Fast Food and The Indian Dream 🍔

How high calories and affordable prices have fueled a Fast Food Explosion amongst India's Middle Class

Jun 06, 2020

McDonald’s opened its first store in India in 1996. It was also the first McDonald's restaurant in the world not serving beef on its menu. Since then, McDonald’s has ridden the unprecedented Fast Food wave in India, ballooning to 300+ restaurants across 42 cities.

McDonald’s is not alone. According to the NRAI, the Indian fast food market is worth $13 billion and is one of the fastest-growing Fast Food markets globally.

But what is Fast Food’s relationship with The Indian Dream? What has Fast Food done for its nearly 700M Indian stakeholders - in Health, Jobs, Growth and Lifestyle Changes?

How did Fast Food Start in India?

The history of Fast Food in India can be traced back to the early 17th Century, with food designed to be cooked and served quickly. The Mughal Period is famous for delicacies like Kebabs which are ardently savoured even today.

The restaurant culture has been growing ever since liberalization, powered by the growth of Indian Middle Class, enjoying the first tastes of their Indian Dream. But the growth of the fast-food industry with all of its technological advancements in a strict definition of the term began in 1995, with the entry of KFC which opened its first store at Brigade Road in Bangalore. This paved the way for the entry of many other fast-food chains like McDonald’s (1996), Pizza Hut (1996), and Dominos (1996).

The First KFC Store in Bangalore, India

In previous decades, the newly introduced mall culture was the fuel for the growth of these fast-food chains in India. For millions of Indians, the Food Court on the highest floor of the mall was a quintessential going out experience. Food courts united students, adults and families of varying wallet sizes with their dazzling array of options.

In more recent times, these food courts have left their homes in malls and have come closer, into our mobile phones. The online delivery market has massively expanded the size of our dear old food court from 20 options to more than 120+ options at a time around us. I’m placing an order on Swiggy as I write this piece!

The online food delivery market has expanded to 500+ cities, serving 230 million customers. 80% of options on these apps are Fast Food restaurants, resulting in unprecedented access to Fast Food across the country.

What does Fast Food mean for the Indian Dream? (As Consumers, Health)

As consumers, the fast-food industry has widely expanded our food tastes, bringing food from all over the world and expanding our already expansive Indian Food Culture.

Fast Food has primarily succeeded due to its adaptability and its careful study and reflection of consumer and cultural desires. Global fast-food brands have customized their offerings to include Paneer Burgers, Dosas, Rice Bowls, Samosas and so much more starting at 29 INR (38 cents).

For eg. the first vegetarian Big Mac in the world was designed for the Indian market. In the years to come, India-first inventions like these will be exported globally by international chains due to rising concerns about the environmental impact of meats like beef.

Street Fast Food Vendors

Thousands of lower-income migrants and workers have depended on unorganized street vendors for their daily sustenance. Vada Pav, Chaat, Pani Puri and 99 Variety Dosa stalls are packed with customers from all kinds of backgrounds. They are united by access to tasty food at affordable prices and enjoy the dine-out culture. Truck drivers, labourers, rich and middle-class folk in the same line served by the same person. Fast food is truly democratic. But this raises another question. How healthy are these offerings?

Street Side Pani Puri

Health is an unfinished agenda in countries like India - infectious diseases combined with non-communicable diseases like obesity that fast food ushers in, can be a double whammy. Government regulations for fast food are lax, and there is no calorie labelling requirement like the US. Even if regulations are improved, there is a huge lack of education about nutrition and the effect of fast food on health, that need to be addressed, as access to unhealthy fast food grows alarmingly.

What does Fast Food mean for the economy (Jobs, Growth)

The onset of fast-food chains, especially fried chicken has inspired a slew of namesakes throughout the country from Delhi Fried Chicken to Kerala Fried Chicken.

The (x) Fried Chicken Model

On the flip side, there lies a tremendous opportunity for thousands of Indian Entrepreneurs to capitalize on India’s commendable food diaspora, to modernize and export them globally.

The story of Colonel Sanders from KFC is telling - a railway worker, salesman, and gas station clerk who struggled till the age of 62 when he first launched a KFC franchise. Today, KFC is worth more than 5.5B USD.

Chains like Chai Point, Goli Vada Pav, Burger Singh, Haldiram’s, Faasos are already executing this vision. However, government-backed loans for underrepresented entrepreneurs can propel many more such entrepreneurs, just like Nixon’s government-backed loans from the Small Business Administration did for minority entrepreneurs in the fast-food industry. Fast food is primed for the #VocalForLocal movement.

Fast Food, both local and international chains, have created innumerable jobs for less-skilled workers, especially in urban settings. Urban areas are witnessing large scale rural migration and Fast Food, both organized and unorganized provide much-needed sources of labour.

Summary and Closing: How has Fast Food made the Indian Dream better/worse?

Despite the valid concerns about detrimental environmental and health effects, Fast Food is poised to grow in a country that has a higher population than China, but just 1/5th of its Fast Food market.

Fast Food is also a good candidate to aid the assimilation and acculturation of millions of migrants experiencing urban life for the very first time. The proximity of access and the lack of barriers of entry - race, age, class, gender, religion etc. provide a safe meeting hub and can empower migrants, giving them ownership in their new urban environments.

The onset of COVID-19 is a testing time for Indian Street Entrepreneurs, where fears of hygiene and safety may drastically affect business. Only 3% of Fast Food Restaurants in India are chained - If entrepreneurs are empowered to employ the cultural and economic leverage of Indian food while leveraging the power of technology and safety standards, it can translate into tremendous growth for the Indian economy.

The Indian Dream