Qualitative Research Study of “Restaurant Chains” Product Category

1.
Qualitative Research Study of
“Restaurant Chains” Product Category
(As part of Research Methodology-I course requirements)
By
NAME 1 (PGP 1 Aakanksha Dhawan- 001)
NAME 2 (PGP 1 Ayushi Mona- 024)
PGP 1 Divjyot Kaur- 031)
NAME 4 (PGP 1 Lima Anna Stephen- 043 )
NAME 5 (PGP 1 Mithila Bhakta- )
NAME 6 (PGP 1 Priyanka Neelakantan- 055)
Submitted to:
Prof. Kallol Das
December 13, 2016
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2. Introduction
The Indian restaurant industry is worth Rs.75,000 crores and is growing at an annual rate of 7%.
The industry is highly fragmented with 1.5 million eating outlets, of which a little more than
30% outlets form the organized segment. However, the organized segment is rapidly growing at
an annual rate of 16%. Quick service segment is the clear winner in the eating out market with a
growth rate of 21%.
Organized Segment is expected to reach Rs.22,000 crore by 2017, driven by:
■ Rising disposable income
■ Nuclear family structure
■ Increasing working population
■ Rapid urbanization and consumerism
■ Increased private equity interest
"Indians on an average eat out lesser than 2 times a month, compared to 40 times in
Singapore. Even a small increase in this number provides a huge market opportunity
for restaurants in India."
Brands By Segments
■ Quick Service Restaurants (QSR): Domino's, KFC, McDonalds
■ Casual dining restaurants: Pizza Hut, Yo! China, Sagar Ratna
■ Cafes: Cafe Coffee Day, Barista Lavazza, Costa Coffee
■ Fine Dining Restaurants: Mainland China, Sahib Sindh Sultan, Copper Chimney
■ Pubs, bars, clubs, lounges: Hard Rock Cafe, Xtreme Sports Bar, TGIF
The total food services market today stands at Rs 3, 09, 110 crore and has grown at 7.7%
since our last report in 2013. This is projected to grow to Rs 4,98,130 crore at a
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3. CAGR of 10% by 2021. This year alone, the Indian restaurant sector will create direct
employment for 5.8 million people and contribute a whopping Rs 22,400 crore by
way of taxes to the Indian economy.
Key Trends
1. Story driven restaurants that create experiences.
2. Niche targeting
3. Divergence
4. No bookings
5. Smarter marketing
6. Menu Engineering
7. The rise of the celebrity chef
Research Questions
● How do the Indian urban youth perceive the product category of restaurant
chains?
Research Methodology
In answering the objectives set forth, MICA campus was the site selected mainly due
time and budgetary constraints. The campus is populated by urban youth coming
from different parts of the country but within a specific SEC and age bracket. The
present study aims at getting “quick insights” on the chosen product category and
therefore, a focus group discussion was found to be suitable. Such a study can always
be followed by depth interviews to understand deep-seated attitudes followed by
surveys for measuring them.
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4. The following table provides details of the subjects selected for the study.
Subject Background
A SEC A, 20-25 years age group, female, South India
B SEC A, 20-25 years age group, female, North India
C SEC A, 20-25 years age group, female, North India
D SEC A, 20-25 years age group, male, West India
E SEC A, 20-25 years age group, male, West India
Each FGD of 5 members was supported by a moderator to ensure that all the
questions in the discussion guide are taken up for discussion; Also, to ensure that
all members are getting enough adequate opportunities to contribute.
The group consisted of female members but that would not affect the conduct of FGD
as the chosen product category is gender-neutral.
A discussion guide was developed and used by the moderator to guide the discussion.
Since it is an FGD, use of probes is minimal as per-person speaking time is very
limited.
Research Instrument ​(Data Collection Tool – i.e., discussion guide)
Any study involving primary data collection will require designing an appropriate
instrument for same. In this case, it would be a discussion guide. All interviews were
recorded with due permission from the interviewees. Their names are withheld on
ethical grounds.
Discussion Guide
The broad template used for FGD is as follows:
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5.
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6. Data Analysis
The first step in qualitative data analysis is transcribing the verbal data. So, the entire
conversation of over 1 hour was transcribed as per guidelines provided.
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7. Transcription Title:​Indian urban youth perception on Restaurant Chains
Introduction by Interviewer- ​Welcome and thank you ladies for joining our FGD. I urge you
to participate as far as possible and be as verbose as possible. Today’s discussion is on
restaurant chains. I am sure you guys have been to restaurants. We are basically trying to
map out the Indian urban youth’s perception of restaurant chains. My name is Lima Anna
Stephen.
Q1 Interviewer- ​So, broadly speaking, if you had to come up with an intro or like, your
views that you hold about this topic, what would they be, you can start.
P1- I will start off this discussion by saying that I think restaurant chains have proliferated in
number and there is a great variety in the number of restaurant chains that have opened up,
mostly due to changing lifestyles so while growing up, I don’t remember eating out very often
but now working or being a college student, get to eat out a lot. So there’s a need for these
restaurant chains because you can’t cook all the time or expect someone to make home - made
food for you.
P2- I think as a category, restaurants have become cluttered now. Like there are a lot of
restaurants and a variety of options available in the market and its really confusing as a customer
to choose one out of so many. So I think the difference still lies in the fact that there are a lot of
parameters like ambience etc. which come into picture and every little detail is important
because these tiny things count up in the end. Otherwise I am too bored, you know because I am
not a person who is new to the concept of restaurants like it is a childhood thing but now I am
getting saturated with so many restaurant players and that too so similar ones. So I definitely
seek variety.
P3- I, actually, agree with P2. Nowadays, whenever we go out, we try to not go to restaurant
chains, because they have become so similar. I would rather, if I have to eat a pizza, I would
prefer a Fozzie’s over a Domino’s, because i have eaten Domino’s and it’s the same across all
cities and the similarity factor makes it less desirable for me.
Interviewer-​ I thought the fact that all the chains have a uniform taste, that they have
uniformity throughout in all aspects is a good thing. Fast food chains or any restaurant
chain for that matter.
P2-No, it becomes a good thing when it is an emergency like if I am travelling to a new place
and I do not want to experiment, then it is a good thing probably but the frequency of such times
is quite less. A lot of times, I am sitting at my home and I don’t want to cook or maybe I don’t
want my mom to cook, so I feel like going out and enjoying good food. More often it becomes
an experiential thing and there homogeneity doesn’t play much of a role.
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8. P5- So nowadays it not always about because we don’t have time so we go to restaurants,
sometimes it is only about experience, so I am sitting at home, and I want some different kind of
experience, so I visit a restaurant, so it’s not only about Quick service restaurants that we are
talking about, we should look into account the restaurants which are giving an overall experience
P4- In fact there is this nostalgia factor also that plays, the fact that we may be shifting because
of job or colleges so these restaurant chains somehow remind us of the place we come from. If it
is a Udupi restaurant and I am from South India and I have shifted to a North Indian place, and
like this nostalgia factor is playing around there, so that would be one factor.
P5-Plus, these Global chains, for example McDonald’s was the only place which I could get and
