The rise and rise of QSR: Number of start-ups up 23% since 2016

The quick service restaurant (QSR) segment has been in the news with McDonald's expansion in the northern and eastern parts of the country. 

Canadian chain Tim Horton has also talked about growth plans in recent times with announcements of 120 new outlets in three years. The QSR segment is expected to register strong growth in the years to come, shows data. 

It is likely to reach over Rs 85,000 crore in size according to industry projections. The number of start-ups in the QSR segment has been rising, and hit a multi-year high of 434 active companies, shows data from Tracxn Technologies. The number of such companies are up by nearly a quarter since 2016. The addition of new start-ups has been slowing down however. 

There were 34 companies added to the segment in 2016. This has since been slowing down. It fell to single-digit figures after the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall economic growth and inflation are said to be headwinds for the segment, even as it comes out of the shock of the pandemic. There were only four additions in the last two years, shows Tracxn data as of the last quarter of 2022.