NRAI to host Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022 in Hyderabad

Sampath Tummala, Hyderabad Co-chapter Head, NRAI, Shankar Krishnamurthy, Hyderabad Chapter Head, NRAI, and Shaaz Mehmood, Chapter Founder NRAI Hyderabad announcing the hosting of India's Largest Restaurant Industry Conclave in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Hyderabad: The Indian restaurant industry has been immensely impacted by the pandemic. In 2020-21, the Indian food services industry declined 53% and about 25% of food business operators permanently shut their shop and this led to about 24 lakh job losses.

However, the food services industry is finding its feet back and is likely to be a Rs 4.72 lakh cr industry shortly, said Shankar Krishnamurthy, industry body National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) Hyderabad Chapter head. It is hosting an industry event `Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022’ on September 13 at HICC. It will be inaugurated by IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.

“The organised market share of restaurants in Hyderabad is estimated to be Rs 6,037 crore. Of this, the standalone restaurants market share is about Rs 4,657 crore and chain restaurants about Rs 1,380 crore. Sadly, the unorganised sector has become the ‘elephant in the room’, that is not being addressed by anyone, including the industry bodies,” he said at the announcement of the conclave.

The hotel industry in Hyderabad is on a quick recovery compared to most peer markets due to the efforts of the State Government, which ensured that the business was not affected, he said.

“Some of the additional measures we expect from the various Governments are relief from over-regulation and excessive licensing and other challenges,” he said. NRAI has over five lakh restaurants, quick service restaurants, bars, cloud kitchens and catering across India. With 73 lakh people working, the hotel industry is the third largest employer in the country.

“A lot of international and national brands are likely to announce their plans for Telangana at the conclave,” said Shaaz Mehmood, Chapter Founder NRAI Hyderabad. The conclave will have workshops on digital marketing, food styling, safety in food, financing, real estate, culinary, wine masterclass and more. It will also showcase the latest technology and practices in the industry.

NRAI under its ‘Mission Khana’ voluntarily provides 300 meals per day to the underprivileged children and homeless in the city. It has plans to provide 1,000 meals per day in the next few months. Its ‘Mission Kaam’ helps create a skilled workforce for the restaurant industry, said Sampath Tummala, NRAI Hyderabad Co-Chapter Head.