Shopping and eating are like husband and wife. Once you are either the husband or wife, you just can’t do without the other, despite of the fights you regularly have. Shopping and Eating are the most popular leisure time activities in modern India. Flourishing food courts in mega malls is just one fine example of this. Food courts and malls share a rather symbiotic relationship. While malls provide a captive audience, food courts ensure that people spend more time inside malls, which often translates to more business.

The spending pattern that has been observed indicates that most consumers today want to shop, watch and eat account for nearly 2% of the total retail market. Of this, organized food retail segment has a 6% share. This share will grow by leaps and bounds creating enormous opportunities and bring along fierce competition. At present, opportunities exist not only in malls, but also in offices, hospitals, cinema halls, airports, railway and metro stations, highways and educational institutions.

Cinema theatres too offer great opportunities. PVR Cinemas, for example, wants to woo customers with mouthwatering food within its premises and is betting big on food courts.

It has been noticed that F&B outlets help increase business substantially and this in turn encourages retailers to showcase their products in malls. Although useful for the rents they generate, the primary reason for developers to include food courts in malls is to prolong the stay of customers, expecting that they will spend more money at retail shops.

All developers today give prime attention to food courts as they typically get more visitors than any single store in the mall. The success of food court is integral to a mall’s success and should be developed with that consideration in mind. Mall developers were earlier planning food courts in haphazard fashion and giving outlets to individuals. Nowadays it is planned, designed and even managed by specialized food court management agencies as food courts are emerging as main footfall drivers for malls. From the distribution of space to the final presentation of brands, these foodie joints require strategic thinking and planning.

With malls and commercial establishments cropping up everywhere, popular F&B brands have realized that franchising is the easiest way to ensure a wide presence. A lot of prominent players in the restaurant business have actually modified and designed special franchising formats to fit the food court model. The kiosk model also plays a vital role as the small space requirement enables the business to be in a prime location. While the costs of setting up a permanent outlet can be as high as Rs 20 lakhs, carts, kiosks and temporary spaces offer an easy way to gain a foothold. The upfront investment for a kiosk or a cart ranges between Rs 3-5 lakhs.

Following the trend, Coffee Day Express too has rolled out the kiosks to lure more customers. These require an investment of Rs 3-3.5 lakhs and an area of 100 sq.ft. Some feel that the brand must be established firmly, before it can be franchised. In the early stages of brand development, it is crucial to focus on company owned outlets.