Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and Casual Dining Restaurants (CDRs) have been expanding rapidly across cities and towns in India since the mid-1990s. The Indian QSR market is valued at approximately $27.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to maintain strong growth through 2030 and beyond, boosted by food delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato.
Familiar global brands such as Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Costa Coffee each operate hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of locations across India’s top metropolitan and tier-2/tier-3 cities. Homegrown chains continue to hold a strong presence, ranging from legacy pioneers like Café Coffee Day and Nirula’s to rapidly scaled modern chains such as Wow! Momo, Rebel Foods (Faasos), Chai Point, and Goli Vada Pav.
Eating out is a relatively new habit among Indian middle class consumers but is rising fast among urban youth, dual income families and office professionals. A 2014 report by Assocham, a trade group, claimed that Indians now eat out 8 times a month compared to 14 times for Americans.
Several master franchisees have built substantial businesses in India. Publicly listed Noida-based Jubilant Foodworks, part of the Jubilant Bhartia group, has rights for Domino’s and Dunkin Donuts. With 15,000 employees, it is the market leader in the organized pizza market with a ~70% market share in India and around 2,400 Dominos outlets as of 2026. Devyani International operates many Pizza Hut, and KFC locations. It also has franchisee rights for Costa Coffee and Swensen’s Ice creams. Westlife Foodworld, via its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants runs over 480 McDonald’s locations in Western and Southern India.
Success in India requires a deep understanding of several factors that make the market unique:
– It pays to localize. McDonald’s offer many vegetarian options, Dunkin’ Donuts sells Indian sweets, and many QSRs offer delivery options to homes and offices.
– Real estate and utility costs are often higher relative to revenue compared to American operations.
– Some ingredients may need to be imported and duties on food products can be high.
– The market is evolving rapidly and the best opportunities may be in sub-categories that don’t even exist yet in India.
Last updated: August 4th, 2026
