Started off with bare minimum which necessitated Biraja Rout to first focus on surviving in a market dominated by the global players, today he is operating home-grown Indian QSR chain that has made a mark in the business. “For the initial 5-6 years we struggled to put ourselves up and create a difference in the market. Today as we are on a healthy growth trajectory, purpose is the agenda for us,” added Rout who wants to create an Indian legacy in the burger market. “We are building this so that unlike earlier, Indians are not left with only global players but also they are able to choose an Indian burger brand to eat from. Not only that, we are also looking at a bigger goal of building a global burger brand out of India sometime down the line. Excerpts from the interview:

You are targeting Rs 100 crore for Biggies Burger by end of this year? What has played a key role in achieving these numbers?

Achieving the target of Rs 100 crore by the end of this year is indeed an ambitious goal for Biggies Burger. One of the key factors propelling us toward this milestone is our relentless focus on expansion. We've strategically opened new stores, both in tier-I and tier-II cities, ensuring we tap into diverse markets and demographics.

The introduction of authentic grilled burgers, a concept new to the Indian market, has been a game-changer. What was the whole idea starting a home-grown QSR brand with chicken wings as main product?

The idea behind launching Bigguy's Wingery as a home-grown QSR brand for chicken wings came out of a passion to build an Indian home-grown QSR brand for Chicken wings. We recognized a gap in the market for high-quality chicken wings brand in India. While international giants like KFC and Nando's were prominent, we saw an opportunity to bring a unique and localized twist to this beloved food item. Our goal was to provide an exceptional dining experience to chicken lovers by offering a diverse menu of grilled and fried wings with rare and innovative flavors.

What’s your expansion plan expanding both the brands?

As for Bigguy's Wingery, we are in the early stages of our expansion journey. Currently, our focus is on southern markets, including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Coimbatore. We have ambitious plans to launch 50 stores this year in these cities, aiming to acquire a significant market share in the chicken wings segment. Our franchise model will play a crucial role in empowering local entrepreneurs and ensuring the brand's growth in these markets.

For Biggies Burger, we are concentrating on expanding our presence in tier two and tier three cities. These markets hold immense potential, and we've witnessed a strong response from consumers in these regions. Bengaluru, for instance, will see a substantial increase in our outlets from 18 to 60. Our vision is to position Biggies Burger as a prominent home-grown burger chain in India with a revenue target of 500 crore and a market share of 15 to 20 percent of the burger market within the next three to four years. This involves scaling our outlets to around 600 creating a robust brand presence and exploring new markets. 

You have 130 Biggies Burger stores in 28 cities and 14 states, which is your top performing outlets in terms of both sales and return customers?

The top performing outlet changes with time and season. For instance, if we take our new store that we have opened in Mumbai. Mumbai is a very competitive market and we have opened an outlet without any marketing. We presumed that the outlet might not perform well quickly. But the overwhelming response that the store is receiving has surprised us. At this point in time, South and East are the better markets. Also Pune and Mumbai have got an amazing response. 

It is believed that localization and innovation is important in restaurant space apart from maintaining consistency. How much have you localized your menu as per the state or city you are present?

I believe we always wanted to scale and to keep a moment and consistency across. Nevertheless we have come up with LTOs where we have Chettinadu Burger or Malabar Burger for the Southern region of the country or we have come up with Punjabi Makhani Burger for the Northern region of the country. The whole menu is a mix of Northern India, Western India and Southern India. We do LTOs, limited time products which are inspired as per the territories.

Trends you foresee in the QSR space.

At this point of time currently QSR space is not only about food. It is more of an experience that we deliver to the consumers. It includes aesthetic ambience and profile based. For instance, today a lot of people talk about Korean and Japanese flavors in the country whereas five years back it was more of Arabic and Middle East portfolio across the country. I think it is an experience oriented concept that every QSR is trying to build with the uniqueness of the brand. I believe that we have to keep our eyes open and adopt every new trend that comes up in the market. 

Tips for young restaurateur.

I suggest foodpreneurs that are planning to start a new restaurant brand must spend more time on ideas before jumping into the market which is highly competitive and commercialized where survival of a new restaurant is hard. A new restaurant brand can only survive if basic fundamentals of the brand is very much clear and the foodpreneur highly adaptive towards the adverse competition in the market.