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<ul><li>2020 has indeed been a defining year for all delivery businesses in India.</li><li>However, this did not affect India's eternal love for <keyword id="41887" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="biryani">Biryani</keyword>. </li><li>Biryani was the most ordered dish on Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo Bangalore. </li></ul>2020 has made me, as Micheal Scott puts it, a ‘little stitious’. I feel like I should hang a Nimbu Mirchi on Chicken Biryani’s Handi. Who knows what 2021 might bring along in the last level of Jumanji? What if I don’t see the elaichi in my Biryani and end up biting into it next year? (shrieks at the idea of it) <div type="image" title="Micheal scott meme" msid="80044330" hostid="261"></div> With the majority of the population being shut indoors for a larger part of 2020, Indians turned to their favourite food to cure their isolation blues. During this ‘unprecedented year,’ the only constant has been our undeniable love for good food. Food made quarantining, the long working hours and staying far from loved ones, a little easier and tastier. Some people put on their chef’s hat, others decided to order happiness from delivery apps like Swiggy, Zomato and Dunzo in the form of Biryanis. Our routines altered, we started exercising and jumped from one fitness app onto the other, but Biryani was that constant bright bowl of happiness. Why Biryani, you ask? Biryani is that pot of happiness that never disappoints. “Biryani ek art hai, art.” It takes you on a roller-coaster ride with its comforting warmth, spices that bring water in your eyes, elaichi (well, who put you here?), and its aroma. Like 2020, it is multi-layered but each layer promises something exciting and it also has different versions like Kolkata biryani, Muradabadi biryani, Hyderabadi Biryani, Ambur biryani, to name a few -- so that you never get bored. It is the best sleep inducer that makes a boring Zoom call interesting. It doesn’t burn in a hole in your pocket either. You can also take a picture of it to add some colours to your Instagram feed and your DMs flooding with, “akele akele” is just a perk that comes with it. Just a mention of it is enough to make one’s mouth water and feel hungry. Need I go on? Rebel Foods’ Behrouz Biryani even released a campaign to celebrate India’s love for Biryani. Speaking on why Biryani is special, Indrajit Ghosh, Global Head of Design &amp; Communication, Rebel Foods, said, “Biryani is not just-another dish in India. It evokes emotions and holds a special place in everyone’s lives.” It goes without saying that Indians’ love for Biryani was unaffected by the pandemic this year. In fact, the mighty Chicken Biryani reaffirmed its place as India’s favourite dish. It was the most ordered dish on FoodTech apps like Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo. With a whopping 44,30,008 orders on Zomato and 5.5 lakh on Swiggy, it has enjoyed popularity across all states, leaving behind pizza, pasta and french fries. As per Swiggy’s StatEATstics report, Veg, Chicken, Mutton or Aloo, collectively some form of Biryani was ordered more than once every second in 2020! For every Veg Biryani, there were six Chicken Biryani orders. Chicken Biryani was the number one sold dish, Mutton Biryani snagged the 5th spot. Swiggy also added 3 lakh new customers because of Biryani as they made their debut on the app by ordering the dish. Zomato, on the other hand, delivered 22 biryani every minute in 2020! After the lockdown eased in our country, Zomato received around 44 lakh plus orders for Biryani and it even made a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/news/zomato-wins-us-again-with-its-email-marketing-strategy-this-time-with-a-mailer-containing-biryanis-cv/articleshow/77871245.cms">CV </a>for its most-ordered dish to woo its consumers. <div type="image" title="biryani (1)" msid="80044372" hostid="261"></div> On Dunzo, Bangalore ordered the most Chicken Biryanis amongst other states. Google Trends’s interest chart is another proof why India’s love for Biryani is eternal. <div type="image" title="biryani interest - Google trends" msid="80044377" hostid="261"></div> Biryani also made Dominos’ franchise owner, Jubilant, fatter in November as its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/dominos-pizza-parent-jubilant-foodworks-shares-rally-to-new-record-after-it-launches-biryani-brand-in-india/articleshow/79774051.cms">share prices</a> soared by 7%. It was shortly after Jubilant Foodworks announced a new brand called Ekdum! with a variety of biryanis from across India. It also filled the holes in our hearts as singles were responsible for more than 70% biryani orders, revealed Swiggy. Here's hoping 2021 doesn't break our love affair with this regal dish.

