches and evenings out with friends and family. It pairs familiar favourites with new combinations.
Restaurant Brands Asia, the Burger King operator in India, reported its first positive standalone quarterly profit of Rs 15.59 crore for July to September 2026. India revenue rose 24.1 percent. Other income of Rs 29.62 crore exceeded that profit, and the wider group still posted a Rs 23.79 crore net loss.
Café Delhi Heights has opened a quick-service outlet at Terminal 3 arrival exit at Delhi Airport, spanning about 400 to 500 square feet. The menu mixes Indian street food, café classics and international favourites. The brand began its QSR journey at Red Fort, moved to Cyber Park and its next outlet is planned at Purana Qila.
Zomato has launched a Diwali campaign, Have a WOW Diwali, starring actor Saif Ali Khan, to promote food-based gifting hampers from restaurants and food businesses. The digital-first film contrasts conventional household gifts, which draw a flat WOW from Khan, with a food hamper delivered by a delivery partner, which earns an enthusiastic one.
Rebel Foods has partnered with Naturals Ice Cream through its Rebel Launcher brand development initiative, with Naturals already operating in 77 Rebel cloud kitchens nationwide. The tie-up gives the ice cream brand access to kitchen infrastructure, technology and operations. It has expanded to Bengaluru, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi NCR. In 2026 it also entered Chennai, Hyderabad and Punjab.
True Palate Hospitality, behind One8 Commune, Neuma and Pincode, targets 50 outlets and Rs 900 to 1,000 crore revenue by 2030. It currently runs about 20 to 22 outlets in India and abroad. Projects include One8 Commune in Guwahati, Dehradun and Raipur, with Pincode in Surat and Ahmedabad. The plan involves about Rs 30 to 40 crore of investment.
K Riju Nair has been appointed brand head of Bombay Brasserie, the modern Indian brasserie run by Charcoal Concepts. Nair will lead expansion toward over 41 restaurants over the next eight years and oversee Bombay Brasserie 2.0, which debuts at a designated outlet first. Nair brings 26 years of experience, including roles at Pizza Hut UK and Yum India.
Piramal Alternatives, the fund management arm of the Piramal Group, has invested ₹150 crore in Kumar Equipment, a commercial kitchen equipment maker. The money comes through its India Credit Opportunities Fund II and will fund manufacturing expansion and vertical integration. The company has completed over 2,500 projects across 22 states, with factories in Rajasthan and Bengaluru.
Restaurant Brands Asia has named Sumit Zaveri chief executive of its Burger King India operations, announced alongside its second-quarter FY27 results. Zaveri, who will report to Group CEO Rajeev Varman, had been chief financial officer of Burger King India since 2019. Earlier roles include finance posts at Nature's Basket, Tata Starbucks and The Indian Hotels Company.
Restaurant Brands Asia reported consolidated revenue of Rs 844.8 crore for the quarter ended September 30, up 20.1 percent. Burger King India added 17 restaurants to reach 607 outlets, while its same-store sales grew 14 percent. The company also reported its first quarterly profit after tax, Rs 15.585 crore.
Bihar-based entrepreneur Saket Saurabh left a corporate job to launch The Momos Mafia, which offers 14 momo categories prepared under hygienic conditions. Momos are often sold from roadside carts, which raise hygiene and food safety concerns. Earlier, he worked in design and tech firms before helping his sister's food business in 2023.
Indian dessert preferences are moving beyond cakes, pastries and ice cream toward premium chocolates, speciality waffles, fusion mithai and eggless options. Franchisors see growth in digital ordering and smaller cities. Baskin-Robbins has added New York Loaded Waffles to its range. Building a franchise network still depends on balancing consumer tastes, pricing and franchisee profitability.
Barista Coffee, India's largest homegrown coffee chain, opened its 555th café in Salt Lake, Kolkata, its seventh in the city. The hybrid format pairs drinks such as protein coffee, matcha and bubble tea with sandwiches, pizzas and pasta, plus workspaces for remote workers and meetings. CEO Rajat Agrawal called the milestone a result of customer trust and partner commitment.
Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture of Tata Consumer Products and Starbucks, posted FY26 revenue from operations of Rs 1,367 crore, up 7% from Rs 1,277 crore. The net loss narrowed 27% to Rs 99 crore, while EBITDA reached Rs 234 crore. By 2025, it had over 390 stores in 54 cities and aims for about 1,000 by 2028.
Santosham, a satvik South Indian vegetarian restaurant, has opened a 60-seat outlet in Malad, its first in Mumbai's western suburbs. The menu covers temple-style dishes made without garlic or onion, heirloom recipes and an unlimited banana-leaf sadhya. Dosas, idlis and filter coffee are also on offer. The restaurant was founded by mother-son duo Bhagyalakshmi and Chittaranjan Gohokar.