have the same taste as I would have in India back home, so this is also a great factor, these
chains are maintaining the nostalgia factor.
P4- Yeah because there is this risk factor also because you don't know the place, you don't eat
the food that they usually eat; so if there is a restaurant chain that you are aware of that also
creates a comfort factor.
P2-See that’s the thing, if I had been in Punjab back home,I won’t go out to eat a Parantha. But
since I am here in Gujarat, missing that food so much that probably I’ll visit Jassi de paranthe
and I’ll love them. But may be that would not have been the case, had I been in punjab. There I
would have gone for chinese, mexican, continental and what not. And even now I’ll go to Jassi
de paranthe twice and will get saturated. So maybe homogeneity is a good thing but to a certain
extent only.
P5-And I think everybody would agree that if I would not go to Food court at Alpha one, rather I
would go to an Indian authentic Dhaba and have the food there.
Q2 Interviewer- ​Okay, given the fact that you are all students, I would like to know how
often do you eat out like, what are the patterns? Suppose, it’s a weekend and you want to
eat out somewhere, what are the parameters you would take into consideration when
choosing a restaurant or a chain to go to? If not a chain, why not a chain? What are the
factors deciding where you dine?
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9. P1- Sometimes I think it’s just convenience - say you are going out for a movie with your
friends or you are going shopping, then you’ll find the same restaurant chains specially if you
are say going shopping to a mall. Because it’s so homogeneous, you would invariably end up
sticking to the same things and even though I am a foodie and I love experimenting with food -
cooking and eating, I would probably, just end up going to the same place just because, I have
become habituated to it. Even then, I would probably, choose a healthier option try to eat at
Subway rather than say have a very cheesy pizza, for example. So - convenience and as healthy
as I can make it.
Interviewer- And how often do you eat out, say, in a month?
P1-If not restricted by the geography of Mica, I would say like once a week at least.
P2- If you ask me about my consumption pattern, I would say, as many times as there is bad
food in the mess or I don’t feel like eating at Chhota canteen which happens like thrice a week.
So yeah, I think thrice a week is the maximum number of times I’ll go out and eat in a week.
Interviewer- And when you go out and eat, what influences your decision as to where you would
be going?
P2- I don’t think there’s a pattern to it like I am a very confused person all the time. Even I’ll go
to chhota and won’t be able to decide on the menu or what do I want. So I’ll simply go out and
any nice place that I see, I’ll visit and ask for their specialities and order that.
Interviewer- Do you use any apps or anything of that sort that will help you decide?
P2-Wow, this is wonderful how you just helped me because I use zomato all the time and see if
there are good reviews about a place so then I have to definitely visit it but I don’t think that
only food matters when ratings are given to a particular place. So yeah, the overall experience is
what counts at the end and food is a big part of it.
Interviewer- P3, would you like to go on?
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10. P3- Yeah, if I am going out, I definitely want to go out. For me, dining out is an experience. It’s
not just about eating new food, i want the experience to be good. So, when I go out with the
guys, I make sure of this. They think of a dingy place, I’m like “No, I’m not going there.”
Because I want to go to a nice place; I want to “eat out”. At the same time, even though Zomato
and all exist, I don’t know. If a person tells me that XYZ place is a good, I’m more inclined to
go there than if I read on Zomato. So, I don’t so much rely on Zomato. Recently, we came to
know that, the Turquoise Villa is supposed to be very good, so we actually went there. So, for
me, that really comes first. I wouldn’t mind spending 100 bucks more and going to a nice place
and having a nice experience because, like P1 said, I probably wouldn’t eat out three times a
week. Maybe once on weekend I will go out and it is OK.
P4- Same here for me also. It depends on the context basically. I remember when I was in
school I used to have these tuitions so that time it was more about convenience for me so
restaurant chain was the best option; not just restaurant chain but fast food chain. Subway was
my choice then because it was slightly on the healthier side because every weekend I used to eat
out then, I had no time to go home and eat food, so when that aspect comes in like time then fast
food restaurant chain would be my choice but if I am planning to go out with friends or family
then I'd really like to plan which restaurant to go. I usually check out Zomato app for some
different cuisine, that way I prefer dining out.Otherwise restaurant chain is okay with me.
P5-For me, my consumption pattern would be something like once in 15 days and regarding the
choice of food, it would depend the kind of people I am with, so we discuss that which
restaurant we want to go to, and then we decide the restaurant which has something for
everybody.
Q3​ Interviewer- So, what I am seeing is, mostly you guys look at dining out as either a
convenience thing or like an experience based thing. Does occasion matter at all when
you’re deciding. Restaurant chains are very limiting in terms of the experience because it’s
basically the same layout in most places. So, would you maybe, go for a birthday party to
maybe, a KFC but then for an anniversary you would want to go somewhere else. Is
occasion important to you when it comes to restaurant chains?
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11. P1- I think Interviewer, what I would want to say is that there are multiple levels of restaurants.
We somehow tend to think of restaurant chains as McDonald’s, Burger King, very obvious. You
should also not forget that places like Mainland China or Barbeque Nation are also chains and
those are the places that you would also trust to go for a birthday party because you know the
food is to me - good. So, I know the repeat experience will be good. So, more often than not. For
occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, you tend to go to more upscale restaurant chains
because they offer experiential benefits as well as you know the whole standardized flavouring
of food. So, I think I would go to a restaurant chain but only if it is an upscale one.
P2- To me I would say, it depends on the budget that I have decided for that particular occasion.
I remember, when I was in school the budgets were very minimal and there I always preferred to
have birthday parties at McDonald’s or KFC but as we grew up like when I was working, every
time we had a birthday or something, we had so often gone to these restaurant chains that
whenever there was a special occasion, we preferred going to a better place. Again depending on
budget, if there’s a particular group of friends which is very close to my heart, may be I’ll go to
a better place but if I don’t want to spend much then probably I’ll go to a restaurant chains.
These have become our safe havens because you always know that how much you’ll end up
spending and you don’t mind. But in case you want to have a lavish meal then perhaps I’d like to
go to an exquisite place.
P3- My answer is kind of a combination of theirs. On one hand, I wouldn’t actually go to a
restaurant chain for a birthday because, again, when I think of restaurant chains, I’m mostly
considering the fast food chains, the Americanised versions that we have here. But, I would not
go to a new place and experiment on a birthday. I would probably go to a restaurant I have
already tried and I already know is good and I love, so that I know that on this special occasion,
the food I’m gonna get is good but at the same time, it is a nice little experience.
P4- Yeah, I also agree with P3. I mean because it’s my birthday or someone else’s birthday that
they are actually gonna celebrate so the last thing we want is a failed experiment on that day. I
