By Kritika Arora

With the easing of Covid restrictions and the approaching festive season, the food and beverages (F&B) segment has seen significant improvement this year. It is now focusing on expansion and curating experiences for customers to make the most of the increased demand.

“In the last two years, people have realised what they have been missing in life and so now they are coming out, hanging out with friends and family and experiencing different kinds of cuisines,” Pushpa Bector, executive director at DLF Retail, said, adding that “…life is back and F&B is big part of that”.

Bector pointed out when they had first started curating malls, they had two F&B brands and now they have over 200, indicating improved traction in dining out.

Infiniti malls vice-president Nitin Bir said they have seen 40-50% growth in the F&B category this year compared with 2019, especially in the QSR (Quick service restaurant) format. QSRs are expanding their offerings for the customers, which is why they are coming back, he said.

Food services firms Westlife Development and Jubilant Foodworks, which have brands such as McDonald’s, and Domino’s & Dunkin Donuts, respectively, recently said that they saw sharp recovery in their dine-in channels during the June quarter and expect this recovery to sustain.

Jubilant Foodworks recently said it plans to open 250 Domino’s stores during the year and opened 58 new ones for Domino’s India and entered 12 new cities in April-June. This was the highest store opening in the first quarter of any fiscal, the firm said during its earnings call.

Similarly, Westlife Development also said it has renewed its focus on expansion and offered a differentiated experience through re-imaging its stores.

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According to CBRE, India’s expansionary demand in retail is going to strengthen this year, with demand coming from categories like F&B, supermarkets, and electronics.

F&B’s share in the retail space is expected to rise more compared with other categories in 2022. It is expected to rise up to 15% against 8% last year. In fashion, it is expected to be 30% this year compared with 29% last year, while in supermarkets up to 20% against 16% last year, the report said.

There is good demand for F&B players in both QSR and fine-dining, and in the QSR categories, there is a huge expansion drive towards tier 2 and 3 cities, said Pankaj Renjhen, COO and joint MD at Anarock Retail. QSR players, particularly coffee players like Chaipoint and Starbucks, are now looking at experimenting with locations like tourist and pilgrimage places. They are looking for new ways to segment out to new markets, he added.