Food franchising come of age in India: FICCI

There are around 18,000 franchised restaurants in the country as compared to only 2500 run by company owned by these 150 food franchise companies, according to a survey carried out recently by Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry (CIFTI) food wing of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Report states that the Indian franchising sector is growing at the rate of 38% per annum with a market size of US$ 7.2 billion and is expected to reach US$ 20 billion by 2013. There are 1200 active franchise concepts in India and over 100,000 franchisees.

It forecasts that Indian food service entrepreneur is ready with massive expansion plans, which provide thrust to the sector to grow at 48% in the next two years. International Food Service brands are gazing Indian markets as a profitable investment destination and many among them have already started their operations. The report gives insights of food service sector in India. It has calculated that size of India's food service sector is $11 billion but organized players enjoy less than 8 per cent of the market share.

There are 10 million street vendors in India, of which six million sell ready to eat food. Consumer foodservice value sales grew at a strong 20% in 2007-2008 in India, second only to that of Vietnam and Indonesia There are 200 food and beverage franchises concepts across the country forming 17% of the total pie. 51% of the consumer wallet share is dedicated to food (54% in rural areas and 42% in urban areas), the report says.

Food Franchise Opportunities are the second most popular amongst franchisees after education franchise opportunities. Not all international brands are franchising, McDonalds in India has decided to open only company owned outlets across India.