Biryani was a constant bright spot in our lives in 2020, Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo give us the proof

<ul><li><keyword id="95677" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jubilant-FoodWorks">Jubilant Foodworks</keyword> announced a new brand called Ekdum! with a variety of <keyword id="555496" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Biryanis">biryanis</keyword> from across India. </li><li>The love for biryani was evident in the stock market as Jubilant’s share prices jumped by over 7% on Thursday (November 17) morning.</li><li>Last year in March 2019, Jubilant Foodworks had also forayed into the Chinese food segment with its own brand – Hong’s Kitchen. </li></ul>The parent company of Domino’s pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts knows what Indians love the most – Biryani. Jubilant Foodworks announced a new brand called Ekdum! with a variety of biryanis from across India. And the love for biryani was evident in the stock market as Jubilant’s share prices jumped by over 6% on Thursday (November 17) morning. Its share price stood at ₹2,873.45 as of 11.45 am. <div type="image" title="jubilant." msid="79774160" hostid="261"></div> The company announced its Biryani foray with the likes of Hyderabadi Nizami Biryani, Lucknowi Nawabi Biryani, Dindigul Biryani, Kolkata Biryani, Butter Chicken Biryani, Egg Biryani, Paneer Makhni Biryani, and Tawa Chicken Biryani. Jubilant is also keeping its offering in the affordable range with a starting price of ₹99. "In line with our strategy of portfolio expansion, we are delighted to introduce Ekdum!,our new venture in the Biryani category. We see strong potential in this segment and are confident that Ekdum!, with its sharp and differentiated proposition will create a strong position for itself in the market,” said Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman and Hari S. Bhartia Co-Chairman, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited in a joint statement. The foray into the Biryani segment has also been appreciated by market analysts as the food item is one of the most popularly ordered dishes across e-commerce as well as sit-in restaurants. “Biryani is one of the most popular dishes and a large category in India— it lends well to delivery, sells well across lunch/dinner, appeals across demographics and offers scale and robust profitability/return metrics,” said a report by Kotak Securities. The report further said that there are three factors to keep in mind for Jubilant’s new offering – the pricing is attractive, the economics that can be achieved with Biryani is comparable to that of Domino’s, however, while Domino’s has a consistent taste offering through its pizza, managing the same with biryani could be a difficult task as it will also depend on the chefs hired. And, the company will also face competition from established brands like Biryani By Kilo, Behrouz Biryani, Biryani Bluez as well as traditional biryani outlets across different cities which have a brand legacy working for them like Hyderabad’s Paradise Biryani, among others. “JFL is opening three restaurants in Gurgaon for Delivery, Takeaway and Dine-In, with more restaurants planned to open in NCR over the next few months. In our view, this is a positive move by the company, which would help JFL to boost the revenue growth significantly going ahead,” said Amarjeet Maurya, AVP, Mid Caps, Angel Broking. Last year in March 2019, Jubilant Foodworks had also forayed into the Chinese food segment with its own brand – Hong’s Kitchen. Having started with a single outlet in Gurugram, the brand has scaled to five more stores. And experts believe that both the biryani and chinese cuisine offerings will help the company. “In our view, the platform is in place to accelerate store additions to 100-125 per year in Domino’s and 30-40 aggregate between HK and Ekdum!. We believe there is room for Jubilant Foodworks to step up aggression and investments,” said the Kotak report. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/india-has-a-hot-new-debate-on-its-plate-should-the-likes-of-burger-king-kfc-and-mcdonalds-menus-mention-calories/articleshow/79771040.cms">India has a hot new debate on its plate: Should the likes of Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s menus mention calories?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/cooking-lpg-gas-cylinder-prices-hiked-by-100-this-month-how-much-subsidies-on-gas/articleshow/79772801.cms">Cooking gas prices hiked by ₹100 this month – check what happens to subsidies</a>

Biryani makes Domino’s Indian franchise owner 7% fatter⁠— the street's evidently "jubilant"