agree with P1 Mona also, some places like mainland China because the ambience is also there,
everything’s right. We just know it. The food is good which is somewhat similar to what the
actual chinese food is all about. So when all these factors come in, all those ticks are happening,
then I don’t mind restaurant chains occasionally.
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12. P5- So, for the birthday thing, as everybody discussed, it’s the experience that matters, I
remember once we went out on my parent’s anniversary, and this waiter misbehaved with my
father, the food and ambience was very nice but this incident ruined everybody’s mood, so as a
family outing on a special occasion, I would always prefer some place where my family has
always gone to, where we know almost everybody, the manager etc. But with friends on my
birthday party as P2 said, I would prefer someplace where I can anticipate my budget, so I
remember we had this place in my college called Juju’s café, so every order on their meal would
be 40 bucks. So u know that if u are inviting n people, your bill will be 40n. so ya, this will be
my criteria for selection on occasions.
P4- It depends on the people I am taking out for food. If someone really enjoys the quantity of
food, then you go to a place where there is more value for money. If I am going out with friends
who really enjoy food and like to gorge on food so a normal restaurant chain which is decent
enough with good reviews good food would be my choice. But then again if I am going out with
people who are very particular about the cuisine and experience; that time I would prefer going
to a more upscale and a different restaurant.
P5-So, ya it also depends on the kind of people I am going with and the interactions we have, so
if I am going out with my colleagues, and even if I am out of budget, but I want to show that see
this is my class, and this is a kind of restaurant I can take u too, then I would prefer an upscale
restaurant, do it depends on person to person.
P3- I definitely agree that budget matters a lot. If I am going for my Dad’s birthday celebration, I
don’t think budget would be an issue at all. We could go anywhere, we know we’ll be able to
afford it. But, if it’s the same with my friends, who are all students right now, then of course the
budgetary restraint comes up. I won’t be able to simply get up and say, “I’m going to Smoke
House Deli and I’m gonna spend a lot.” It won’t happen.
P2-And I think we have forgotten one thing. She was talking about occasions. So it should
happen with people from one region; there are some regional chains as well like Sarvana Bhavan
etc. So at the time of traditional or regional festivals, one feels like going home and eating those
delicacies. That is the time one feels like going to such regional chains. Occasion based eating
can be linked to regional festivals too.
P1- And I think it’s so surprising that these specialty chains like Sarvana Bhavan, nobody will
really like them in South India but there’s Sarvana Bhavan in Dubai, in New York and they are
flooded with people. So I think it’s some amount of a nostalgia thing that is being created.
P2- And I think the same thing goes for chains like Sher-e-Punjab. If you visit a hill station
you’ll definitely pay a visit to Sher-e-Punjab. Otherwise in Punjab nobody will want to go there.
P5-Or Indian coffee house as a matter of fact.
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13. P3- True. And I agree that we are not considering… When we think of occasions, we are only
thinking about birthdays and anniversary. There are a lot of festivals. For example, imagine I am
in Delhi during Ugadi, then the chances of me wanting to go to a Saravana Bhavan and have
South Indian food is probably going to be very high. Because I am missing my Mom’s food at
that time.
P2- Similarly if there’s Lohri or Baisakhi, then my chances of going to Jassi de paranthe will be
much higher.
P5- And not only about our preferences, these restaurants themselves come up with special
menus on festivals, maybe I would like to try those menus.
P2- Yeah like those pooja times, they will come up with Navratri thalis etc.
P4- In fact those cities where people from different regions come, there is lot of scope for region
based restaurant chains in those new city, because these people would not really get the time to
cook at home, they want something that is more homely and has a flavour of something that they
are actually used to. Even in college I see many people who are not able to digest the food they
get because they are used to different kind of food out there so restaurant chains can build on
this fact also.
P5- During religious times also, so during Navratri festivals, and in the mess they are using
onions and they are cooking chicken so if some people are superstitious, they might go out and
have a Navratri thali at some restaurant.
P2- Exactly, even the Govardhan Thali which may not excite the Gujaratis but for people like us
who are visiting Gujarat for the first time, will definitely visit such places.
Q4 Interviewer- ​Now, let’s get a little more specific. I’d like you to talk about your personal
favourite restaurant chain, why do you like it? As an added bonus, talk about your
experience when you went, something special.
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14. P5- So my favourite restaurant would be Chawla’s chicken which is a chain in Punjab as I am
very fond of chicken and also, they have this authentic Chicken gravy whose taste is not
anywhere else, and u can’t prepare that taste in your home also, and its scenic also, I usually go
here and have a fixed menu which is cream chicken with naan, with Afghani and Pishori in dry
snacks. Also, the ambience is great, they have blue lights and music, so the taste, the quality of
food and the ambience is great.
P3- OK, I have to explain that this is when we enjoyed food chain the most. I’m not saying it’s
my favourite food chain. We were on a 15 day trip, so we are on day 15, right now. We have
travelled across Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan and all, and at this time, we are in Assam, we are in
Guwahati. And by this time, we are somehow saturated with the food we are eating because we
go out and most of the hotels have the same non-traditional “north Indian food” that is served.
The same kind of dal, paneer and everything. So, we leave our hotel and we are like, we want to
eat something known or something different. We tell our driver and he takes us to this place. We
are vegetarians. So, he takes us to a place where it is actually written “Pigeon Delicacy”. And we
are like “Umm.. Vegetarian.” He did not even know what vegetarian meant. So, for about
half-an-hour, we went around looking for a place we could possibly eat. Till we were exhausted
and we were like “Domino’s, McDonalds, something. Give us something.” And then finally he
was like , “There is a Pizza Hut.” We went, “Yes, Pizza Hut!”So, he drove us there. We went to
Pizza Hut, Garlic Bread and we had Ice Tea and that is the happiest I have been eating Pizza. We
still as a family think back “That was a good Pizza meal.” Because as such, I am not very fond
of Pizzas. That was one of those.
P2- I think out of the conventional food chains, I’d go with Dunkin Donuts. I love Dunkin
Donuts because of the names of the burgers. I don’t know they kind of stick to your memory e.g.
Naughty Lucy and Tough guy. And the ambience of the place is very unique. It is not like a
McDonald’s or a KFC or a Pizza hut or a Domino’s. It is very creative. It is very similar to what
Mica is for me. So I think out of all those chains, I’d prefer Dunkin Donuts because of these
little customisations. And also because I love donuts.
P1- I think it sounds lame,but I would say McDonald’s because I used to love collecting Happy
Meal Toys. I have a shelf - full of Happy Meal Toys! And now I am like I will throw the burger
and keep the toys. So it’s like a childhood thing. And me and my cousin sister - like me and my
family was posted in a far - off place so we never got to go anywhere. In summer vacations, me
and my sister went to the first McDonald’s at Linking Road (in Bandra) so since then it’s like a
