Lite Bite to woo millennials with new restaurant format

In a bid to woo millennials, Lite Bite Foods, which owns restaurant brands Punjab Grill, Zambar and Asia Seven, is launching a new restaurant format called Punjab Grill Tappa.

The first outlet is slated to open in Gurgaon next month, followed by another in Delhi. Lite Bite Foods Chairman Amit Burman said the company hopes to take the brand to key metros in the first phase.

“We believe Punjab Grill Tappa will offer a new, trendy Indian going-out experience to consumers. The format aims to relook North Indian cuisine through a global lens and cater to evolving consumer preferences,” he added.

The company plans to invest about ₹30 crore through internal accruals in expanding the Punjab Grill brand.

With several casual dining and quick service restaurant brands, it runs about 120 outlets in the country. It also has franchise agreements with international brands.

“We have been growing at 25 per cent year-on-year for the past two years. We hope to close this fiscal year at ₹225 crore in revenues,” Burman added. The company hopes to add 30 new outlets to its portfolio across brands, including franchised stores, next year.

Since last year Lite Bite has also been ramping up its international presence through franchise agreement in markets such as Singapore, Bangkok, Washington, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi, through brands such as Punjab Grill and American Tandoor.

“We have developed a model for international markets after research for nearly seven years. We are getting a good response as well as inquiries from prospective franchisee partners,” said Burman, pointing out that the restaurant format American Tandoor, especially developed for the US market, aims to introduce Indian cuisine to American consumers.

The company expects to expand to three new international territories this year and believes global expansion will be an important growth driver in the long term.

Lite Bite is also bullish on its travel retail business, under which it operates its own branded outlets besides other international branded outlets at airports.

Travel retail contributes nearly 40-45 per cent to the company’s revenues and the company is keen to bid for other airports.

Rohit Aggarwal, MD, Lite Bite Foods, said there is a huge opportunity in this segment as several new airports will be opening bids for food outlet operators in the near future, and these will be looking for master concessionaires . He said with the rising air traffic, the company’s travel retail outlets have been witnessing strong growth.

The company is also bullish on opportunities opening up for F&B operators at train stations as well as a tie-up with IRCTC for on-board catering on railways.