UAE’s Just Falafel takes on Indian street food

Street food is a big hit among Indian customers and Just Falafel aims to get a share of the market with street-food themed stores. Narinder Nanu / AFP

The popular street food falafel will take on the all-time Indian favourites idli and dosa on their home turf.

The UAE-based fast food chain Just Falafel will expand into India with its first outlet in the cosmopolitan Bangalore, amid intense competition from dominant independent local operators.

Just Falafel, which is branding itself as a street food provider in India, says it would offer its core menu but with a touch of local flavours. It expects to have nine franchises in the region.

The JF Bangalore will open in the fourth quarter of this year and the rest of the nine franchises be in and around the city.

A vegetarian Middle Eastern option will add variety to staples such as hash browns and chicken sandwiches. Major international players in the market such as McDonald’s, KFC and Subway have all adapted their food offerings given the large vegetarian population that keep the streetside and dine-in options for chaat, vada pav, idli and dosa going.

“The Indian market is predominantly vegetarian and … this fits very well with our cuisine,” said Sarah Cocker, the head of investor relations at Just Falafel. “Clearly you need to be aware of the regional differences and make sure that each restaurant offers a menu that appeals to your customer.”

Inflation and a rise in fuel prices are also affecting choices that consumers are making.

“International brands are creating value offers in their menus, keeping in mind that the Indian consumer base is price-sensitive, slowing down the rises in spend per transaction, which actually fell in constant value terms [in 2012],” said a report from the research company Euromonitor International in November.

The fast food market in India is forecast to grow to US$17.09 billion in 2018 from about $15.68bn this year, according to Euromonitor.

But the category is “highly fragmented with no single player accounting for a double-digit share in 2012”, it said. McDonald’s leads with a market share of 2 per cent, followed by KFC and Subway.

Independent fast food outlets are expected to dominate with a total market value of $15.95bn in 2018, up from $14.79bn this year. While fast food chains will only have about $1.13bn in 2018, that represents a rise in market share to 6.6 per cent from 5 per cent this year, the company said.

The top chains in the Indian market include McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, New Delhi-based Nirula’s, Baskin-Robbins and Swirl’s from the Netherlands.

Just Falafel is tying up with the property developer and hospitality company Prism Properties to set up shop in Bangalore.

Prism Properties operates Courtyard Hotels and Resorts in southern India and Earth First Foods.

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