<ul><li><keyword id="6358977" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="swiggy" source="Orion">Swiggy</keyword> on Monday announced its new <keyword id="12584073" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy-one-subscription" source="Orion">Swiggy One subscription</keyword> service.</li><li>The subscription offers unlimited free deliveries and discounts to users.</li><li>The plan is priced at ₹299 for 3 months and ₹899 for 12 months.</li></ul>Food delivery app Swiggy announced on Monday its new subscription plan, dubbed as <keyword id="12582902" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="swiggy-one" source="Orion">Swiggy One</keyword>. The service offers more benefits when compared to the company’s existing Swiggy Super subscription service and will offer free unlimited deliveries and discounts across various Swiggy services. Here’s everything you need to know about the Swiggy One subscription service. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Swiggy One – eligible cities" comment="subhead" text="Swiggy One – eligible cities">Swiggy One – eligible cities</cmsannotation> Swiggy One is currently available only in four cities – Lucknow, Pune, Trivandrum and Vijayawada. It will be expanded to over 500 cities in the next two weeks. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Swiggy One – subscription price" comment="subhead" text="Swiggy One – subscription price">Swiggy One – subscription price</cmsannotation> Swiggy One will be available with an introductory price of ₹299 for 3 months and at ₹899 for 12 months, which translates to ₹75 per month. Currently Swiggy offers two plans – Bite and Binge. While the Bite plan is priced at ₹129 per month, the Binge plan is priced at ₹199 per month. The two plans will be replaced by Swiggy One and all members will be upgraded to the new plan for the remainder of their membership. Apart from this, existing Swiggy Super members will also get a one-month extension on their membership. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Swiggy One membership benefit" comment="subhead" text="Swiggy One membership benefit">Swiggy One membership benefit</cmsannotation> The Swiggy One membership offers unlimited free deliveries from all restaurants along with free Instamart grocery deliveries, something that was missing from Swiggy’s Bite and Binge subscription plans. Instamart orders only above ₹99 will be eligible for free delivery. In addition to this, users can also avail an additional discount of up to 30% on food orders. Users will also be able to avail offers and discounts on Swiggy Genie orders, which allows you to send parcels and get other products from local stores. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/rebel-foods-which-runs-behrouz-biryani-ovenstory-pizza-and-faasos-is-now-worth-over-a-billion-dollars/articleshow/86839518.cms">Rebel Foods — which runs Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, and Faasos — is now worth over a billion dollars</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/paytm-has-lost-8-billion-in-valuation-in-two-days-of-listing/articleshow/87840891.cms">Paytm is inching closer to Macquarie's target of ₹1200</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/news/theres-a-new-jingle-in-town-as-swiggy-uses-the-power-of-music-to-connect-with-its-audience-and-establish-itself-as-a-last-minute-genie-coming-to-your-rescue/articleshow/87327251.cms">There’s a new jingle in town as Swiggy uses the power of music to connect with its audience and establish itself as a last-minute Genie coming to your rescue</a>

Swiggy One – membership price, benefits and everything you need to know

<ul><li>Shares of <keyword id="42747" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-motors" source="Orion">Tata Motors</keyword> rallied more than 10% on October 7 to hit a three year high of ₹368.25 per share on expectation of a strong business outlook.</li><li>Bullish views by brokerage firms with increase in target price has played out well for the stock in the recent time.</li><li>Growth prospects in the India business, electric vehicle segment and gradual recovery in JLR business has doubled investors' money in Tata Motors’ stock in the last one year.