NRAI, to Host India’s Largest Restaurant Industry Conclave in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, 8th September 2022: The NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) Hyderabad Chapter, is hosting the largest Conclave of the Indian Restaurant Industry, Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022 (TIRC) on 13th September 2022 at HICC. The prestigious one-day Conclave will be formally inaugurated by Shri KT Rama Rao, Minister for MAUD, I & C and IT, Government of Telangana. Over a thousand delegates including all the stakeholders of the Restaurant industry, prominent restaurateurs of India, Foreign Delegates, Investors, and Bureaucrats from pan India, will be part of the Conclave. NRAI will be conducting its 40th Annual General Meeting during the Conclave. This is the first time ever NRAI is hosting its AGM outside of Delhi, in its four decades of history.NRAI, to Host India’s Largest Restaurant Industry Conclave in Hyderabad

The National Restaurant Association of India, founded in 1982 represents over 5,00,000 restaurants, QSRs, Bars, Cloud Kitchens and Catering, pan India.  With an estimated annual turnover of INR 4,23,865 Cr the Indian restaurant industry employs over 73,00,000 people, making it the 3rd largest employer sector in the country. 

The Indian Restaurant industry, like its peers abroad, has been immensely impacted by the pandemic. In FY21 the Indian Food Services Industry declined by 53%, over 25% of Food Business Operators permanently shut their shop leading to approx. 24 lakh job losses. However with the support of Central and State Governments, the initial trends in FY22 seem to be optimistic and the Food Services Industry is expected to recover and reach a size of INR 4,72,285 Cr.

Speaking at the event Chef Shankar Krishnamurthy, Chapter HeadNRAI Hyderabad highlighted, “The organized Market Share of Restaurants in Hyderabad is estimated to be INR 6,037 Cr., with standalone Restaurants market share being INR 4,657 crores and Chain Restaurants being INR 1,380 crores. Sadly, today the unorganized sector has become the ‘elephant in the room’, that is not being addressed by anyone, nor by the Government nor by the industry bodies. It is our endeavor to fuel the increasing innovation by the organized formats, to enable a rapid shift towards the organized segment.” 

Chef Shankar Krishnamurthy added “Some of the additional measures we expect from the Governments to ensure immediate succor are friendly policies in ease of doing business from over-regulation and excessive licensing, to challenges faced while dealing with various authorities at the state & hyperlocal level. Hyderabad is the only chapter of NRAI which managed to have an advisory board from the Government consisting of IAS and IPS officers. We work together very closely with the Government on how to go about on improving the Industry’s working, and how to make our city and state more vibrant and people-friendly. NRAI had four or five chapters initially, today we are 26 Chapters and growing aggressively to cover every part of the country. The whole idea behind this is educating the operators as well as bridging the gap between the organized and the unorganized sector in terms of food safety, hygiene standards, educating and upskilling people in general.”

Shaaz Mehmood, Chapter Founder NRAI Hyderabad & Managing Committee Member, NRAI – National; NRAI operates through 26 Chapters in various cities of the country, the Hyderabad Chapter was started in January 2022. The Organized sector of the Indian Restaurant industry is about INR 4,23,865 cr., the Hyderabad organized sector is about INR 6000 cr. The motto of NRAI is to bring everyone together, address concerns and facilitate the unorganized sector to become part of the organized sector. Hyderabad Chapter is hosting the largest organized Conclave that India has ever seen, the Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022. It is being clubbed with the 40th General Body meeting of NRAI. NRAI has always held its AGM at Delhi but this time it is held in Hyderabad, out of Delhi. We want to bring all the stakeholders of the restaurant industry under one roof through this. We have a very strong partnership with the Government of Telangana, so through Invest in Telangana initiative, we are hoping to sign many MoUs throughout the day, promising a lot of International and National brands to come in and put their Restaurants in Telangana. We also have Telangana Tourism participating by putting up a stall. A very important Industry announcement is expected from the Government of Telangana for the food service sector on that day, something like that has not been done anywhere in the country, so it’s the first in Telangana. We are going to be talking about our CSR initiatives.   

The Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022, presents over fifty eminent industry leaders sharing their insights on topics impacting the industry. The Conclave additionally also offers over fifteen interactive F&B workshops with domain experts on diverse subjects like digital marketing, food styling, safety in food, financing, real estate, culinary, wine masterclass and more. A large exhibition area will showcase the latest technology and practices in the industry. 

Hosting the event in Hyderabad is not only an opportunity to showcase “Invest in Telangana” to over a thousand delegates including all the stakeholders of the Restaurant industry, prominent restaurateurs of India, Foreign Delegates, Investors, and Bureaucrats from pan India but also an opportunity to felicitate  Doyens of the restaurant industry from Hyderabad for their exemplary contribution to the F&B Industry  With a determined resolve of giving back to society the NRAI Hyderabad Chapter, shared details on ‘Mission Khana’ and ‘Mission Kaam’ two significant initiatives successfully launched within a short span of eight months since the chapter inception. 

“Mission Khana” today voluntarily provides 300 hot meals per day to the underprivileged children and homeless in the city and targets to scale up to provide 1000 hot meals per day over the next few months 

“Mission Kaam” designed in sync with GOI upskilling initiative for the Indian youth, focuses on the underprivileged sections of society and helps create a skilled and readily employable workforce for the restaurant industry. 

Closing the press conference and extending an invite to the media and industry fraternity to attend The Indian Restaurant Conclave 2022 Mr Sampath Tummala, Co-chapter Head, NRAI Hyderabad said, “through the CSR upskilling initiative, Mission Kaam, we want to bring 30% women into the hotel industry. He added, on behalf of  all  250 members of NRAI Hyderabad chapter he would like to extend a thank you to  Dotpe, Fodxpert, Pepsi, GMR & Food Service India along with our Hospitality partner Novotel HICC for taking the time and energy to invest in our vision and sponsoring the event -without which none of this would be a reality.” 

About National Restaurant Association of India

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) is the Voice of the Indian Restaurant Industry. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Delhi, the association has completed four glorious decades and has a pan-India presence with Members comprising Restaurants, Suppliers, and others associated with the Industry. NRAI is governed by a committee of members and led by a President and Office Bearers. The committee consists of 30+ leading Restaurant Owners / CEOs representing all segments of the industry from various national and international brands. 

About NRAI Hyderabad Chapter

The NRAI Hyderabad Chapter, which currently has 250 members representing over 1500+ outlets and intends to have 2000 members on board in a year’s time and later spread its wings across Telangana. The NRAI Hyderabad Chapter aims to place Hyderabad firmly on the national map and shall focus on positively building the Food Service Industry.

The NRAI Hyderabad Chapter member list includes prominent brands such as Domino’s (Jubilant FoodWorks), McDonald’s (Hardcastle), Barbeque Nation, and Wow! Momo, Mamagoto (Azure Group) Olive Group, Farzi, Paradise, Absolute Barbeque, Ohri’s Group, Cream Stone, Tibbs Frankie, Fusion9, The Spicy Venue, Thickshake Factory, Almond House, Pista House, Fat Pigeon, Moksh, Heart Cup, Zero40 among many others.