Pizza is no more a delicacy just for the urban class. Several players like Domino’s have begun opening stores in smaller towns because people are enjoying it so much.
Swiggy says pizza consumption in smaller towns has been on the rise steadily.
Likewise, Sameer Khetarpal, CEO and MD, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the master franchise for Domino’s in India, also said that pizza consumption in the hinterland is increasing rapidly.
To meet the demand, the company is expanding its presence in smaller towns. Out of the 250 stores planned across the country in the next 18 months, nearly one-third of them will be in smaller cities, he told businessline.
“Quick service restaurants or brands like Domino’s are going into the hinterland. New stores are being planned in tier-3 and tier-4 locations like Latur or Chengalpattu. In many smaller places, we are the only organised player before the competition comes in,” Khetarpal added.
In smaller towns, dine-in is heavier while in bigger cities, customers order more over the app or through aggregators.
Pizza stats
Agreeing with Khetarpal on the increasing demand from the hinterland, a spokesperson for Swiggy said that from January to November 2022, the company received a huge number of orders for pizzas from many smaller cities.
“We also noticed that pizzas were among the top five dishes ordered on Swiggy in cities like Surat, Lucknow, Raipur, and Mangaluru. Cities like Ahmedabad and Surat ordered over 1,30,766 and 61,122 pizzas respectively,” the spokesperson said.
The pizza market in India is pegged at nearly $2 billion, according to information on the web. The market is dominated by American brands such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns.