Consumer Foodservice in Hyderabad

Unique restaurant model, with more than one type of foodservice channel, dominates the city

Hyderabad is known for its food across the country, due to its royal history and general love for food. One of the most successful strategies for restaurants in the city is to have more than one type of foodservice channel under the same roof; for example, a full-service restaurant with a café or a bakery is a common sight in the city. This strategy has been successful, as it allows players to reach out to a more varied consumer base, covering all age groups.

Seasonal delicacies are common in the city, and are becoming available all year round

Hyderabad’s culture is strongly influenced by Nizams. In terms of religious demography, Muslims are the second largest population in the city after Hindus. As a result of this, the impact of Ramzan and Eid is visible across the city, and restaurants serve food such as haleem, harees, basbousa and baklava to attract higher footfall during the festivities. Due to the success of this strategy, restaurants have now started serving these special meals all year round.

International brands still unable to gain momentum

International brands, such as Domino’s, McDonald’s and KFC, are present in the city;however, these are nowhere close to the popularity of home grown restaurants such as Paradise, Shah Ghosth and Sarvi. This disparity is driven by consumer preferences in terms of cuisine, pricing and the closer proximity of the home grown restaurants compared with international chained outlets.

Bar/pubs frequented by either the affluent or the lower middle class of the city

Bars/pubs are often frequented in the city; however, the clientele is from the two extremes in terms of socio-economic background. Alcohol consumption is quite a common social activity amongst the affluent and lower economic strata of the society.The lower classes drink almost every day – mostly affordable whiskies. Consumption of whiskies is common amongst the affluent as well, along with beer.