A EULOGY FOR WESTERN FAST FOOD CHAINS-WHY NOT "DESIS" RISE TO THAT LEVEL?

Most Indians, given a chance, will prefer foods of Indian origin like roti, idli, poori, samosa, etc which have been consumed in the country for hundreds of years. Modern education, frequent travels abroad, almost 300 years of British rule, constant media exposure etc have contributed to distinct shift in the food tastes from Indian to western type. The onslaught of western products like bread, pizza, pasta, soups, salads, sandwich, pastry, French fries etc has obscured or diminished the attraction for traditional foods to some extent. Added to this the excellence in presentation, high degree of ambiance and better hygiene and sanitation credentials have further added to the lure for western foods. However if recent attempts by some of the Desi product players are any indication, Indian foods may yet beat back the aggressive attempts by global fast food chains to obliterate the traditional dabhas and Udipi restaurants. Here is a take on this new trend which is really remarkable. 

"Global brands like McDonald's and Pizza Hut have taken the casual, functional eating occasions to a level of excellence. At a cross-cultural platform, they bring in standardisation of products and service, hygiene, transparency of process, branding and a very contemporary ambiance. They also establish in our minds a new price point for casual dining: Rs 50 for a simple burger and Rs 100 for a snack meal. We get used to new price points and with all the modernity and good service, we don't give much thought to the value we get. It is important to realise that no vada-pav or idli eatery, starting from Udipi prices, can hope to scale the Rs 40 price point. Those price points (and customers who have no problems in paying that price), are a result of global players in this space. At a 100-rupee price point for an idli and coffee, any Udipi diner worth its salt knows that it can create a completely exciting world of taste, ambiance, choice and service. Courtesy McDonald's and its global peers, customers are more than willing to pay Rs 100 for an idli meal too! That's when our Udipis and Darshanis can morph into Idli Factorys or Banana Leaf Cafes. They know their splendid recipes and fresh food formulae for generations together. The pots and plates and backroom methods change a bit and we have idli-dosa joints, chat-and-bhel counters and ice gola stalls in malls and elsewhere, which can attain global standards with ease. At a highway halt at Muzaffarnagar near Delhi, McDonald's and Haldiram's are located within a common facility. They share a common parking lot, security area, restrooms and housekeeping services. Both have a very modern decor. Their prices too are similar. Their menus are completely different, though. Haldiram's even has a special Vrat (fasting) menu during the fasting week of Navratri in North India. This is a popular highway stop for people driving in and out of Delhi. The parking lot is full; this place is busy! At the same hour of the day, the number of people eating at the Haldiram's side of the facility is double that at McDonald's. The shape of the Indian casual dining opportunity is now crystal clear. Thank you, McDonald's!"

It is true that the foreign origin fast food chains did show that Indians are ready to respond to good. clean and safe foods served in an ambient environment by paying prices almost double that charged by Indian restaurants. The crux of the point raised by the author of the above critique is that such a transformation is taking place because of soaring prices for foods in many food restaurants during the last one or two years. A question that begs for an answer is whether such a transformation will be pan India phenomenon or just restricted to some metropolitan pockets in major cities?. If it is a limited trend, the same may be a desirable one as only rich and upper middle class consumers will patronize them. But if all desi restaurants start this game of modernization, where will the aam aadmi (common man) go for a bite of hotel food as a part of relaxation occasionally? It is the duty of every state government in India to ensure that small food serving enterprises survive, selling low cost affordable foods to more than 90% of the population who cannot dream of going to the high end fast food outlets serving Indian foods. What is most important is to make these catering units conform to minimum safety standards and provide reasonably clean environment. The endeavor of Kerala state in this area is laudable, worth following by others. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"INDIANIZING" WESTERN FOODS-THE NEW MOTTO OF MNCs

Those food companies which enter tradition bound countries like China, India, Vietnam and others have two routes to get into the heart of the consumers to make enough money for survival. The first approach as tried out by many MNCs during the last five decades involves converting the mindset of local people into accepting new foods through massive promotion bordering on "brain washing" and stay in the country for long time with sustained investments incurring losses for many years before getting to the break even point. The other route is based on the precepts that "when you are in Rome behave like Romans" by adapting their products to the native tastes and flavors. If Americans have been able to convert many populations in Asia into Wheat eating societies by switching over from Rice, it is entirely due their over whelming marketing muscles, deep pockets and unlimited patience to influence the minds of people to accept wheat as a staple. However modern American enterprises seem to be taking the second route through a process of reinventing their product mix to suit the palates of the consumers in countries and establish their presence. Here is an example of an American MNC going through this route to score significant success in India where there are more than 5000 traditional ethnic foods popular with some or the other segments of the population across the length and breadth of the country.