</li></ul>Everyone seems excited about Tata Motors and the stock has rallied 10% yesterday, October 7 and 29% in the last one month. This, despite the fact that its subsidiary, the international luxury brand <keyword id="6354362" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jaguar-land-rover" source="Orion">Jaguar Land Rover</keyword> (JLR) ⁠— which made for 82% of the company’s revenue at the end of June 2021 ⁠— is still struggling with tepid sales and sputtering production due to the chip shortage. <div type="image" title="Tata motors chart" height="900" width="1200" msid="86849786" hostid="261"></div> For the last ten years, the shareholders of Tata Motors were frustrated holding its stock. But the losses of British subsidiary JLR and the Mumbai-based parent’s overwhelming debt over the last few years seem to have turned around in this new decade, despite the pandemic. “It (Tata Motors) is gaining market share in the PV segment whereas the JLR business is likely to show a strong recovery," Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart, told Mint. Morgan Stanley even expects Tata Motor’s Indian business to post profits by the end of March 2023, after 8 years of losses and in the following year, the India business may form close to 17% of the group’s earnings. The optimism was not born overnight. Since the end of March 2019, the company has worked hard to increase its share in passenger vehicles from 7% to 10% at the end of June this year, in a market dominated by Maruti, Hyundai and its sister company Kia. <keyword id="7364349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-altroz" source="Orion">Tata Altroz</keyword>, <keyword id="3252269" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-tiago" source="Orion">Tata Tiago</keyword> and <keyword id="2055885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-nexon" source="Orion">Tata Nexon</keyword> were some of the successful Tata models that drove this growth. <div type="image" title="Tata motors pie chart" height="900" width="1200" msid="86849862" hostid="261"></div> To brief you about what happened in the last one year, auto maker’s India business’ recovery was severely impacted by COVID. However, now the India CV business is on a strong footing and primed for strong cyclical recovery in both medium and heavy commercial vehicles (42% CAGR estimated over FY21-23) and light commercial vehicles (close to 21% CAGR), says a report by Motilal Oswal. But that’s in the past. The sustenance of this growth in the future will depend on electric vehicles. The good news for Tata’s believers is that EV sales in terms of units sold are up three-fold in the last 12 months. It r<a href="https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/tata-motors-sees-21-jump-in-sales-nexon-tigor-helps-ev-sales-to-grow-by-250-41633082366148.html">eportedly</a> has a 70% market share among EV makers in India. To put it into figures, Tata Motors sold 1,078 units of electric vehicles in September, up from a mere 308 units in September last year. Overall, it has sold 10,000 EVs in India so far, largely because of the success of the Nexon EV SUV. Currently it offers SUV Nexon and subcompact sedan Tigor in electrified form Jaguar Land Rover sales to improve gradually JLR, on the other hand, is currently hamstrung by the chip shortage, which is expected to last beyond the end of 2021. Hope floats that by the high-margin models, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, get an upgrade, in 2023, the shortage will be behind and the company will rake in the profits. There are a lot of hopes pinned on the newly launched sports utility vehicle (SUV), Defender. Growth prospects in the India business, electric vehicle segment and gradual recovery in JLR business has doubled investors' money in Tata Motors’ stock in the last one year. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/rebel-foods-which-runs-behrouz-biryani-ovenstory-pizza-and-faasos-is-now-worth-over-a-billion-dollars/articleshow/86839518.cms">Rebel Foods — which runs Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, and Faasos — is now worth over a billion dollars</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/legal/news/cloud-kitchens-are-restaurants-ice-cream-is-not-food-and-other-important-clarifications-that-will-affect-gst-rates/articleshow/86841614.cms">Cloud kitchens are restaurants, ice cream is not food and other important clarifications that will affect GST rates</a>

Here’s why Tata Motors is red hot even when 82% of its business is still in the woods