childhood thing. So I don’t think it’s really the food or anything, but just a memory association.
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15. P4- Pizza Express. I still remember my first time there. I was sick and tired of having Domino’s
and Pizza Hut, so we went to Pizza express and it was the first time I had the whole pizza with
fork and knife! Apart from the pain, I just ​loved ​the flavours, it was very mild and thin crust. It
had a very authentic flavour with thyme and all these herbs and that is something I really
enjoyed. In fact this is something I like about Mainland China also- very mild and not the usual
Indian masala taste which we get in anything and everything. So in that sense Pizza Express is
one of my favourite restaurant chains.
Q5 Interviewer-​ You have been talking about positive experiences, tell me about negative
experiences with respect to restaurant chains.
P1- I think I have had loads of negative experiences. In the sense that, the first thing that is not
primarily negative by itself but I find the service so stagnant like they are trained to say the same
thing, do the same thing in a corporate way. There is no personalization in the experience. One
of the reasons I now crave to go to fancy restaurants is just because of the personal element,
right. All of these restaurant chains - most of them are anyway self - service. So, they just take
service out of the equation because it helps them to ensure standardization. So, my first problem
is that they don’t even consider service in the picture. In some places, I remember, like near my
college, there used to be a big Pizza Hut, behind Xavier’s and everyone used to go there for
birthdays and treats right, and the waiter would come every 5 minutes or 10 minutes and ask if
you like this food. <couldn’t understand what I said here> I would find this very annoying.
There are all this corporate jargon and machinery in that sense. Like they think in ways that are
very rigid. So, a few months age, I had gone to Cafe Coffee Day, and he took my order wrong.
So I told him cancel this order. Like he had given me something below what I had ordered in the
menu when I had pointed it out. He said ma’am I can’t take it back. And like that would never
happen at a normal restaurant. They were like Ma’am this has been updated in my CRM. When
you go to a restaurant you don’t want to hear the word CRM. So, that’s my problem with
service.
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16. P3- But, I think I will taking a very opposing stand here. I suppose one thing that… See, their
service may not be great and everything, but there is a minimum level of expectation. If I go to a
McDonald’s or Domino’s, yes, there is going to be self service and everything, but, I know that
there is going to be some standard to it. Now if I go to a restaurant, this actually happened in
Bombay, we had gone to a restaurant and food was served and it had a piece of hair in it. So
obviously, we called them and told them. They listened and said, “Acha!” (makes hand gesture
of picking up the strand of hair and throwing it aside). Now that I know will never happen in a
Pizza Hut. First, they have these rules about wearing hair net. So the hygiene is taken care of. In
addition to that, if something like this happens, I know that Pizza Hut or any of these chains for
that matter will take care of it or will have some existing rules as to how to take care of it. This
kind of behaviour won’t exist. So, if I am already in a bad mood, I will probably go to a chain
where I know nothing will go out of the way that will upset things and I will eat there. Like, I
will go to a restaurant, I will stand in line even if it takes me five minutes. I will stand in line, get
my burger, sit, eat and leave. I know nothing surprise me.
Interviewer- That was a good rebuttal but I want you to talk about negative experiences.
P3- OK, so that restaurant where that happened, we were like, “We are not eating this.” and we
sent it back. He goes “Acha, theek hai…”, picks up the plate and goes away. Then, fresh plates
and brought and kept on our table. And a hair is stuck to a plate. I don’t know who this person is,
who is facing this amount of hair loss in their kitchen. At that point, we are like, “What is
happening here?” Again? I mean, this is very unhygienic. He again goes, “Acha?” And the
manager comes by and says, “Plate badal ke do.” and we are like, “It is not the issue of one
plate. The fact that hair is recurring means that there is some problem.” “Kya chahiye phir
aapko?” At that point we were done. “Whatever you have cooked, it’s for you; we are leaving.”
We left that place. So, once you have that kind of experience, you start appreciating when
nothing such happens.
P2- I have never had such a bad experience in any of the restaurants, be it chains or otherwise.
But I think there’s one thing that these chains can do to improve the customer experience. I think
the Desi element of not asking exactly, precisely how much, how many milliliters of this thing
would you require, is something that I have a problem with. I remember there was this
restaurant, not exactly a restaurant but a very tiny Tapri kind of a place in Chennai and we
usually went there whenever we were tired of our boring jobs. They had a special thing called
the Kerala Parota. They used to serve us those Parotas with a special curry. It was a very
different kind of a vegetable curry. I am unable to recollect the name. But they don’t serve it in
limits. There’s no one spoon or only two spoonful policy. If you want more you can have more.
You can have as much as you want. I want that kind of a service at McDonald’s. OK, maybe
that’s asking too much. But I hate it when they keep on asking us, Do you want more with such
a look. The look full of scorn is troubling. So the desi ghar ka element is missing. Everything is
very standardised and protocol driven.
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17. P2- I agree that there’s quality. I don’t have a problem with quality. It is the quantity that I have
a problem with.
P3- But, it is the weirdest thing. I was under the impression, till recently, that restaurant chains
are very uniform. But just today, like an hour ago, Harshili was telling me that the Domino’s
here is very disappointing to her when compared to the Domino’s in Delhi. I said, “It’s
Domino’s, how different can it be?” She said, “No, the sauce they put here, they don’t put
enough of it. When you eat the chicken you don’t get the flavour of the herb.” And she was just
not happy. She was like, “You should come to Delhi. We shall taste one here and then taste one
in Delhi. And you will see that there is a difference between the two.”
P2- Exactly, they’ll give you these looks even if you ask for an extra sachet of ketchup. That’s
the height of things. I don’t like it when people look at me when all I want is a harmless sachet
of ketchup.
P5- Ya, so be it quantity or quality, it’s about customer service that matters, customers have
some expectations from the waiter, from the manager, from the restaurant and you have to please
him at that want, so if my father wants a Garam chapatti, he should not look at him as if he has
asked him for a kidney, he should be trained well for handling such situations.
P4- In fact Domino’s in Gujrat itself, the taste would be different in different regions depending
on the people they are catering to again because this is a franchise. So if you are in a region
where people prefer something sweet, the sauce flavour would be sweet. Same thing you go to a
different region where people prefer spicy food that taste is that way. It actually happens. At
least this used to happen in the place I used to live in; I don't have much knowledge about
Gujarat.
P5-So I remember, when we were in first year of college, these people used to keep sachets of
Oregano even for people who used to come an eat, now they have stopped Oregano sachets for
people who come there, now they have stopped giving those sachets, now they just have those
jars of oregano and chilli, and even if u ask for it, they’ll say mam table pe hoga, uspe se lelo,
because people were asking for extra oreganos and taking home, so this is kind of disappointing
for customers.
17

