India’s QSRs turn to Rs 99 to win back customers

Nifty23, 057.00-6.1. Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund Direct-Growth.

Key points

• India's food-services market is around $90 billion and Redseer expects it to reach regarding $150 billion by 2030.
• (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.).
• For a customer staring at a Rs 300-plus fast-food bill, the difference between "maybe" and "let's order" can sometimes be a Rs 99 cost tag.
• The June quarter of FY27, indicated signs of improvement throughout a number of substantial QSR operators.
• Westlife foodworldsapphire foodszomatodevyani internationalfast food industry in IndiaRs 99 mealsquick service restaurantsconsumer trends in QSRvalue mealsonline food delivery expansion.

Nifty23, 057.00-6.1. Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund Direct-Growth. The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now. A Rs 99 bet: India's QSRs rethink the value game. In practice, a Rs 99 bet: India's QSRs rethink the value game. ET OnlineLast Updated: Sep 25, 2026, 12: 51: 00 PM IST.

India's quick-service restaurants are implementing a Rs 99 cost point to attract more customers. KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King are focusing on value meals and beverages to drive traffic. The Rs 99 meals aim to entice first-time visitors while creating upselling opportunities. There are reservations regarding the impact of lower average bills on overall profitability. In practice, the shift includes innovative approaches like vending pods and targeted to capture consumer interest.

For a customer staring at a Rs 300-plus fast-food bill, the difference between "maybe" and "let's order" can sometimes be a Rs 99 cost tag. That is the cost point India's quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are increasingly chasing to produce customers more willing to order. But is a Rs 99 cost tag enough to win back a customer who has been staying away?

After a period of subdued demand, India's food and restaurant businesses are changing their pitch.: QSR stocks near turning point as risk-reward turns favorable, notes Motilal Oswal Live Events. You Might Additionally Like.

Meanwhile, the great food delivery reset: How small restaurants are challenging commission-driven delivery models.

KFC is using a Rs 99 meal to draw in first-time customers. McDonald's is leaning harder on value meals. Burger King is building a ladder from Rs 79-Rs 99 offers to its core burgers and premium products. Zomato is testing fresh-food vending pods inside offices. And QSR chains are pushing coffee and beverages to create reasons to visit outside lunch and dinner. The common thread is not simply cheaper food, but reducing customers' hesitation to order. But whether that customer's "yes" lasts is another question. "The current recovery appears to be more volume/traffic-led than purely promotion-led, although value pricing has clearly acted as an important catalyst for customer recruitment, " remarked Chetan Mahadik, AVP – Consumer Discretionary, Systematix Group. Meanwhile, the bigger test, he remarked, is whether transaction expansion holds over the next few quarters or proves to be a promotion-led bounce. The Rs 99 comeback.

Meanwhile, the timing matters. India's food-services market is around $90 billion and Redseer expects it to reach regarding $150 billion by 2030. Organised food services are growing at 17-18% annually, compared with 3-4% for the unorganised segment.

For context, the June quarter of FY27, indicated signs of improvement throughout a number of substantial QSR operators. Sapphire Foods' KFC India business documented 5% same-store sales expansion (based on sales at existing stores, excluding the impact of new outlets), while Westlife Foodworld. It operates McDonald's in western and southern India, logged a 4.3% growth. Burger King India documented 12.6% expansion. For KFC, the Rs 99 Chicken Krisper Meal is being positioned as more than a bargain. Sapphire has remarked it is aimed at bringing new consumers into the brand, particularly residents who know KFC but have not been willing to try it. "There are people who are aware of the brand, but they still don't come in because of misplaced thoughts in their head about the brand, " Vijay Jain, Executive Director & CFO at Sapphire Foods, had remarked during an earnings call. "I think this — it's a combination of behavior changing advertising along with the core meal at INR 99.": Malls put eateries under scrutiny against the backdrop of govt's hygiene crackdown Sapphire management stated the Rs 99 Chicken Krisper Burger Meal, backed by advertising targeting non-users, was helping attract new consumers to KFC. McDonald's is pursuing a similar shift. Westlife has been leaning on its value platform to create the brand more accessible while continuing to push larger meals, McCafe and other parts of its menu.

Westlife Foodworld CEO Akshay Jatia remarked in the last earnings call that the everyday value meal "continues to see strong traction and remains a key driver of dine-in footfalls". The firm stated its Q1 expansion was led by more residents walking into McDonald's more often, with guest counts growing in double digits. While the everyday-value proposition was being built to become "trusted, predictable and habit forming", it additionally stated the value platform was helping attract consumers and drive repeat visits. Westlife management remarked it was "acquiring more consumers, driving repeat visits" and strengthening McDonald's relevance throughout everyday consumption occasions. In practice, the broader strategy is that a Rs 99 meal can obtain a customer through the door. Once there, the business has an opportunity to sell that customer a coffee, dessert or a larger meal, and potentially bring the customer back again. The customer has more reasons to say 'no'.