<ul><li>Uber founder and former CEO <keyword id="1739133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Travis-Kalanick">Travis Kalanick</keyword> has reportedly invested in Indian cloud kitchen startup <keyword id="6971315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rebel-Foods">Rebel Foods</keyword>. </li><li>But Kalanick is also <keyword id="6357342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> in India for his own venture – <keyword id="3155186" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cloud-kitchens">Cloud Kitchens</keyword>. </li><li>He had acquired a controlling stake in Cloud Kitchens in 2018, taking on the role of CEO.</li></ul>Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber who was ousted from his own company, is heading to India. He has invested in Indian cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods, according to <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/uber-ex-ceo-travis-kalanick-grabs-slice-of-cloud-kitchen-arena-1569248189259.html">reports</a>. Calling itself an ‘internet restaurant company’, Rebel Foods runs restaurants like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story and more. It recently raised a funding of $25 million from Goldman Sachs along with existing investors Lightbox, Sequoia and others. But Kalanick is also hiring for his own venture called Cloud Kitchens. A look at the<a href="https://www.cloudkitchens.com/careers/"> careers</a> page of the company’s website will show that the startup is looking for real estate development managers across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It’s also looking for a project manager for the India region. In 2018, Kalanick had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/For-his-next-act-former-Uber-CEO-Travis-Kalanick-is-quietly-building-a-new-kind-of-food-delivery-service/articleshow/68000681.cms">acquired</a> controlling stake in real estate startup City Storage Systems and announced himself as the CEO. He had made the investment through his fund 10100. City Storage Systems runs Cloud Kitchens, where they take up real estate spaces in a city and set up kitchens for restaurants to operate out of and run a delivery service. Kalanick maintained a low profile since his very public exit from Uber, a company that he built which recently went for one of the world’s biggest IPOs. Kalanick exited from Uber following a series of scandals involving sexual harassment at work to the crazy Silicon Valley parties and his work culture.

Travis Kalanick isn’t just investing in Indian cloud kitchens but also hiring for his own venture

<ul><li>The new guidelines by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India state that restaurants will have to mention the calorific values on menu cards, boards or booklets. </li><li>Food aggregators like Zomato or Swiggy too have to comply with these new rules.</li><li>However, restaurant owners feel that this move is “uncalled for,” especially since it comes at a time when they are already struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.</li><li>While they are being introduced in India for the first time, similar laws already exist in countries like the US and the UK. </li></ul>Fast-food chains like McDonald’s, KFC, <keyword id="33542" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Burger-King">Burger King</keyword> have already been forced to follow “calorie labelling” in several countries, including the US, and now they might have to add the numbers on their menus in India as well. The new guidelines issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (<keyword id="154680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FSSAI">FSSAI</keyword>) state that restaurants or cafes with a central license or with more than ten outlets will have to mention the calorific values on menu cards, boards, or booklets. “Additionally, reference information on calorie requirements shall also be displayed clearly and prominently as an average active adult requires 2,000 kcal energy per day, however, calorie needs may vary”, said the guidelines. While players like Rebel Foods, the cloud kitchen company which operates chains like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani has always sworn by quoting the calorific value and defining the contents of the food served, as a customer-first approach, many other restaurant chains like Mamagoto, Chaayos, Wow Momos among others could soon have to deal with the calorie fight. And food aggregators like Zomato or Swiggy aren’t spared from the same as the new guidelines for labelling apply to e-commerce food business operators as well as the packaged food industry. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Arguments in favour of calorie labelling </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Arguments against the calorie labelling </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Customers can make a more informed decision – they want to know what they are consuming. