Episode Description

India’s QSR market has been on a tear. However, it remains massively underpenetrated compared to other emerging markets despite 450-500 new stores being added annually in the past few years.

Changing consumer habits and rising discretionary expenditure are expected to make QSRs one of the biggest spend pools in the years to come. But what will it take for a new QSR brand to win in this market?

In this meaty episode, Chirag Chadha and Vaibhav Chowdhury from our consumer brands practice decode the secret sauce for building a large, profitable QSR brand in India. Among other things, the conversation digs into:

1. Why QSRs can become VC-fundable businesses
2. Getting the right throughput per store by optimizing menu, pricing, etc, as the first step to find early PMF
3. Figuring out unit economics and the 'box model' to enable rapid scaling
4. Key ingredients for building a strong moat
5. Is the rise of food delivery a boon or bane for QSRs?

At Elevation, we’ve been tracking & investing in the sector for over 10 years and have had the privilege of partnering with brands like Chaayos, which has grown to become India’s most loved and largest tea café chain. If you are building in QSR, we would love to speak with you.