Eating out has now become a regular thing in India with more Indians preferring to grab food on the go or dining out after a hectic day at work. Even meal delivery or ordering through apps has increased tremendously in the past couple of years.
A survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has revealed all this information and more. Not surprisingly though, the figures are nowhere near the other Asian cities like in Singapore (dine out 30 times a month), Shanghai (60) and Bangkok (45).
Bangaloreans Splurge The Most While Dining Out
According to the survey, most of the people in the South Indian cities prefer North Indian food and Biryani while eating out instead of South Indian dishes. Around 27% of consumers choose North Indian food whereas 11% of people in South India prefer Biryani and only 10% of people eat South Indian food.
Every Indian household spends around Rs.2,500/month on eating out on an average with Bangaloreans splurging the most (Rs.3,568) followed by Mumbaikars (Rs.2,890), and Delhites (Rs.1,381). Across the country, North Indian food is mostly preferred with 41% respondents picking it up followed by Chinese (27%), South Indian (23%), Mughlai (22%), and Italian (16%).
Interestingly, Indians do not like to dine alone, says the survey. Rather Indians dislike eating out along and only 17% said that they would dine alone at a restaurant whereas 83% favored eating in a company.
Mumbai Has Largest Organized Food Service Market
According to the NRAI survey, the capital of Maharashtra has the largest organized foodservice markets in the country of around 41,000 crores followed by Delhi (Rs.31,132 crore), and Bengaluru (Rs.20,014 crore). Delhites eat out 6 times a month and mostly the focus is on local food. On the other hand, Mumbaikars eat out 4.2 times and mostly prefer to eat South Indian food.
The survey says that the current size of the Indian foodservice industry is Rs.4.23 trillion and is expected to expand to around Rs.5.99 trillion by 2022-23 as it is growing annually at a rate of 9%. The NRAI report says, “The Indian restaurant industry employed 7.3 million people in 2018-19. The organized food service sector, which is only 35 percent of the total market, contributed a whopping Rs 18,000 crore as a way of taxes in 2018-19. The number is expected to more than double if the unorganized sector becomes organized”