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Customer consumption patterns won’t change – "a butter chicken will still be preferred over a salad". </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India won’t go the Western way – will keep a check on obesity. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Marketing costs like new menus will be a burden for the already battered industry. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Food service establishments will develop cautious brand building practices across the board, guaranteeing quality output. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Standardization is not possible with Indian food, where chefs still have their own andaaz (style) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Restaurants fear harassment in the name of regulatory monitoring. </td></tr></tbody></table> Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President of the Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) says labelling the <keyword id="31991" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="calorie-count">calorie count</keyword> on menu cards might not directly impact restaurants, but it’s uncalled for. “What is the mindset behind this? Will people come, read the calorie count and then leave the restaurant? Or instead of butter chicken they are going to order a salad?,” Kohli told Business Insider. The FHRAI has already written to the FSSAI, giving its inputs regarding the new guidelines. While Kohli said that he doesn’t disagree with the norms, it shouldn’t come as a mandate. “If the FSSAI wants to do this, it should be voluntary. In a period where we are already hit so badly, putting up these new norms… I would call it irrelevant,” said Kohli. Pradeep Shetty, the Sr Vice President of The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India said, “The intention of the FSSAI is noble, they want to bring down the trans fat. They don’t want India to go the way many western countries have. They aren’t prohibiting people from eating, but just to make an informed decision.” The standardization could still work for restaurants with a limited standard menu across the country – chains like McDonald’s, KFC, Dominos, among others. But it’s not going to be the same story for the very ‘Indian’ restaurants. Restaurants in India don’t have just one problem with the new labelling guidelines – in fact, the issues are going to be multifold. Kohli explained that having the new labelling guidelines means printed new menu cards leading to new marketing expenses, which are uncalled for. Moreover, the food at Indian restaurants is more often than not customised, which means customers have demands like “extra butter” or “make it with olive oil”. “That addition or deletion of butter makes all the difference in the calorific value. What we fear is more harassment for a sector that is already harassed,” he said. Counting the calories: The new global norm? Placing the calorie count on menu cards isn’t just a norm being introduced in India. It is already enforced in countries like the US and the UK as a measure to control obesity, albeit questionably. In fact, in the US a law was passed in 2018 that stated that any restaurant with 20 or more outlets will have to state the calorie count of its food items. Researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/the-us-law-requiring-calorie-counts-on-menus-is-expected-to-save-tens-of-thousands-of-lives-and-over-10-billion-in-healthcare-costs-research-shows/articleshow/76324413.cms">conducted a study</a> that showed that such a move would produce $10-14 billion in healthcare cost savings and another $3-5 billion in societal cost savings. In India too, many brands have been following the standard of adding calorie count on menus even before it was a norm. “The customer today wants to know what they are consuming, how safe it is, where the produce came from, and so forth. To help with all these, it becomes essential for brands to help consumers with the required information, to keep their faith in the food they consume, and thereby, the brand. This will also develop cautious brand building practices across the board, guaranteeing quality output,” said Sagar Kochhar, Co-founder, Rebel Foods. While the policy has a long way to go, it poses another problem as well – how will the government keep a check on restaurants across the country. “That also means that restaurants will have to hire an expert to keep a check or define the calorie count, which is another added expense,” said Shetty. 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India has a hot new debate on its plate: Should the likes of Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s menus mention calories?

