Happy meals not making Indians happy anymore? McDonald's, Burger King & other QSR brands losing their mojo in India
Burger King, and Pizza Hut, prompting these companies to go aggressive on value offerings in the market.
Whether it's the emergence of modern food brands attracting venture capital (VC) investment for expansion or the rise of Zomato and Swiggy, which provide consumers with easy access to a wide range of food options via their smartphones, global QSR giants have been facing challenges in drawing customers to their locations.
Westlife Foodworld, which operates McDonald’s chain of outlets in West and South India, said at the company’s Q1 earnings call: “….there’s obviously been pressure in terms of customers entering our restaurants”.
The company launched McSavers+ in Q1 which allows customers to get a chicken burger or a snacking item of their choice (from among a range of options available) and a Coke combo meal at Rs 69. Burger King is offering consumers two veg burgers for Rs 79 and two non-veg burgers for Rs 99. KFC and Pizza Hut are also in the ‘value’ queue, with meal options at Rs 99, Rs 149 and Rs 169. Domino’s is wooing customers with its Rs 99 lunch feast.
“Pizza Hut has been working on product and value strategies that work towards making the brand relevant for a cross-section of consumers, especially Gen Z,” said a local company spokesperson.
Ravindra Yadav, partner at Technopak, said such offerings are “desperate measures” to get customers back. “It’s a flawed long-term strategy. If they focus on value, they will be impacting their profitability or compromising on the quality of the product,” said
