New Delhi: Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates the Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in India, today announced its foray into fast casual Chinese dining with the launch of Hong’s Kitchen restaurant in Gurugram.
This makes it the Noida-headquartered company’s first organic food services brand in the country and the third overall in its portfolio of food brands. Jubilant FoodWorks runs the Dunkin' Donuts and Domino’s franchises in India with over 1,200 stores in 271 cities.
Hong’s Kitchen has opened its first restaurant in Eros Mall, Gurugram, the company said in a release.
Chinese is the second largest cuisine consumed in India with large organised brands such as Mainland China, Yo! China and Asia Kitchen already present in the country. That apart, the market has seen the entry of brands such as Yum Yum Cha and Mamagoto, apart from scores of local restaurants and street-side vendors that serve variations of Chinese meals to Indians. In an earnings call in January 2019, the top management of Jubilant FoodWorks had indicated that it was evaluating more cuisines as part of its plans to expand beyond pizzas and donuts.
With this launch, Jubilant FoodWorks hopes to address the gap between local food stalls and the more pricey food chains serving Chinese meals.
“While Chinese food is the second largest consumed cuisine in the country, there exists a vast gap between street vendors and premium fine-dining restaurants" said Pratik Pota, CEO and Whole-time Director, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. “Hong’s Kitchen, with its fast casual format, will address this vast, unaddressed market through great-tasting and affordably priced Chinese food that’s customized for Indian tastes."
Analysts who track the company said in the near term high capital expenditure in expanding the new brand could be a concern. “The key thing to watch here will be pricing, new store openings, capital expenditure per store, ad spends, and delivery. In the first few years, any new chain makes losses. However, Jubilant already has huge economies of scale in terms of sourcing and real estate and, hopefully, will try to occupy gaps between street food and fine dining offerings," said Abneesh Roy, Senior Vice-President, Edelweiss Securities.
As of 2017, India’s food services market was estimated at ₹3,37,500 crore, according to a research report by FICCI and Technopak. By 2022, the market for food services in India is expected to reach ₹5,52,000 crore.
The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant FoodWorks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.