<ul><li><keyword id="148198" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-cafe">Zee Cafe</keyword> has recently completed 20 years.</li><li>We caught up with <keyword id="8227950" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kartik-Mahadev">Kartik Mahadev</keyword>, Business Head, Premium Channels, ZEE to talk about the channel’s journey in India, some key milestones and how it has succeeded in staying relevant at a time when a lot of <keyword id="659577" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="TV-viewership">TV viewership</keyword> is slowly gravitating towards OTT platforms. </li></ul> Much before OTT platforms brought content from across the globe to our drawing rooms, English GECs like Zee Café played a pivotal role in introducing us to some of the best global content. Over the years, the channel has kept viewers glued to their screens with shows like Seinfeld, Friends, The Sopranos, Mad About You, among many others. Recently, the channel completed 20 years and we caught up with Kartik Mahadev, Business Head, Premium Channels, ZEE to talk about the channel’s journey in India, some key milestones and how it has succeeded in staying relevant at a time when a lot of TV viewership is slowly gravitating towards OTT platforms. Edited excerpts: Q) Tell us a bit about Zee Cafe's 20-Year journey. What have some of the major highlights been? Two decades ago, while the Indian audience was still warming up to international content, Zee bolstered a new era of English programming on television with the launch of what was then called Zee English, later rebranded as Zee Café. Since inception, it has been our sole endeavor to bring the best of English entertainment to the Indian viewer, with iconic shows like Seinfeld, Friends, The Sopranos, Mad About You and Emmy winners - ER and The West Wing. Circa, early 2000s, consumption of English entertainment was still at a nascent stage in India where those who speak, understand and appreciate international content on television formed just a sliver of the pie. Today, this is has grown into a ‘Glocal’ community. Zee Café has played a pivotal role in shaping this genre through compelling content and shaping the aspirations of this community of international content viewers. Zee Café has driven several successful innovations for a delightful viewer experience. Be it through the marquee offering ‘Along With The US’ launched in early 2000s where the latest international shows like The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and Supergirl were aired along with its US release or the introduction of ‘binge-watching’ as a format with ‘House of Cards S3’ and subsequent properties like ‘BBC First’ and ‘Breakfast To Bed Binge’ – Café has always catered to the evolving consumer needs. As consumption appetite for English entertainment evolved, we introduced compelling dramas as part of properties like Hollywood On Café that promised the scale and grandeur of Hollywood on television. The BBC First Dramas on Café added a complex and visceral mix of content with a TV First approach. We also provided variety of content with locally-nuanced content with celebrity chat shows like ‘Look Who’s Talking with Niranjan’ in the past and shows like ‘Not Just Supper Stars’ and ‘Starry Nights’ featuring A-list Bollywood celebrities more recently. Today, our stable subscriber base is an indication of the channel’s strength amongst a loyal set of consumers who choose the channel for its strong legacy of content. Our promising 20-year journey has been one backed by the support of many individuals and studio partners in shaping the English entertainment landscape, with whom we celebrate this milestone. Their contribution has enabled us to truly entertain our audience by creating togetherness moments and sparks conversations around content. Q) A lot of <keyword id="1368992" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="English-GEC">English GEC</keyword> audience has been steadily shifting to OTT platforms over the years. What are you doing to ensure stickiness to your channel? There is no doubt that the digital video platforms are here to stay. However, today we live in an AND world, not an OR world. English entertainment (Movies + GEC) on Television caters to 170 million+ viewers (BARC @ All India 2+ U+R, Week 01'20- Week 29' 20). The lockdown has showed us that the viewers choose to watch television for the curated content experience it provides, to not just individuals but the entire family. Studies reveal that consumption of overlapped content between TV and OTT grew on television from 59% pre-NTO to 82% contribution post-NTO for sitcom, drama, reality genres. It naturally follows that navigation between screens is seamless and consumption on TV and digital is complementary in nature. The surge in TV viewership post lockdown tells us that television is the trusted medium of entertainment. Television provides youth-focused brands and premium brands the opportunity to associate with a premium subscriber base that is defined basis their content choice. This sort of content and platform synergy for brands to associate with, is not available on OTT platforms where English content is behind paywall. While content consumption on OTT is growing, it is the Hindi and regional original content that are the primary drivers of this growth. Television is and will continue to be the destination for brands to build long-term content association with a premium subscriber base through exclusive content on a channel like Zee Café. The locally nuanced shows such as Starry Nights Gen Y, also provides an opportunity to drive branded content integrations in an organic manner. When it comes to OTT, content discovery