FSSAI License for Setting-up a Restaurant in Delhi

We Indians are passionate about our food. We also love to experiment with our food and hence Indian cuisine is not only about Indian essences but has evolved over centuries with each new conquest and invasion. As a general trend, Indians love to eat home-made food. But the market has seen increasing trends of more and more people prefer to eat out — whether it is a food truck, fast food restaurant, a Café or Bistro, fine dining, a family sit-down style restaurant of fast casual type.

What influences further this consumer pattern is raised salaries, urbanization, and the influence of technology.

Market Size:

• As per a recent study by the India Food Report, it has been projected that the foodservice industry in India will grow at 15% between 2014 and 2020.
• In 2014, restaurants in India had a market value of $ 152 billion. By 2019, it is expected to increase to approximately to $ 246 billion.
• In 2014, the market value of fine dining restaurants was Rs. 24 billion and is expected to increase to approximately Rs. 40 billion by 2020.
• Foodservice sales in India stand at about 1.3 billion USD and growing at about 10% annually.
• In mid-2016 Amazon, founder announced investing almost 3 billion dollars in the food retailing industry in India.

Setting up a Restaurant in Delhi

Following steps can be taken for setting up Restaurant Business:

a. The first step is to decide the restaurant type and budget — there are eight different types of restaurants that can be considered. Also working out the funding sources — for a small outlet, one’s own savings, funds from friends and family can be used. For bigger ventures, however, one would need to take a loan from a bank or non-banking financial institutions or venture capitalists.

b. The initial investment is for incurring expenses like:

             i.        Food costs should not be more than 30–40% of one’s menu price.

            ii.        Overhead costs like

·         Renting a space — thumb-rule says it should not be more than 10% of the total revenue.

·         Purchasing kitchen equipment

·         Buying Point of sale software

·         Licenses and permits

·         Interior theme designing and furniture

·         Initial Utility connections like electricity, gas

·         Manpower recruitment

·         Marketing and advertising costs should never be more than 1–2% of the total revenue.

c. Acquiring licenses and permits that include:

• Trade License — for a small restaurant it costs between Rs. 5000 — Rs. 10000. It is valid for a year and is renewable every year.
• FSSAI License — is dependent upon the location, seating capacity, venture type, and turnover and varies between Rs. 5000 — Rs. 10000 for getting the license.
• GST Registration –mandatory for all types of restaurants to get their GSTIN number.
• Business Registration — as per the GOI the business needs to be registered with Ministry of Corporate Affairs as a partnership firm, Sole Proprietorship or Pvt. Ltd. Company.
• Liquor license — one of the most expensive and time taking license, this is mandatory in case you are planning to serve liquor in your restaurant.
• Professional tax license — is required for employing salaried staff.
• No objection certificate from Fire Department
• Pollution control certificate
• Lift license in the case using elevators
• Music/Video license
• Insurance
• Signage license

d. Choosing the right location — you need to be in a place where your target customers can see you and reach you. Ample parking space is also a pre-requirement.

e. Recruiting the right manpower — the master chef has to be aligned with your brand mission and vision. Service staff needs to have the right attitude.

f. Choose your menu, branding, logo carefully after studying the market and competitive product. The menu needs presentable printing. Hire an interior designer for delivering the best theme.

g. Scouting for quality vendors

h. Invest in a proper POS system and restaurant management system.

i. Start promoting your business on social media and advertise at all possible local channels

Challenges

a. Hire the best professionals in the industry

b. No amount of planning can prepare you for the launch. So one needs to be prepared mentally for any type of outcome.

c. Pay attention to small details like décor flaws or typos issues in the menu or branding materials

d. Cost control and quality control need attention always.