BREAKING THE FAST

What was the idea behind launching IHOP in India?

We have been eyeing India for the past three to four years as India has a huge competitive market. I’m overwhelmed to share that we are providing a complete range of food for different taste buds and I hope people will like it. For the first time, we are bringing the concept of IHOP to India. We’re famous for breakfast and pancakes. We are now serving our popular pancakes in India.

We have researched and entered India. We are going through a defined process, and we have come up with a new format of restaurants, where the interiors give customers the feeling of California, the sunshine, beach, light and freshness.

What concept you are keeping for IHOP in India?

I think the emphasis is on casual. We make everything. You order something and we make it and that’s the part, which takes a little time.

What are the criterias before entering into franchising?

First and foremost thing is the love for the brand because it takes a lot of time, effort and energy and then is experience. We want someone, who understands business, understands what to supply, keep everything in right format, right team of people and one who has capital, there are a lot of factors, which have to come together to set up a restaurant. And, we are happy to partner with Kwal’s Group, a multi-unit franchise organization that is planning to open an additional 19 locations in multiple states of northern and southern India over the next decade.

What are the challenges in setting up the restaurant in India?

We need to work with the internal policies in India, also we have to work within the infrastructure from the government point of view. Restaurant generates good employers. A restaurant is a neighbourhood to the local area, which tends to employ people from nearby. And, people who work with restaurant generally know who comes in the restaurant; they form their own community and in the US, 11 per cent of the work is employed by restaurants.

What are your future plans?

We are probably looking to open chain of restaurants in Delhi and planning to expand in Bengaluru and the south region. One needs to be careful about how they expand because you don’t want to break the formulation and the system. We want to open other restaurants with the same structure as we have here.

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