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BUSINESS:
FAST FOOD
Time
to Say Cheese
A
favourite among the teeming foodies, the pizza has grown into a Rs 150-crore
business, doubling every two years
By Ninad
D. Sheth
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| Clockwise:
Pizza Hut's Sandeep Kohli, Domino's Pawan Bhatia, Pizza Pizza Express'
Alok Modi and Pizza Corner's Antonie Bakhache |
Ludhiana:
Cars wait for their turn of the hand-tossed pizza at Domino's. The preferred
topping? Butter chicken. Opened on August 15, the Ludhiana outlet of Domino's
earns more money than the chain's swanky Churchgate branch in south Mumbai.
Chennai:
In the conservative south, Domino's order book is full. It is not pepperoni
or barbecued chicken that the Chennaiites are after, the topping for them
is Chettinad chicken.
Ahmedabad:
Pizza Hut, the world's largest chain of sit-down pizzerias with 12,500
restaurants in 90 countries does a first-a 100 per cent vegetarian pizza
restaurant.
Hyderabad:
Pizza Corner-the only Indian pizza chain-decides not to use pork. Does
that mean it won't serve a pepperoni pizza? No. It serves its own version
of pepperoni-chicken pepperoni.
It's
one slice of Italy that Indians are gobbling up without any apprehension.
From smaller towns to big cities, the "round bread from Napoli"
has become pizzazz among fast food eaters. An estimated 50,000 pizzas
are consumed in India every day, up from 30,000 a day in 1999 and just
12,000 in 1998. Making dough in the process are a host of pizza chains
that have mushroomed across the country.
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GARNISHINGS
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»An
estimated 50,000 pizzas are sold every day throughout the country.
»There
are about 150 major pizza outlets in India. In a year's time there
will be 400.
»More
than 10,000 people are employed in the pizza business in India.
»The
size of the Indian pizza market is Rs 150 crore. It is growing at
40 per cent a year.
»All
estimates are informal and gathered from individual sources
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PepsiCo's
Pizza Hut is more than tripling its number of outlets to 45 in the next
one year. Domino's, the market leader in home-delivery pizzas, is extending
its "Hunger Helpline" from 60 outlets in 12 cities at present
to 100 branches by 2001. Pizza Corner, run by Lebanese hotelier Antonie
Bakhache and funded by ICICI Venture Capital, plans to spread its base
to 100 outlets in two years. Hitching on to the trend are the good old
desi pizza makers like Nirula's in Delhi, Smokin Joe in Mumbai, Don Giovianni
in Calcutta and Mega Bite in Lucknow. Says Sandeep Kohli, CEO of Pizza
Hut: "Pizza has hit the critical mass of acceptability in India.
It is here to stay and grow." Informal estimates point to a 40 per
cent growth in the pizza business every year.
What's feeding
this growth? Convenience, variety, prices and experience, garnished with
a tinge of slick selling. Pizza is clearly the most convenient of all
fast foods. People usually don't have burgers delivered at home, hold
burger parties or eat a day-old burger for lunch. But they could do all
that-and more-with a pizza. Explains Kohli: "Pizza is well suited
for delivery. It is quick to cook, fresh to eat and the acceptability
of pizza delivery is very high." Vouches Rinki Khurana, a Delhi-based
accounts executive: "It's quick, it's not messy and it reaches home
just as I and my husband do."
Pg.2
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The
Government should encash at least a part of its stake in LIC and GIC before
its too late, suggests INDIA TODAY associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar
in 
