-B Swaminathan (swami@imaws.org)
Vellore’s leading food giant Darling Group of restaurants is on an expansion spree with new outlets getting planned in the outskirts of Vellore. The group is also planning to expand their operations into the neighboring Tiruvannamalai district.
“Our ideal expansion plan is such that we are aiming at opening authentic restaurant that reflects the soil in terms of culture, tradition and cuisine. At present we are handling 30 restaurants [both pure-veg and non-veg] in and around Vellore. We also run 13 bakery outlets in Vellore, Puducherry and Kancheepuram”, said Murali Venkatasubbu, Director of Daling Group of Hotels.
Some of the other areas where the Darling group is looking for expansion are one near Christian Medical College (CMC) with rooms and a non-veg restaurant. “We also want to explore all formats of restaurants, and one I am bullish is the highway restaurants. With the Chennai-Bengaluru corridor trending big time, we would like to be present on the highways as well,” he averred. While the bakery segment is sorted for them, Darling might look at expansion of the bakery in the Chennai region.
He also clarified that they group owns the trademark for the brand and not into any form of food manufacturing. “We got to know many get confused and associate our brand to food manufacturers. We want to clarify that we are not involved in any food manufacturing.”
Changing customer trends:
Speaking about the changing customer trends, Murali expressed the highly unpredictable eating trends everywhere. “While there is a myth that the next generation [Gen-Z] are not liking the traditional food, the reality is poles apart. In our outlets, most of the young generation crowd prefer a proper Tamil lunch and imagining the next generation eating burger or pizza for everyday lunch is far from reality.”, says the second-generation entrepreneur who also said that the awareness on healthy food has also increased. On the other hand he also notice a sudden spike among the eaters to try French, Italian, Thai and what not. As a hotelier, Darling is always ‘up on toes’ for the changing consumer demands.
Another trend he notices which he is keen on implementing on his restaurants are the aesthetic, ‘instagrammable’ content. “Eating outside today is not just to feed your hunger. When we target the Gen-Z crowd, one of the main aspects we need to look at is the background of the restaurant and presentation of the food.
Restaurant Business challenges and next-generation hoteliers:
Murali raised the concerns of the shrinking margins for the hoteliers in parallel. “One major concern I notice is the increasing cost of raw materials and when we try to buy raw materials of premium cost without compromising the quality, it is going to be a challenge. However, hoteliers need to get adapted to that,” he said. He said amongst the food served in the entire day, lunch is the maximum crowd puller. On the revenue aspect, more than a combo-lunch, the ala-carte menu adds more profit to their business.
“At Darling we follow system-driven approach. We are not dependent on any one individual. It is the process that defines the day. On his advice for the second generation of entrepreneurs, he said that it is highly important for the next generation to bring innovation into the system while maintaining a cordial relationship with the previous generations. “Do not focus too much on advertising or self-promotion. However, ensure that you provide quality food. There is no better reach than a quality and tasty food can impress the people you consume the food. At the end of the day, the second generation should keep in mind the brand which their family had built for ages.”
