One plate butter chicken : A study of technological sustenance in the Indian food industry

India is home to different cultures and this means varied influence of these cultures on the foodindustry. As one travels from north to the south or from east to the west he/she will experiencethe culture in the very local cuisines. In India, there are about 53,000 hotels and 70 lakhrestaurants in organised category and 2.3 crore restaurants in the unorganised sector. The sizeof India's restaurant industry is estimated at Rs 4.2 lakh crore and organized restaurants accountfor about 35 per cent of the industry. This industry rests on customer satisfaction and the serviceoffered. It becomes inevitable to manage the process that begins when the customer walks in.With this paper we will be looking at sustainable technology that food industry can adapt thatwill result in increased profits.India’s extensive cuisine is an amalgamation of influences from various cultures and traditions.Its popularity put the country on the global culinary map with some chefs earning prestigiousawards for their restaurants. Furthermore, restaurants and hotels accounted for the highestconsumption among food services market across the country in financial year 2020. Increasingdisposable incomes, urban lifestyles and an expanding market allowed forgoing home cookedmeals occasionally. A symbiotic growth between the food industry and the growing middleclass rendered the success of Indian restaurants.The impact of globalization in the 1990s on the food industry helped it in terms of establishingbusiness ventures with many food chains with non-Indian and fusion influences, includingcafes. However, this also posed a huge competition to the existing local and regionalestablishments forcing diversification and innovation. This huge surge in the previous decadepaved way for more quick service restaurants, and affordable fine dining that catered to nicheconsumers.While the unorganized sector dominated the industry, much like others in the country,authorities need to constantly monitor and regulate the numerous unregistered street vendors who cater to the working middle class. Amidst the high food cost inflation in such a highlyfragmented market, the success of the restaurant was determined by their profitability withoutcompromising on quality and flavour. The latter also happened to be the most importantdetermining factor for loyalty in customers.The market value of the Indian restaurants and food service industry was about four trillionIndian rupees as of fiscal year 2019. While the restaurants and food service market in thecountry is divided into two segments, the unorganized segment accounts for the major share ofthe market size. The unorganized segment comprises of individuals or families selling ready toeat food through vendors, food carts, street stalls and more.Advent of digitization has slowly but surely made way in to the food industry. In the recentyears restaurants have digitized. India has witnessed food delivery like never before. Thisindustry has gathered pace in recent years, changing and digitizing restaurants across thecountry. By the beginning of 2020, two major players, Swiggy and Zomato, had emerged topof the food delivery market, with a few smaller and local operators in place as well, dependingon the region in question. Technology in the food industry is slowly picking up with serviceslike Table Top Menu, Ease Of Payments, User Friendly Interface and such components. Withthis paper we would like to understand if the Indian restaurant sector has technologicalsustenance post pandemic and the impact it will have on sales. The challenge however is tomove this manually major sector to a technological driven model and to justify the movementwith sale numbers.