is and will continue to pose a challenge to viewers looking to unwind with quality content. This is where television channels that understand their consumer and curate well, delight the viewer. Post lockdown, the channel has added 256 hours of content including latest dramas such as ‘Nancy Drew’ and ‘Evil’, iconic sitcoms such as ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ along with the original airings of the celebrity chat show Starry Nights GEN Y. While marquee international shows bring the best of the world to our viewers, locally produced content allows us to add a new dimension from the Indian point of view. In the future, we have a robust line-up of light-hearted and locally nuanced content that help build relevance from an Indian context. Q) While TV viewership saw a boost during the lockdown, how was it for Zee Cafe? The lockdown has showed us that the viewers chose to watch television for the curated content experience it provides, to not just individuals but the entire family. We observed a trend in audience preferences towards familiar, light-hearted content amidst the uncertainty and gloom. We were early to spot the trend and introduced tactical changes in our programming. ‘Nostalgia’ as a genre clearly emerged as a big theme across television with several successful examples in Hindi GEC. Spotting the trend early, we introduced the iconic sitcom of the 90s– Seinfeld along with the 60s sitcom ‘I Dream Of Jeannie’ which resonated with the viewers. Conversational shows and iconic sitcoms along with easy to watch movies have performed well with an increase in time spent on Zee Café. We saw a growth in non-prime time viewing as well and hence to keep viewers entertained through-out the day, we introduced back-to-back episodes of MasterChef Australia S8, Everybody Hates Chris and The Big Bang Theory S12 on Zee Café along with newer dramas like Nancy Drew and Evil. Q) How are you trying to bring advertisers back to the channel? These have been uncertain times across several consumer businesses. During the lockdown period, only essentials were being sold which had an impact on advertiser income. Through the lockdown, TV remained a trusted medium for entertainment and information for the family, witnessing significant growth in viewership. With the relaxations in lockdown, economic activity is resuming, and we need to drive effective customer solutions for future growth. We are in a strong position as far as subscription revenue is concerned with a stable subscriber base and growth in contribution of HD subscribers. This is an indication of its strength amongst a homogeneous set of consumers who chose Zee Café for its strong legacy of content. Television will continue to be the ideal platform for advertisers looking to reach out to their consumers. Youth-focused premium brands can pick and choose fresh content that they can associate with to reach a premium subscriber base given a sharply segmented audience that English entertainment on television attracts while similar content on digital is behind paywall. Recently, for the premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level on &amp;flix, Zee Café and &amp;PrivéHD, and a simulcast in Hindi on Zee Cinema, we saw several reputable brands onboard such as Kia Motors, Ariel, Amazon, Airtel 4G, Xiaomi, Protinex and ITC along with Bingo Potato chips, Hyundai Creta, Behrouz Biryani, Bharat Matrimony onboard for the Hindi simulcast. The premiere garnered an overwhelming response with an incredible 34 million reach making it one of the biggest premieres in the last 12 months. Q) What have some of your growth drivers been? What has helped Zee Cafe stay relevant and win against the test of time? With out-of-home entertainment options being limited in the new normal, television will continue to be the trusted entertainment destination for individuals and families. Interestingly, India is the second-largest English speaking country in the world (BBC India Report - 2012).Thus, in the long run, regional markets will continue to fuel new user growth for English entertainment. There is a whole set of audience moving from regional to English content as they become more comfortable with English as a professional, conversational language. We have designed unique offerings such as locally nuanced content on Zee Café that has helped drive resonance and enabled adoption of English content amongst an aspirational, English comfortable audience. Q) What are your strategies towards bringing more viewers to your channel, enhancing their experience and also how are you looking at driving higher engagement? Our content philosophy was built around ‘All Eyes On New’, with an endeavor to deliver fresh content or a fresh perspective to iconic content. With curation as our core focus, we’ve constantly introduced new programming formats and new properties that best suit the needs of our ever-evolving viewers. With content blocks such as ‘BBC First’ which brought complex British dramas for the first time to India or ‘Along With The US’ where our viewers watched fresh content series along with its international telecast; we truly set the benchmark for being the innovators in the English entertainment category. With most of the shows on Zee Café such as Titan Games, American Idol, Battlebots, Seal Team, FBI, A Million Little Things, Charmed, The Chefs’ Line being available on television first, we’ve lived up to the consumer promise of ‘All eyes on New’. Catering to the evolving needs of the consumer, we introduced locally nuanced content such as Starry Nights GEN Y and Not Just Supper Stars that broadened the consumption repertoire on the channel.

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