New Delhi, October 25, 2021: NRAI conducted its first flagship event – The Restaurant Roundtable today to release the report titled ‘COVID Impact on the Food Services Industry’ which is the single source of credible information about the impact of the pandemic on the Food Services Industry. This much-awaited report was released by all the Past Presidents of NRAI who had served the Industry as NRAI Presidents from 1988 onwards – Lalit Narula, RN Kukreja, Sunil Malhotra, Vikram Bakshi, Samir Kuckreja, Riyaaz Amlani, Rahul Singh, Anurag Katriar and the current President – Kabir Suri. It was an honour and a big moment for NRAI to have all the Industry Veterans together on one stage.
Globally, the Food Services Industry was amongst the hardest hit by COVID-19 pandemic, with India being no exception. In FY21, Indian Food Services Industry contracted severely leading to permanent closure of over 25% of Food Business Operators which resulted in job losses of nearly 24 Lakh people.
In FY21, the Food Services Industry in India declined by 53% and was estimated to be worth INR 2,00,762 Cr, compared to INR 4,23,624 Cr in FY2020. In FY22, the Food Services Industry is expected to recover and reach a size of INR 4,72,285 Cr. The industry employs ~73 Lakh people and is one of the largest employment generators for the economy.
National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) is the foremost body representing the voice of the Indian Restaurant Industry. Founded in 1982, it represents the interests of 5,00,000+ restaurants, an industry valued upwards of INR 4,00,000 Cr.
NRAI undertook a study to measure the impact of COVID on the Food Services Industry. This study captures the voices and insights from Food Business Operators (FBO’s) and their aligned partners (Aggregators, Manpower & Staffing Agencies, Raw Material Suppliers, Logistics, Technology, Real Estate, etc.) that were impacted due to COVID lockdowns.
Insights and voices from this study have been synthesized into a report that outlines the industry’s recommendations to Policy Makers in the sincere hope that the findings will serve as an objective assessment tool for the much-needed support that the industry seeks from the Government. While introducing this report to the audience, Nitin Saluja (Founder, Chaayos and NRAI Managing Committee Member) mentioned “The industry is going through intense restructuring to adapt to the challenges posed by COVID. The NRAI COVID Impact Report aims to highlight several trends that have emerged over the last 18 months and act as a compass for the policy makers to provide a much-needed boost for the industry”.
Echoing these sentiments of the FBOs, Kabir Suri, NRAI President; Co-Founder & Director, Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. said, “NRAI COVID Impact Assessment Report is an in-depth research study which maps out the scale and impact of COVID on India’s Food Services Sector. This report is crucial for the industry to garner the necessary support and recognition from the Government and its agencies for providing a fillip for consistent and sustained growth. I would like to thank all the NRAI Members for their contribution to the research study.”
Speaking on the report, Anurag Gupta, Co-Founder, DotPe said, “We are delighted to be the lead sponsor for NRAI’s report on the ‘COVID Impact on the Food Services Industry’. While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives across the globe, it has been especially tough for the F&B sector. DotPe along with NRAI has always believed in empowering India’s entrepreneurs by giving them the right tools to control their business and help them sell more, directly and sell efficiently. We are glad to have been a significant part of this crucial report for the industry”.
Shailee Chatrath, Business Head, Organised Trade Channels, PepsiCo India added, “The restaurant industry is an integral part of the ecosystem that PepsiCo operates in. We saw the impact of the global health challenge on the industry and our continuous endeavor is to stand by them. We extend our partnership with NRAI with the launch COVID Impact Assessment report which further recognizes the importance of the hospitality industry. We hope that this initiative encourages a robust plan of action and rally support from the government and leaders for the growth of the restaurant fraternity going forward.”
Rushabh Oza, Country Sales Manager, Detpak India Pvt Ltd said, “As a family-run global business since 1948, with a strong sense of shared culture, collaboration, and commitment to our Food Service communities we take pride in this partnership with NRAI for the launch of COVID Impact Assessment Report. We strongly believe this will be a great tool to amplify the voice of the industry in front of the Authorities and get the much-deserved support for the thriving Restaurant Industry in India. The COVID-19 pandemic has spiked the demand for quality and efficient food packaging solutions and with this association we plan to further address the challenges faced by the Food service Industry in sustainable food and beverage packaging solutions.”
The Report Launch was followed by a panel discussion with esteemed speakers like Manish Mehrotra (Corporate Chef, Indian Accent, New Delhi & New York), Zorawar Kalra (Founder & MD, Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd), Riyaaz Amlani (CEO & MD, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt Ltd) and Rashmi Daga (Founder & CEO, FreshMenu). The panel was moderated by the celebrity food writer and actor, Kunal Vijayakar. The Panel deliberated that Creativity & Resilience is the Road Ahead for the Restaurant Fraternity.
The event concluded with remarks of Sagar Daryani, Vice President – NRAI; CEO & Co-Founder – Wow! Momo Foods Pvt. Ltd. saying, “On behalf of the F&B Fraternity, I sincerely thank our Sponsors – DotPe, PepsiCo India and Detpak for their continued and significant contribution towards the compilation and launch of this much-awaited Report for the Industry. It is extremely reassuring and encouraging to receive support from your business partners.”
This mega event had the who’s who of the Industry from Delhi NCR as well as from the various NRAI Chapters in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.
The NRAI COVID Impact Assessment Report will be available to download freely from the NRAI Website – https://nrai.org/covid-impact-assessment-report/