18. Q6 Interviewer- ​Now, we are going to play a game. We’ll start with P5. Think of a
restaurant chain. It doesn’t have to be your favourite. It’s a word association game. Each
of you will give the name of a restaurant and then we will go in a circle and everyone else
will come up with a word that they associate with that restaurant chain. It can be any word
based on some experience you have had there or something that they make. It should be
spontaneous.
P5 -Cream
P4 - Cream centre.
P3 - Is that how we are going?
Interviewer - No, I want you to give a restaurant chain’s name.
P2 - And then associate it with a word.
P5 - Ok, so cream and Chawla’s Chicken.
P2 - I think, everyone might not have had food from Chawla’s Chicken
P5 - So Filet-o-fish and McDonald’s
P4 - So I have to continue with McD’s now?
P3 -Yes
P4 - OK, so McD and oreo shake, no oreo flurry.
18

19. P3 - I guess, when I say McDonald’s the first word that comes to my mind is simply ‘burger’.
Nothing else, Burger.
P2- The first word that comes to my mind is the clown.
P1- Yellow
P2- You should have said toy.
P1- I think yellow supersedes toy
P4- Now my turn. OK, Domino’s. I have to give a word now. OK, too Cheesy Pizza.
P3- It’s the weirdest thing. I was going to say cheese in the nicest way. I was gonna go,
“Cheeeese”.
P4-But that cheese is too salty. I don’t like the cheese that Domino’s has.
P3- I guess for me Domino’s reminds of oregano. Their oregano is very unique. It’s not the same
you get in store outside.
P2- Choco-lava
P4- I love that.
P1- 30 minutes
P2- Yeah, nice.
P5- For me, it would be capusicums and jalapenos and olive
P3- The chain I think of is CCD and the first thing I think of, when I think about CCD is the tiny
chocolate shots. Not only are they the cheapest item on their menu, because when I was broke
and my best friend and I used to go there, that is what we used to have. It is the perfect quantity
and delicious.
P2- CCD, I think their merchandise. Sometimes it very simple yet classy.
P1-I think I associate CCD with dates because inevitably you go and grab coffee there on your
first date.
19

20. P5- For me CCD would be going out with friends and spending unlimited time and having
discussions there even for two hours and they would never say no. So yeah, for me it would be
unlimited time.
P4- I would say cappuccino, though I don’t really prefer CCD cappuccino but yeah ok fine, if I
have no other option.
P2- Hmmm, I’ll give you Subway and my word would be choices. Since there are a lot of them,
right?
P1- I think Subway, I would associate with tuna.
P5- O shit, I was also about to say the same thing.
P1- Because we had a foodplex in our office, OK? And we had a Gujarati sir, who didn’t know
anything about nn-vegetarian food though he had lived on earth for about 40 years. So, basically
once somebody had asked him to get a tuna salad and he asked, Madam aapko veg chahiye ya
non-veg. After that incident, every time we went to subway, someone would crack the same tuna
joke. This is a very annoying story but yeah.
P5- For me Subway would be a choice of sauces and customisation. So the best moment at
Subway is standing there and indicating ki yeh daalo aur yeh mat daalo. So my word would be
customisation.
P4- For me it would be, healthy junk food. During school days, Subway used to be my staple
diet- my lunch and snacks before going home. The choices part that P2 said, so you don’t get
bored I am a vegetarian also so I can keep customising my things- by changing the flavours out
there
P2- Plus it’s healthy.
P4- Yes, it’s healthy.
P3- I’m gonna go the Mona way. The first thing that I thought of for Subway was green.
Because I immediately think of vegetables that are green, the sign board is green, everything is
green. And I think it relates to the whole healthy thing also. So, green.
P4- Mona, now you have to give a restaurant name.
P1- I think I’ll say KFC and Krushers.
20

