Fast food on the track

Hind Group, the Rs 650 crore food processing company, is now setting up fast food outlets. Will the venture succeed?

Healthy competition is certainly good for business. But what when the competitors are really tough? Fast Trax, a new fast food restaurant promoted by the Rs 650 crore food processing company, Hind Group, is in a similar situation.

Its first outlet in Delhi's New Friends' Colony has the likes of McDonalds, Domino's Pizza, Cafe Coffe Day and Barista as its immediate neighbours.

Though Samar Qureshi, the brain behind the restaurant feels he needs to be in the midst of competition, we can't help wondering at the wisdom of starting yet another fast food diner amidst the existing maze.

The group seems to have gone the whole hog with a trendy ambience complete with snazzy motorbikes accessorising the 5,000 sq feet outlet.

What's more, Fast Trax boasts of an in-house R&D facility and claims to be the only kitchen restaurant in India to have a centralised microbiological lab for food analysis.

The restaurant's R&D unit is manned by lab experts, food technologists and equipment-handling engineers who constantly check the quality and hygiene standards of the food, besides innovating and enhancing the productline.

"Through our R&D, unit we ensure that every ingredient that goes into making a dish passes through certain standards that match international quality," points out Qureshi.

The research unit studies the properties of products, identifies even oil properties and its shelf life besides various other details involved in the cooking process. It's this USP that, according to Qureshi, has given them the confidence to venture into the Rs 1,000 crore fast food retail mart which is growing at a robust rate of 30-40 per cent annually.

According to Qureshi, the industry is likely to hit the Rs 7,000 crore mark by 2010.

Qureshi, who has pioneered every aspect of the outlet including the menu, dress code, logo and the interiors, admits to have given in to his penchant for Indian fast food. He has introduced various innovations to the popular Indian snack samosa and has come up with cheese, chicken and vegetable samosas along with shawarmas, burgers and wraps.

Samreen Qureshi, also the business development manager of Fast Trax, says she's happy with the footfalls in the last two months of its operations. "We're looking at coming up with 12 outlets by the end of the coming financial year in Delhi and NCR," she adds.

Each of the outlets will be a family restaurant with a special playroom for children. "With our competitive pricing, international standards of hygiene, packaging and innovative productline, there's no reason why we will not succeed," sums up Qureshi.

Let's see if his conviction has the ability to reap profits.