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“We, with our partners, built it to Rs 100 cr club franchise”
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Monday, 21 February, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Jumboking Foods, now celebrating its 20th year, is India’s largest vegetarian QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) brand. In bringing joy to India’s commuters- across metros, trains, bus stations and airports- and delighting their families at home though delivery partnerships, Jumboking’s brand values are anchored on customer centricity, value for money and the joy of delicious food!
It has opened its doors to serve the bustling metropolis of Delhi, at the Kashmere Gate Metro station. The entire product range - lip smacking flavours of premium vegetarian burgers such as Spicy Mexican, Nachos, Mumbai Masala, Mac & Cheese, Crispy Veg, Big Crunch and Corn Palak, along with fries (cheese and periperi), thick shakes, coke and softy is available at the store.
“Delhi is blessed with a high density of young population and a vibrant food culture,” shares Dheeraj Gupta, Founder and MD, Jumboking Foods, in an e-mail interaction with Ranjana Sharma. Excerpts:
How many outlets do you have in India?
Currently, we are in 115 plus outlets in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune. We have been expanding to new markets as well; with Lucknow and Gujarat opening up in 2019, and 2021, respectively. Our latest foray is Delhi, at the Kashmere Gate Metro station, Delhi. Our burgers are a favourite on-the-go eating option among college students and young working professionals, across India.
What kind of food and beverages come out of your restaurant?
We serve a lip smacking range of vegetarian burgers. Hot favourites of customers include the Nachos burger, Macaroni, and Cheeseburger, Big Crunch burger; we also offer a delicious range of wraps, creamy thick shakes and softy. Our fries, served in periperi and cheese flavours are an absolute bestseller.
Share more details on your brands culinary expertise, technology and supply chain across the 115 plus outlets across India.
We use technology in manifold ways- - To serve the best quality food: We have invested heavily in technology, lean systems and processes and partnered with some of the best manufacturing and logistics companies in India, to keep our products fresh and hygienic.
- Understanding consumer tastes: Our social listening and marketing teams also provide inputs in terms of which of our products are not liked. This also helped us rebrand from vadapav to burger.
- Innovation: A dedicated, in-house new product development (NPD) team at Jumboking, constantly works on developing products that are Indian at heart but global in appeal.
- Making payments easier: We have partnered with PhonePe and also offer credit card payments.
The brand is now celebrating its 20th year and is India’s largest vegetarian QSR brand. So how has been the journey so far?
It has been full of learnings. We now call ourselves, Burgers, Born in India.
When we started in 2001, Burger King and McDonald's were consolidating their presence in the Indian market. They had positioned themselves as upmarket products. Jumboking was able to fill the gap between value for money seekers and upmarket consumers. We started with an initial corpus of just Rs 2 lakh and together with our partners, have built it to a Rs 100 crore club franchise.
At the risk of sounding clichéd, ‘customer-centricity’ is all that matters. We have been serving travel-friendly, hygiene-friendly snacks for years now. Students, professionals and entrepreneurs have made room in their hearts for Jumboking.
What are the challenges faced by Quick Service Restaurants?
Customers and their Changing Preferences
The current multicultural millennial expectations are high. The QSR industry has expanded wide enough to have choices based on diet, nutrition, food allergies which have become a part of the decision-making process.
Need for a multi-channel approach for sales
To be digital is the need of the hour today in the global QSR Industry. The industry is testing and trying options of various e-commerce models for ordering, speed, and efficiency.
Mobile, the real game-changer in the QSR Industry
Smartphones have changed the mode of buying online completely. Online orders and home delivery processes have undoubtedly affected walk-ins at most restaurants.
Who are your competitors? What is your USP?
Burgers, as a category, is growing rapidly. We see this market grow tenfold over the next 10 years. While global market leaders McDonald’s and Burger King continue to dominate, Jumboking is now at a strong third position in terms of volumes.
The top three players and all other players are going to benefit from the growth of the category. Market saturation is at least a decade away for a young country like India.
Our USP is that we understand Indian flavours. Our customers love our burgers thanks to our deep understanding of Indian spices and tastes. There is also a nostalgia factor in the brand, in line with India’s vision to build #VocalForLocal enterprises.
We are an on the go brand which is highly accessible; we come to you rather than you going to the brand. Our format of 200-300 sq.ft. stores keeps us very nimble footed.
During Covid-19 how is your company dealing with delivery facilities and what all precautions you are taking while delivering the food?
We follow 100% touch-free initiatives to promote the habit of hygiene and social distancing. With the purpose to ensure safety of both the customers as well as store staff, we implemented a set of compulsory precautionary measures across its 115+ stores across the country. Apart from hand gloves- masks mandate and proper cleaning at the store, staff working are checked for medical concerns and over-crowding at the store is strictly restricted. We also offer contact-less delivery through our partners Zomato and Swiggy.
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