21. P4- Hey, I was gonna say that.
P3- You can’t take Krushers. Vegetarians on the table and you take Krushers?
P1- Ok, then I would say KFC and Zinger
P2- Oh, so you changed the word.
P5- I would say bucket, chicken and going out with friends again and having lots of chicken.
P1- Yeah, so I want friends and I want bucket and I want chicken. Chicken,chicken and chicken.
P2- And I want talking.
P4- For me it would be Krushers obviously, because I only have crushers at KFC.
P3- I love their Mojito. They also this blue something. I like the mocktails that they make. It’s a
nice change from the usual Pepsi and Coke.
P1- i think beverages in general, like beverages are very poorly done. That is one of my
complaints with these chains. I am a bit of an enthusiast, I like trying my own stuff so I think
beverages in general are very underplayed or they give the same stuff, you know.
P2- For me, I associate KFC with the image of that old man.
P3- Colonel Sanders.
P2- Yes, KFC and Colonel Sanders.
P4- Yeah, Kentucky fried chicken.
21

22. Q7 ​Interviewer- For the next round of word associations I would like you to say the first
word that comes to your mind when I say ‘restaurant chains’.
P2- Restaurant chains, hmm.
P3- Standard. Standardised. That is definitely the first thing that comes to my mind. It’s a good
thing and a bad thing. But standards is the first thing that comes to my mind.
P4- My Favourite place as it is a restaurant chain so if I really like going to that place, days I am
not feeling good , that would be my go to place.
P1- I think affordable for me because all chains tend to be affordable.
P2- Predictable, for me. Like the food is predictable, the budget is predictable, there’s no chance
of anything going haywire, upar, neeche, nothing.
P5- Uniformity for me, in terms of processes, in terms of uniforms they are wearing, the
ambience, everything.
Q8 Interviewer- ​For the next question, I know you guys know about international
restaurant chains as well as Indian restaurant chains or even if you have not been to an
international one, you have a basic idea. So, the question is, do you think Indian restaurant
chains are better or worse off than international chains?
P5- So I can share my experience when I was in Europe, so there they have this norm that the
waiter would come to give u the menu but she would never come to take money, and the people
were so honest that they would keep their Euros on their tables and they leave after any time
they want to, that’s the kind of independence and freedom which I got while going to those
restaurants, because it feels nice to have nobody coming in between and telling you to vacate the
places. In Ahmedabad, we see that a guy standing outside and taking count of how much
minutes will u take while sitting inside.
P3- Waiting period, yes. But she is saying how much time you will require inside.
P2- They have to keep a count na, as there’s some other person waiting outside. Only if you
leave will he get a place.
P5- They are anticipating that how much time will u take while sitting in that restaurant.
P4- But that is more of a population problem. Compare the population of Europe with India.
22

23. P2- I have a doubt, International chains in India or anywhere?
Interviewer- I’m sorry could you please repeat the question.
P1- International chains in India or abroad?
Interviewer- For ease of reference, I think international chains here, in India. Because I’m not
sure if everyone here has been abroad. According to you which one would you rate higher,
Indian or international?
P3- OK, so one thing I have noticed is that Indian chains are usually more along the lines of fine
dining than if we consider American/international chains. Most of the international chains are
very American. You get your burgers, your sandwiches, your pizzas and all of that. While if you
consider Indian chains along the lines of Indigo Deli or Cream Centre or Barbeque Nation etc. it
is a lot more fine dining. So, for me it would be very occasion specific. In the sense that if I have
to eat fast and get out of there, I would definitely not go to an Indian restaurant chain because I
know it is going to time consuming. It is somewhere I will spend two hours of my Sunday. But if
that is what I want to do, I want to have that experience, I wouldn’t go to an international
restaurant chain.
P1- I think restaurant chains in India - they are not so much on - the - go right? She spoke about
eating with naan like Chawla’s chicken.Probably people will pick up a roll and go or vada pav.
THose kind of restaurant chains like a Jumbo King probably in Bombay, that is doable in terms
of quick, easy on the go. Otherwise nature of Indian food is such that you can’t really have it on
- the - go.
P2- Indian restaurants or international restaurant chains, right? I don’t know, I don’t see much of
a difference. As somebody rightly pointed out that the international food chains have become
very indianised, so much so that I don’t really feel the difference. I really didn’t know that a lot
of food chains were Indian before P3 mentioned it. So it’s hard to distinguish. Some of the
international food chains may be better than some of the Indian food chains but some of the
Indian food chains would be better than the other international ones. So it’s hard to tell which
one is better than the other. Each one is unique and individual and I don’t think I can generalise
them to come to a conclusion as to which one is better than the other.
23

24. P4-Yeah, I would also agree to that. This whole trend of glocalisation, being a global brand but
localising your offering to the target market that is there; so in many ways these international
brands become national brands. So keeping that in mind, the thing is the kind of burgers we have
here, when we try it out in a different country the taste is going to vary a lot because you still
have an Indian flavour out there.
P3- They don’t even have vegetarian burgers outside of India.
P4- Yeah there is no aloo tikki burger in other places
24

25. P2- I’ll tell you something that there’s a dosa chain in Ludhiana. And trust me it doesn’t taste
like dosa at all, like the authentic dosa at all. We add our own flavors to whatever we eat.
P3- One thing, I think we are not considering are the local restaurant chains. Like how she
spoke about the Chicken…., Jumbo King, etc.
Q10 Interviewer​- Some of you spoke about how you really don’t see a difference. I
remember P1 speaking about how she thinks International chains are better than Indian
chains. So in that respect, if you had to come up with guidelines for Indian chains to match
up to international chains, what would those suggestions or recommendations be?
P2- Ok, I’ll go first. To be really honest, I don’t really think that they need to do something in
general that would uplift them to match upto the standards of international food chains. I think
there’s a flaw in the question itself. Because there’s a particular ethos of these Indian chains. I
tend to enjoy both the experiences uniquely. There’s nothing about one being better than the
other. Looking at the clutter already existing in this category, why should we equate standards
and practices as well. That’s the only difference left between them. We are trying to homogenise
everything, then the purpose of it is defeated.
P3- But I guess that is the point of chains, right? What is the problem and what we point as
advantage is the homogeneity. Now for example, if I am in Mumbai and I’m not in Mumbaikar
and I have never had a Vada Pav before, it is very much possible I will think about eating an
Aloo Tikki which I have had than try a Vada Pav. And that I think becomes problem somewhere
because we restrict ourselves. We go with the safer option. I know I am diverting from what the
question was but I don’t know if homogeneity is a problem or….
P2-No I agree, I absolutely agree. But I think I was trying to answer the question that what
should Indian chains specifically do in general as to match up to the standards of international
food chains in India.
P5 -
P2- Was it an Indian food chain or a normal local restaurant?
P5 -
25

