Zorawar Kalra is a name that needs no introduction in the Indian hospitality industry. Regarded as ‘the Prince of Indian cuisine’, he launched Massive Restaurants in December 2012, one of the most awarded regional cuisine restaurant concepts in India. Spearheaded by Kalra and mentored by his illustrious father & Czar of Indian Cuisine – Jiggs Kalra, Massive restaurants was established with an aim to develop India’s premier brands of restaurants that specialize in targeting all segments of the market while showcasing the evolution of Indian cuisine and putting Indian food on the global palate permanently. While the company started with brand verticals of premium fine-dining Restaurants like signature Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra, Made in Punjab, Farzi Café, and Pa Pa Ya, among many others, they have now forayed into cloud kitchens.
Bringing Louis Burger to Bangalore
Kalra recently brought its much-loved burger brand to Bangalore after almost a year of launching it in Mumbai. “The offerings remain the same across all cities with Louis Burger. The menus have been designed after extensive research. While Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore each remain cities with distinctive individual personalities, we feel what ties the demographics together is their love for good food, and the acceptance of anything new,” says Kalra.
The products of Louis Burger are very different from the traditional burgers that you see in India across KFC, McDonald’s or Burger King’s outlets. Over the last few years, there has been a spurt of individual burger brands offering artisanal burgers to customers, addressing a trend where customers are exploring options beyond the regular frozen fried patties of QSRs. Talking about what goes behind Louis Burgers, Kalra says “We have done a lot of research on how the burgers travel and the buns have been specially composed. The buns are made fresh, twice a day and every ingredient in Louis is made to work with each other, right from the cheese which is sourced from a specific vendor.”
Rise of cloud kitchens post COVID-19
When food deliveries were the only way during COVID-19 to order your favorite Biryani, Burger or rolls, the concept of cloud kitchens saw a multi fold increase. “The unit economics for cloud kitchens are very lucrative. Our sales from a 300 sq. ft. cloud kitchen are the same as it is from our 4000 sq. ft. restaurants, which is why we are allocating 50% of our resources to this side of the business,” says Kalra.
Massive Restaurants have an aggressive plan for expansion in the cloud kitchen space with 6 to 8 delivery brands, which will include Jiggs Kalra Biryani. Louis Burger along with our other delivery brands will capture metro cities in 6-9 months and tier 1/tier 2 cities in 12-24 months. “We have plans to take delivery brands to international markets as well,” adds Kalra.
F&B Trends
While the rise of cloud kitchens was one of the top trends in 2021, Kalra points out some evolving trends in the F&B space. “I see more hospitality majors adopting plots of land to grow their produce. Finally, we are looking within and exploring our own diverse cuisine. Regional food is expected to make a stronger comeback with Goan food topping preferences,” says Kalra.
After having spent so many years in the industry, launching various brands across the globe, Kalra feels elated to be accepted and loved by all, across the country. “We have a long way to go. The idea remains the same – to put Indian Food and India as a forerunner and on the global map of the F&B spectrum,” concludes Kalra.
