Westlife Foodworld CEO Akshay Jatia

Few sectors influence India’s consumer economy as quietly and as deeply as Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). The demands of their scale lead them to build the systems everyone else eventually relies on. Coldchain reliability, predictable farm demand, and frontline training for a healthy service culture are beneficial ripples that begin with a QSR but travel far beyond its counter to other consumer industries. International QSR brands may start as popular symbols from overseas, but it should not take long for the brands to establish an ecosystem that is deeplyrooted in India. Armed with local teams and regional product insights, they build a supply chain across the country, often stitched together over a decade. Today, largescale QSRs have over 90 percent of what is on their trays sourced locally, made possible through partnerships that have matured into capacity at scale. This kind of scalehelps the wider consumer economy. It makes vendors more confident, reassures farmers with predictability, and creates standards in the industry that competitors end up matching. Consumersexpect that same scale to guarantee consistency. The menu, even that of an international chain, reflects this. Cosmetic changes to an alien menu can never help QSRs scale up. The commitment to the country’s diverse palate will have to dictate adaptation. The vegetarian backbone, paneer-led options, and potato-based iconic dishes are not minor tweaks at QSRs such as McDonald’s. Rather, they set the tone for global chains to cater to India over the years. A market that once had no modern cold chain was transformed by QSR-enabled logistics. When international players entered the market in the nineties, the adjustments they made to their menu led to a fullyfunctional supply chain, spanning patty processors, seasoning manufacturers, bakery units, and vegetable farmers, each upgrading to meet world standards because the demand was steady and the guidance clear. Their growth translated into jobs, infrastructure upgrades, and safety certifications that lifted the wider food ecosystem. They raised hygiene and consistency norms across restaurants andcafes. Having built all that does not mean we can rest on our laurels. Rather, QSRs can use their scale to claim a firstmover advantage in food innovation. Millets and plant-based protein options have already begun shaping mindfulness and environmental footprint expectations across the category. The need is to keep ears to the ground for evolving consumer preferences and look at channeling 5-10 percent of yearly expenditure to push for innovation that plugs customer need gaps. Today, Indian consumers toggle between indulgence and mindfulness with great ease. They want choice without judgement, an extra-cheese moment one day and a multi-millet bun or protein-forward option the next. Keeping such flexibility in mind, QSRs can blend their expertise with science backed innovation to make indigenous and mindful ingredients accessible, affordable, and delicious. It makes it easier for people to consume even when they are eating out. With better alignment to national priorities on local manufacturing and indigenous food processing, QSRs can accelerate import substitution without compromising global benchmarks. The Indian food sector has already seen how frugal innovation in a tough market can open export lanes. Plant-based protein slices, for example, may be made for Indian taste but are ready to travel to other markets once scaled. Scale also brings responsibility particularly in employment and skill creation. The NRAI’s 2024 Food Services Report places the sector at 8.5+ million employees, projected to cross 10.3 million by 2028, making it one of the country’s most employment-intensive service sectors. QSRs are at the heart of that engine, given their density and expansion. A single store can employ dozens, so hundreds of stores turn into pipelines for the right-skilled talent. Tier-2 cities are benefiting the most, with servicesector openings rising at twice the pace of metros. A QSR restaurant can become someone’s first formal job. The habits learnt here such as punctuality, hygiene, teamwork, and customer fluency carry well into sectors beyond food. We have watched young talent from tribal belts and underserved regions build technical confidence, run teams, and move toward supervisory or logistics roles. Employment at scale allows the industry to contribute to more than the country’s GDP. It helps with a crucial national capability ofskill building. And the sector’s capacity can grow further. The FPI’s workforce study estimates 1.34 million skilled roles needed across food processing segments through 2030, ie., the upstream ecosystem that feeds QSRs. As QSRs grow, the manufacturing supply chain rises with it. A brand that wants to grow in India must be shaped by India. The country is asking for localisation at scale, employment that builds dignity, food innovation that respects culture, and experiences that treat customers like participants, not transactions. This is the time for QSR industry in India to show the world what brand-salient localisation based on deep cultural intelligence, operational discipline, and responsibility at scale looks like in practice.

Westlife Foodworld CEO Akshay Jatia

Akshay Jatia, CEO, Westlife Foodworld