Some of India’s largest restaurant chains expect the upcoming Indian Premier League season to boost home delivery orders by as much as 30%, even as dine-in footfalls remain tepid, according to their executives.
These firms — including Impresario Handmade, Olive Group, Pizza Hut, and KA Hospitality — have traditionally been focused on the dine-in space but will look to capitalise on home deliveries and acquiring new customers this season.
In the run-up to the short format cricketing event, chains have started curating special menus, ready-to-eat selection, and cocktail kits. They are also cutting prices and exploring deeper partnerships with online aggregators to lure customers.
The two largest online food delivery players – Swiggy and Zomato – too are preparing to offer significant discounts and invest a combined Rs 175 crore in marketing to hit pre-Covid-19 order numbers, people familiar with the matter told ET.
Investors told ET that after four months of food delivery sales showing slow signs of recovery, the IPL season is expected to give platforms and eateries a much-needed momentum. Swiggy and Zomato declined to confirm their marketing budgets. Swiggy and Zomato have recovered about 80% of their sales by order value, but continue to be at 60-65% of order numbers, compared to pre-covid-19 data
“Big sporty events like the IPL can bring back food delivery business to pre-Covid-19 levels,” said AD Singh, Managing Director, Olive Group of Restaurants, which operates Monkey Bar, SodaBottleOpenerWala, and Fatty Bao.
Mirroring this sentiment, Karyna Bajaj, Executive director at KA Hospitality, which owns CinCin, Nara, Yauatcha, Hakkasan said during events like the IPL when friends and family get together in a common area to watch a match, people do not usually like to cook, pushing delivery sales.
Pizza Hut said the IPL is expected to increase delivery sales by nearly 30%. The pizza chain is already witnessing more than 60% of its business from the delivery channel.
For emerging brands, the spike during IPL is higher.
For instance, the last two IPL seasons saw a 60-75% increase in monthly orders, according to Gautam Balijepalli, founder of Kouzina FoodTech, which owns brands such as WarmOven, Indiana Burgers and KaatiZone.
“We are hopeful that this IPL season would lead to a similar growth,” he said.
Focus IPL
According to Olive Group’s Singh, Monkey Bar is creating specialised combos focussed on home delivery, while the selection at Fatty Bao and SodaBottleOpenerWala have also been tweaked for delivery.
“With brands like Olive where customers seek a premium on the dine-in experience, and the food doesn’t travel so well, we don’t expect that spike, but the other portfolio will more than make up,” he said.
Affordable selection and group meals are another priority for upmarket joints.
“At Nara, we’ve collaborated with chef Harsh Dixit and curated a Thai street-style menu…At CinCin, we have frozen pizzas and lasagna trays. At Yauatcha, we’re looking at introducing (affordable) assorted dim-sum baskets,” Bajaj of KA Hospitality said.
Impresario Handmade, which owns Socials as well as Smoke House Deli, said this was the first time that the group was preparing for a sporting event delivery-first.
“At Socials, we will launch IPL special menus including munchies, finger foods, combos, premixes, and do-it-yourself kits for top-performing dishes,” said Divya Agarwal, marketing head at the group.
Agarwal, however, said the chain will channel its resources to push orders and promotions via its own channels, instead of platforms like Swiggy and Zomato.
“For aggregators, a lot has to do with deep discounting…we are yet to figure if we want to participate on deep discounts,” she said.
The sentiment to compete with aggregators was not mirrored by all brands. Cloud kitchen startups, as well as some established joints, said that are working with aggregators to curate menus and offers.
“Food aggregators are an important part of our channel mix and will support our delivery sales during the tournament,” said Neha, Marketing Director, Pizza Hut India.
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