India Food Forum 17th edition deliberated on consumption and delivery trends
Mumbai: Emerging brands in India’s food business continue to race ahead of the legacy and established brands but in the food service segment (QSR) there is also a latent or nascent drift towards formalisation from the informal sector, according to a cross section of experts at the 17th edition of the India Food Forum.
With Indian economy growing by over 6%, large FMCG companies are growing by merely 3%, which indicates that emerging brands are now capturing market share at the cost of established brands in the food space, said RS Sodhi, President, Indian Dairy Association.
However, in the food service segment, Ravindra Yadav, Partner – Retail & Food services, Technopak – a consulting firm, speaking at the keynote address on Day two of the conference, said “Organised chain food market is seen rising to 21% by 2030 from 15% now, while unorganized informal market will decline to 41% from 52% during the same period,”
In the food grocery, general trade still accounts for 85% of the share in the food retail market, the shift towards online is rapidly on the rise where emerging brands are making their strong presence. The investment cost for reaching out to a standalone grocery outlet is relatively high and since a buying decision is now done by more than one person sitting in the comfort of one’s home, it makes more sense for emerging brands to opt for quick commerce, experts said.
“Affordability and price are the key pillars (in food retail), but purchase decisions are also swayed by other manifestations of value,” said Yoann Painbeni, Managing Director – APAC, Retail Vertical at NielsenIQ
Sodhi also pointed out that Gol-gappa or Pani-puri has a market of Rs 70,000 crore and around 10% of it is becoming organized with lot of further potential. Think about other Indian conventional snacks like Kachori and Samosa and the market potential that it can be unlocked as it gets formalised, Sodhi said.
In the food service segment, particularly in the urban centres; raw material, man power cost, rentals and maintenance costs are high though revenue is on the rise, pressure remains on the operating profit, Yadav said.
The two-day India Food Forum also brought forward data points about food service growing in rest of India at 25% to $3 billion, beyond metro cities, the next six cities in Tier I and the next 21 cities in Tier II, which grew at 6.5% to $11 billion, 6.9% to $10 billion and 12.8% to $5 billion, respectively from 2019-2024.
India Food Forum is the country’s largest food B2B intelligence and exhibition platform with a unique combination of wide-ranging product displays, two-day conference and masterclasses, networking and business development opportunities, food D2C, tech & solutions showcases and India’s most prestigious awards for food & grocery retail and food service sectors.
IMAGES Group is the biggest retail intelligence association in South Asia and the Middle East, whose numerous items and administrations work as impetus for the productive development of present day retail through information stage initiative. The Group’s knowledge platforms incorporate print and online reportage, research review, and significant yearly business occasions with Conferences, Master-Classes and Workshops serving multiple verticals/fragments/tasks of retail.
