The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) conducted the NRAI Indian Restaurant Summit 2023 with a focus on innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth. The two-day event was held in Kolkata on September 21-22 to set in motion a nationwide movement that aims to redefine the restaurant industry’s role in India’s economic landscape.
The event addressed topics critical to the industry’s growth through various panel discussions among its leaders. The first panel discussion on ‘Agility is not taught; it's acquired – the new mantra of hospitality and retail’, witnessed industry leaders talking about the evolving dynamics of customer expectations and the critical role of adaptability in a rapidly changing world. With Murali Krishnan, co-founder of Wow! Momo as the moderator, the panel consisted of F&B leaders such as Anshul Gupta, co-founder, EatClub Brands; Raunak Kundu, founder, Bangalore Foodies Club; Dr Vivek Pathak, founder director, NIPS Hospitality Group and Sachin Pabreja, co-founder, EazyDiner.
Excerpts from the panel discussion:
Agility and challenges of the pandemic
As an industry we need to be both agile and have patience in India. And I think the biggest example of the game of agility and patience the industry witnessed was during the pandemic. While we showed patience during the lockdown, the F&B industry had to be agile enough to adapt to the changes it brought about. Everyone had to ideate and innovate rapidly. I worked with more than 10 brands and everyone had to think and execute fast. However, after the pandemic, the scenario is different. I feel the industry is facing challenges in acquiring good talent. Talent acquisition is a problem.
— Raunak Kundu, founder, Bangalore Foodies Club
Talent drain: Curriculum shift and global ambitions
The industry is losing students from the hospitality sector and there are two major reasons. Firstly, the curriculum these days is more diverse than it used to be. Students are exposed to different options like finance, banking, insurance etc. They are inclined towards learning and exploring more. Also, you will notice that students don’t want to intern in the country. They have a tendency to go abroad. The reason is the treatment of the interns in the industry. They get petty jobs where they don’t learn anything. So they want to move abroad where they can acquire proper training and knowledge. Students are more agile these days in that way.
— Dr Vivek Pathak, founder director, NIPS Hospitality Group
Changing face of the industry in the new normal
The new normal has changed the face of the industry greatly. We are seeing a boom once again with greater revenues. Social media now has a bigger role to play. People go to a restaurant, click a picture or take a video and post. That inspires other people to join. So the influence is greatly there. Also, three-four years ago, we did not pay much heed to our chefs. Now we are putting more focus on the chef. There are celebrity chefs and they are becoming the face of the restaurants. New menus every week show the agility of the industry. Also, these new changes are working well to attract new talent.
— Sachin Pabreja, co-founder, EazyDiner
Enhancing delivery services for different dining experiences
Dining is all about celebration and enjoying hot food straight from the kitchen to your plate. But sometimes, you need delivery to come to the rescue. Delivery services have evolved to bring delicious meals to your home or wherever you are. The use cases for dining in and delivery are very different. While people like to go to a cafe or a restaurant and hang out, they also want to enjoy indoors, watch a movie or a match and eat at home. We aim to meet both needs by ensuring speedy delivery of hot meals.
— Anshul Gupta, co-founder, Box8 (now EatClub Brands)