26. P3- It was a normal restaurant.
P1- I think irrespective of whether we are talking about service delivery… Whether it’s Like P3
went on about conventional restaurants where she found that hair right? I do find that they have
a culture of standardisation and that reflects, so whether we as a society, the kind of shopping
experience we have will not reflect into a standardised pattern, it will reflect into our bazaars,
they will be overflowing. That’s with our food also because food more than anything else shows
our culture. So, you have very disorganised restaurants but as P2 was saying, they’ll freely give
you more and more food and not ask. I think it’s a testimony of our culture and yes, I think,
because of globalisation and us becoming more urbane in general. It’s a good thing to have
because standards have hygiene practices even if maybe, not, you know the whole uniformity.
The uniform lighting, logos etc.
P3- I completely agree. I think that is one place where not just Indian chains but Indian
restaurants… We as Indians do not ….
P2- I agree with that bit. Since we are talking about food and it concerns health. The hygiene has
to be maintained. There’s no doubt about it. I think the question was about international food
chains and Indian food chains. I think as far as the Indian food chains are concerned, there’s
already that level of hygiene there. I mean, I have never come across an Indian food chain as
such that doesn’t maintain this basic level of hygiene ever.
P3- But again we are talking about the expensive ones. I’m talking about more local chains. I’m
pretty sure a lot of cities will have local chains. We are not 100% sure that they also maintain.
One thing we as Indians need to learn is the hygiene factor. It is very essential. People from
outside, when they come to India, they are actually told that they should not eat this and should
eat only this because you will fall ill and get diarrhea. They think every other Indian has diarrhea
because that is the kind of image Indian food industry has outside the country. I definitely feel
that hygiene and cleanliness is something we need to work on.
26

27. P2- I definitely agree that there has to be hygiene which should be maintained at all the eateries
irrespective of whether they are chains or not. But my problem lies with the fact that the
perception about indian food chains being unhygienic has become so engrained in our minds.
We are generalising the category as a whole. Because the question was what could be done to
make Indian food chains match up to the levels of their international counterparts. That’s what I
said in the beginning like some of the Indian food chains are already so good that may be they’ll
give a McDonald’s or a KFC a complex. E.g. I find Sarvana Bhavan to be extremely well
organised. I won’t find such a structure even in McDonald’s let’s say. So I think generalising the
category as to what should be done in the category as a whole to make it at par with the
international chains is something that I don’t understand. But specifically, even if there’s a
problem of hygiene in an international food chain or an indian food chain, it should be resolved.
P4- Even the service becomes very mechanical sometimes in restaurant chains because we have
already established a brand name based on food. So they sort of tend to ignore the fact that they
have to serve their customers. Here I am talking about those mid level restaurants not the upscale
ones neither the smaller ones. So in many ways once they have this chain of restaurants they
tend to ignore this fact because they are like people will anyways come to eat our food to enjoy
the flavour. But in this day and age of social media and people checking out Zomato for reviews
and all; this factor should be kept in mind that customer service aspect should be their prime
concern.
Q11 Interviewer- ​We are almost winding down to the end of our FGD. Based on all the
discussion we had today, if I asked you to come to a consensus about going somewhere for
dinner, how would you go about it?
P2- Right now?
Interviewer- I would like to see the entire thought process, how the decision is made. I can give
you roughly 5-7 mins.
27

28. P3- I’m very hungry so we need to go to a place where the portions aren’t tiny.
P5 -
P1 - Non - vegetarian
P4- Minority shouldn't be ignored here
P3- I know. We need representation.
P4- Special status
28

29. P2- What do you feel like having right now? We had Chhole poori during lunch.
P4- Because we're having hostel food everyday; I think ambience would also play a role.
P3- I guess change is important.
P4- Because we're always in one place throughout the week and we are not really going out and
so maybe a place far away; again that would be drive for us so that would be another fact.
P2- And a place which has good reviews on Zomato. Please check Zomato.
P5 - Food truck?
All in chorus- Seating place
P2- No standing and eating.
P3- I’m too tired to go to food truck.
P2- What’s the budget?
P1- Also, the cuisine.
P3- Yes, that is very important.
P2- What do we have in dinner today in the mess?
P5- We have Dal makhani and matar paneer today
P2- We have had Dal makhani and matar-paneer yesterday.
P1- We had chicken.
P5- But , u know paneer is always there.
P2- Paneer is mess’s all time favourite.
29

30. P1- Anything except paneer
All in chorus- Yeah
P3- Yes, please.
P1- And no brown-orange gravy, please. I think we should have continental.
P3- Or Chinese. Good Chinese.
All in chorus- Good chinese.
P3- OK, so everybody is good with Chinese. So, the cuisine is set.
P4- We are going home.
P5- Ya, budget has to be less, I am spending a lot on the Goa trip.
All in chorus- Oh no!
P3- OK, the budget is less. How much can we afford?
P2- I think 250-300 per person.
P3- That’s decent.
P1- And 300, 6 of us.
P3- We can essentially afford upto Rs. 1800.
P4- Mainland China.
P1- It will be out of our budget.
P3- Somebody open zomato.
P1- Can we do that moderator?
30

31. Interviewer- This is an exercise. Use whatever you need.
All in chorus- Thanks Interviewer.
P3- OK, P5, P2, have tried any place here that has good Chinese?
P1- There’s this place on CG road called Nanjing which has 4.3 rating and 300 per person.
P3- OK, I like that.
P2- So authentic chinese it is. But it should not have things like dimsum. Do you like Dimsum?
All in chorus- We love Dimsum.
P1- That’s one of the reasons I love chinese.
P5- Yes! Mee too. I love Authentic chinese soups also
P3- Ok this seems good. I think I like this place. What do you say, it’s name was?
All in chorus- Nanjing.
P5- What’s the rating?
P1- 4.3
P3- So I think we have all agreed. Nanjing it is. Where is it?
P1- Location is CG road nearby.
P3- I thought we wanted to go a little further.
P1- But considering it’s almost 9 o’clock…
P3 - So, I guess we have decided. Nanjing.
31