Customers today have more choices: from regional food brands and newer cafes to delivery platforms and quick-commerce. And increasingly, they do not have to walk into a store at all. Redseer estimates online food delivery's share of India's food-services market has risen from 4% in FY21 to 11% in FY26 and could reach 18% by FY31. Online food services are growing at 20-22% annually, against 8-10% for offline food services. Monthly transacting food-delivery users have risen from around 1 crore to 3 crore over the same period.

That changes what a QSR has to compete on. Cost gets the customer to click. Convenience gets the order through. Product and experience have to offer the customer a reason to return. Domino's demonstrates what that online shift looks like on the ground. While order expansion was 6.5%, jubilant FoodWorks, which operates Domino's in India, documented 2.5% like-for-like expansion (year-on-year sales expansion at comparable, existing stores) in the June quarter. Delivery revenue rose 12.1%, with delivery accounting for 76.1% of its India business. In a conference call for analysts and investors after the Q1 earnings, Jubilant CEO Sameer Khetarpal remarked Domino's had to respond after aggregators lowered minimum order values to Rs 99, adding that the company's own app "continues to grow" and remains the "predominant channel for growth". As Domino's had initially resisted the change as it hurts the economics, but he remarked the move to Rs 99 was a correction that "comes at a lower average order value". The firm is additionally trying to revive dine-in and takeaway. As delivery became cheaper, and that Domino's was developing all-day, value-focused products specifically for that customer, khetarpal remarked the biggest drop had been in solo occasions below Rs 250. The firm is additionally using store-only offers and differentiated menus to offer customers a reason to leave home, effectively making the restaurant itself part of the value proposition again. Pizza Hut's recovery, meanwhile, remains uneven. Sapphire Foods' Pizza Hut India business documented 1% same-store sales expansion, its first positive quarter after five quarters of decline. Though that improved from a 3.7% decline in the previous quarter, devyani International's Pizza Hut stores, meanwhile, were still down 2.2%. The two numbers are documented separately as Pizza Hut, in India, has two major franchise operators – Sapphire Foods and Devyani International – operating different parts of the network. Devyani and Sapphire are in the process of merging, with Devyani saying the merger remains on track for completion by the end of FY27. Devyani has been right-sizing its Pizza Hut network and its management remarked its strategy was a "back-to-basics" approach focused on product, ingredients and innovation. Its Pizza Hut network stood at 626 stores, with average daily sales of regarding Rs 32, 400. Devyani President and Group CEO Manish Dawar, at the Q1 earnings call, remarked Pizza Hut's earlier structure – involving Devyani, Sapphire and Yum! Brands – had created problems around decision-making and innovation. "Pizza Hut is all about going back to basics, " he remarked, adding that the business was working on the product, ingredients and new product ideas ahead of the merger. It's not just regarding food anymore.

Notably, the next battleground may be what comes with the meal – or what replaces it. Coffee and beverages are becoming a bigger focus for India's QSR chains. While Devyani is preparing to test Kwench, a beverage-focused sub-brand, in India, mcDonald's, Domino's and Burger King are expanding their beverage propositions. Devyani's management remarked Kwench is already being discussed for India, with product and capex work largely done and a test launch being planned. When a full meal may not be needed, while additionally adding to the value of an existing order, the appeal is straightforward: a coffee or a new drink can create a reason for a visit at 4 pm.

In practice, the other shift is happening outside restaurants. Zomato is piloting fresh-food vending pods at select corporate offices in Gurugram, putting meals closer to office workers instead of relying entirely on a delivery rider. The strategy is increasingly regarding more occasions, not just more meals: a cheap lunch when capital is tight, coffee when there is no need for a full meal, and ready food when the customer does not want to leave the office. Rs 99 is only the beginning.

There is, nevertheless, a catch. Value pricing can bring traffic back, but it can additionally pull down the average bill. The economics work only if the extra transactions more than compensate for the lower ticket size. Although some moderation in average ticket size is inevitable as consumers move towards lower-priced meals, "Value offerings appear to be bringing incremental customers and improving footfalls. Notably, the key is whether incremental transactions more than offset ticket-size dilution, and the current operating trends suggest that this is happening for some players, " Mahadik remarked. That is why the next phase of the QSR playbook is unlikely to be regarding simply making food cheaper. It is regarding what happens after the first Rs 99 purchase – getting the customer to add a drink, return for coffee, order through an app, try a higher-priced product or simply come back more often. "We believe value pricing is likely to remain an important part of the QSR proposition, but sustainable growth will depend on targeted value offerings rather than broad-based discounting, " Mahadik remarked. Add Now!

For now, india's QSRs turn to Rs 99 to win back customers remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.