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Ready-to-eat, Chinese style

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Maitreyee Handique New Delhi
Moods Hospitality Ltd, which runs the quick-service Chinese restaurant chain Yo! China, is in a diversifying, well, mood.
 
Armed with an investment of Rs 10 crore, the Delhi-based chain has a three-pronged strategy: to enter the over Rs 500 crore heat-and-eat convenience food market, open eight more Yo! China restaurants in Delhi and start in-flight catering services within a year.
 
The company, which currently owns two Yo! China restaurants in Gurgaon's Metropolitan Mall and Delhi's Vasant Vihar, has already expanded its base kitchen to cater to 12,000-25,000 meals a day and undertake R&D activities for its food venture.
 
"We are looking at multiple sources of revenue but not digressing from our main objective, which is, to offer quality Chinese food at affordable prices. Our strategy is to open different distribution channels for our core business," says Ashish Kapur, managing director of Yo! China.
 
For starters, the company's R&D division is doing a research on the recipes for convenience food that will offer Chinese combination meals such as rice and chilli chicken and noodles and General Tao (a popular meat ball dish) in the ready-to-eat format.
 
The 200 gm packet for each meal is expected to be priced under Rs 50 in keeping with the company's philosophy of good food, affordable price and quick service.
 
The company, claims Kapur, will engage a major distribution channel to retail the food products. The ready-to-eat packs will also be available in Yo! China restaurants.
 
Yo! China also plans to go to other metros and B-grade cities in the second stage of its expansion.
 
"We plan to open more outlets in Pune, Chandigarh, Jallandhar and Siliguri," Kapur says, adding that Moods Hospitality will consider appointing a master franchisee after opening 20 company-own restaurants.
 
Currently, Moods Hospitality is in the process of getting the necessary food certification for its in-flight business.
 
"We are typically looking at providing Chinese meal to airlines once a week," says Kapur. Besides Kapur, Yo! China co-promoters include NRI and Indian businessmen Sampat Talwar, Ajay Saini, Joydeep Singh, Mandhir Sohni and Arun Chadha.
 
But where does Yo! China, set up 10 months ago fit in, in the Rs 2,000 crore organised eating out (read restaurant) market? Especially, with competition from American Chinese fast food chain Mark Pi nibbling at its heels.
 
Besides, food industry sources say that another US-based Chinese restaurant chain Panda Express, is negotiating with several companies to enter the Indian market.
 
But Kapur is unfazed. He believes that the restaurant industry in India is fragmented and promoter-driven. "How many fine dining food chains can you name in the country?" he asks.
 
Commenting on the threat perception from new players he says: "We understand the Indian palate and don't have to offer customised meals. Ours' is an indigenous brand. We're depending on footfalls and cost management to get us ahead," he says.
 
The company, which claims to have already gained 65 per cent repeat customers and has steamed more than 80,000 dimsums since it opened shop, generates 25 per cent of its business from home delivery service and gets an average footfall of 1,200 people at its Gurgaon outlet and about 1,700 people in Delhi on weekends.
 
It has also entered the corporate lunch market with a tie-up with American Express, Churchill, Citibank, Gillette and Eli Lilly to serve Chinese food.

 
 

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First Published: Feb 13 2004 | 12:00 AM IST

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