32. Interviewer- Thanks for participating in our FGD. I’m sure we’ll get great insights out of this.
Thanks!
All in chorus- Thank you Interviewer and claps!
Thereafter, data reduction technique was applied to the transcript. As part of this, the
contribution of each participant based on the discussion guide was reduced to few sets
of words or phrases called “codes”. The codes were aligned to each participant in a
detailed on an excel sheet to see the factors and themes that emerge. Without filters
this analysis generated 13 view points to understand the product category and
consumer behavior with respect to motivations, selection criteria. Further some of the
codes and categories were deleted due to redundance and a few merged.
We also tried to reduce the restaurant chains mentioned to a few comparatively
‘popular’ ones since we have also tried to gauge preference for international chains
over Indian. This because the participants happened to feel that Indian chains have
their own advantages in terms of their offerings. However, only international chains
were left in the study though Mainland China that is owned by the Indian group
Specialty Restaurants Ltd. did seem a popular choice. However, this could also be due
to the limited nature of the single FGD with 5 participants. It would also be interesting
to investigate if this is because Indian chains tend to be regional in their distribution
and popularity as compared to international chains like Mc D or KFC operating in
India. Also, people may not be aware that chains like Barbeque Nation and Mainland
China are in fact Indian restaurant chains.
The excel sheet has been attached with the submission. The full fledged analysis can
be seen in it. Here, a reduced version of the codes are displayed in the given format.
The final column shows the result where many of the codes have been merged/
revised to create categories.
32

33. Subject Category Drivers ​(​Why buy/ use?)
Merged/ Revised Codes to Create
Categories/ Themes/ Factors
P1 variety, changing lifestyles, convenience,
homogeneous, habituated, experimenting,
healthy, Subway, cheesy pizza, once a week,
zomato, overall experience, food, McDonald’s,
Burger King, Mainland China or Barbeque
Nation, trust, good food, repeat experience,
upscale, experiential benefits, standardized
flavouring, nostalgia, Mc Donalds, collecting,
childhood, vacations, memory association,
stagnant, no personalization, self-service,
standardization, corporate jargon and
machinery, very rigid, Café Coffee Day, CRM,
yellow, 30 mins, dates, tuna, KFC, Krushers,
Zinger, repetitive beverages, affordable, not
on-the-go, roll or vada-pav, Jumbo King,
quick, easy, no culture of standardisation,
overflow, disorganised, freely give, hygiene,
uniformity, non-vegetarian, seating, cuisine,
no paneer, continental, budget, rating,
dimsum, location, time
Why restaurants​- experiment,
variety, ambience, mess food,
going out
Why chains​- changing lifestyles,
nostalgia, convenience,
standardized, uniformity,
cheaper
Why fast food chains​-
convenience
Selection Criteria​- budget,
healthy, rating, overall
experience, quality of food, friends
or family, location, time
Frequency​- once a week, thrice a
week, every weekend, once in 15
days, once in a weekend
Preferably not a restaurant
chain if-​ different cuisine, lavish,
specifics
Popular restaurant chains​- Mc
Donalds, Subway, Mainland
China, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos,
Café Coffee Day
Occasion choice criteria​- trust,
good food, upscale, standardized
flavouring, budget, ambience,
value for money, tradition, special
menus on festivals
Food preferences​- chicken,
donuts, drinks & smoothies,
Chinese, Vegetarian
Add-on factors​- authentic,
creative, memory association,
customisation, collectables,
P2 cluttered, confusing, ambience, every little
detail, bored, saturated, similar, seek variety,
emergency, new place, experiential,
experiment, Jassi de Paranthe- Punjab,
chinese, mexican, continental, homogeneity,
bad food in the mess, thrice a week, any nice
place, specialities, budget, McDonald’s or
KFC, cheap-chains, safe havens, not if lavish,
Saravana Bhavan, tradition, festivals,
Sher-e-Punjab, Navratra thalis, Govardhan
Thali, Dunkin donuts, creative names, stick to
memory, ambience, Pizza hut, Dominos,
customisations, miss desi ghar ka element,
very standardised and protocol driven, limited
sides, scornful look, clown, Choco-lava, CCD,
merchandise, very simple yet classy, Subway,
choices, talking, colonel Sanders, predictable,
Indianised, hard to distinguish, can't
generalise, lose authenticity, particular ethos
of Indian chains, clutter, don't homogenise,
right now, based on lunch, zomato, seating,
budget, dinner in mess, authentic
33

34. P3 similar, Fozzie’s over a Domino’s, less
desirable, experience, nice place, Zomato,
wouldn't mind spending, once in a weekend,
prior experience, no exeriment, budget,
festivals, exotic travel-Pizza Hut, atleast
minimum standard, no surprises, appreciate
hygiene, local differences in franchises,
burger, cheese, oregano, CCD, chocolate
shots, cheap, Green, Krushers, Mojito,
standardized, Indian is more fine dining, time
consuming, occassion specific, no veg burgers,
portions, representation, change, seating,
tired, Chinese, budget, zomato, farther
flavour, unlimited time, simple
but classy, merchandise
Indian vs International​- not
on-the-go, disorganised, hygiene,
culture & ethos, ocassion specific,
glocalisation
P4 nostalgia, shifting, Udupi-South India,
comfort, context, convenience, fast food chain,
Subway, healthier, every weekend, no time,
friends or family, Zomato, different cuisine,
failed experiment, Mainland China, ambience,
good food, people, quantity of food, not
particular, Pizza Express, flavour, authentic,
mild, not usual Indian masala, local difference
in franchise, oreo flurry, Dominos, cheesy
pizza, healthy junk food, customise, go to
place, population problem, glocalisation, Aloo
Tikki, minority, special status, hostel food,
ambience, going out, far away, seating,
Mainland China
P5 Quick service, Global, same taste, Indian
authentic Dhaba, once in 15 days, the kind of
people, something for everybody, experience,
familiarity, budget, people, class, Indian coffee
house, special menus on festivals,
superstition, Chawla's Chicken, authentic
chicken gravy, taste, ambience, quality of
food, customer service, limited sides, Mc
Donald's, filet-o-fish, very standardised and
protocol driven, unlimited time, choice of
sauces and customisation, bucket, chicken,
friends, uniformity, independence and
freedom, seating, budget, dimsum, soups,
rating
The categories derived from the word table are the key perceptions emerging from the
single FGD using a homogeneous group of young urban adults. More FGDs are
34

35. required to get a holistic sense of surface-level perceptions of urban youth. The same
will have to be followed by quantitative research to arrive at generalizable findings.
***
35