Hardcastle Restaurants Banks On Rising Incomes

Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd., which runs burger chain McDonald’s stores in western and southern India, is betting on higher disposable income of Indians to drive its growth.

The burger chain’s same-store sales jumped 24 percent in quarter ended June, according to its filings. The company is also looking to expand its product offering, besides adding new stores.

“One of our consumer insights is the consumer wants a glocal taste, not an Indianised taste,” Smita Jatia, managing director of Hardcastle Restaurants told BloombergQuint in an interview. “Moreover, they want it in a form which is familiar.”

Jatia said consumers want food which cannot be made at home. So it offers two variety of rice bowls—one spicy and the other cheesy at Rs 129.

Hardcastle plans continue its expansion to take total store count to 400-450 outlets by 2022. It currently has 281 outlets.