"When McDonald's first came to India 15 years ago, it ditched the Big Macs and Quarter Pounders to try to fit in in a country where cows are sacred and most people frown on eating beef. The chain tried re-creating its American classics with lamb, but it was a flop. Instead, McDonald's introduced homegrown alternatives like the vegetarian McAloo Tikki potato burger to go along with its non-beef standards like chicken nuggets and fish sandwiches. Now, following the success of its vegetarian meals, which make up half of its current menu, McDonald's is going one step further. This month, the chain announced a plan to open its first 100 percent vegetarian McDonald's in India. "India has been a huge experiment for McDonald's. The issue in India is, a vegetarian is a strict vegetarian. There have been instances that I've seen where a person who's vegetarian would not even sit with a person who's eating non-vegetarian food. It is that level of seriousness," says Rajesh Kumar Maini, head of communications for McDonald's in India".

Probably there may be a few examples of similar approach adopted by other MNCs. Though the popular potato chips market which is dominated by one or two players  who were able to establish their foot prints by "killing" many local entrepreneurs, there are unmistakable signs that they are also bringing out products with traditional flavors to increase their business. Even local names are being used to promote their brands in a sustained manner. Frantic efforts in buying out some of the leading domestic brands engaged in manufacture of many savory/snack products as reported some time back, fits into their new strategy that "if you cannot beat them join them" philosophy. Of course one cannot find fault with such a strategy as the gainers would be the Indian consumers in this game of making more and more diversified products suiting Indian palate. More interestingly the concept of 100% vegetarian food products is bound to be an unqualified success as vegan population in India is sizable compared to situations obtaining in other countries. The practice of printing a green dot on the label of products, free from animal derived ingredients, is a pointer to the consumer behavior in this country.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FUSION FOODS-FUTURE TREND IN INDIA

"Indianization" of foreign foods seems to be the "mantra" of many multinational food companies who find it difficult to make any breakthrough in business in India with their otherwise successful recipes of western origin. Fusion foods, though a relatively new word in the food lexicon, brings out the reality that unless products that best suit Indian palates are launched, it is a Herculean task for the MNCs to establish sound business competing with the small scale caterers. Indian fast food outlets and road side vendors. Here is an example of such efforts by some companies as a part of their survival and growth strategy.

"Several "cross-border" cuisines seem to have emerged in the process. One such example is the 'Indo Chinese' that has items like 'gobi manchurian' on its menu. So now, preparation of chicken tikka might as well be slightly changed to marinating the chicken pieces in a 'laksa' paste, made from the Singaporean herb 'laksa' leaves, to give it a Singaporean twist before finishing on the charcoal grill. Similarly, 'laksa' might be used in the fragrant basmati -rice Indian 'pulao' preparation to make the 'laksa pulao' which its creator Chef Rajkamal Chopra of WelcomHotel Sheraton insists tastes best with 'raita' or spiced yoghurt. "It is very important for a chef to break out of routine and experiment, says Chopra. Similar views are echoed by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor who feels "chefs by nature are experimental". "However, today the diner has also begun experimenting, and this gives the chef more liberty and a stronger reason to do so."  Kapoor, who recently launched the Hindi version of his website to attract "new internet users" also attributed the large number of outbound as well as inbound traffic to and from the country to have helped cause the change. Global fast food players like McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut and Chikking, a new entrant into the north Indian market, have also innovated with local ingredients to suit the Indian palette".

Fusion foods basically brings about rapport between Indian traditional food tastes and successful foreign products, be it from China, Europe or the US. It is remarkable that even a giant like McDonalds or Pepsico has grasped the significance of this aspect of creating new foods for marketing in this country. Sure, this is going to be the future trend whether in India or other Asian and African countries. Probably India may see many such developments in future with more and more foreign players adopting this route for success.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com