The organized quick service restaurants
(QSR) market of India is believed to be worth USD 1 billion. A news report in
The Business Standard
quotes a CRISIL research from 2013, which puts the share of international
brands like McDonalds, Subway, Dominos Pizza and Yum Brands (owning KFC, Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell brands) at 63%. The same report predicts that the QSR market
will swell to USD 8 billion by 2020. No wonder Burger King opened its
restaurants in India last month. Fast food has made deep inroads in India, like
it has everywhere else. Clever marketing, aggressive pricing, uniform products across
stores and ignorance have all worked in their favour.
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| Catch them young and make them fat |
At a billion dollars and
potential to grow eight folds in next five year, the QSR business looks an
attractive proposition. The business they generate and employment they create
for a country like India can never be matched by any Indian restaurant chain.
So should we welcome them or should we exercise caution? The answer is, both. The
caution should get more weight, however. World over the QSR have pushed
countries into chronic diseases like obesity, hypertension and diabetes. A
recent World Health Organisation study
has highlighted the correlation between average number of fast food
transactions per capita and an increase in average Body Mass Index (a measure
of obesity). A BMI of 25 is considered overweight and anything above 30 is
considered obese). The authors of the study found that while the average number
of annual fast food transactions per capita increased from 26.61 to 32.76,
average BMI increased from 25.8 to 26.4. Thus, each 1-unit increase in the
average number of annual fast food transactions per capita was associated with
an increase of 0.0329 in BMI over the study period.
A look at the calorie count of
some of the popular meal combinations offered by different QSR will give a
better picture.
The above table gives an estimate
of the amount of calories consumed in an average meal combination. The
consumption ranges from 28% to a staggering 43.5% of the daily requirement. An
important thing to consider would be the eating habits in India. A burger may
not always end up being a meal in itself. Often it is a quick snack, which will
be supplemented by a full meal at a later time. This eventually leads to
overeating, i.e. more calories. Another important consideration is the sodium
intake. The table shows that the average sodium content in a meal combination
ranges between 51% - 61% of the daily requirement. These are extremely high
levels, given an individual will take at least two more meals (assuming three
meals a day). High sodium levels are directly responsible to hypertension,
which in turn might lead to other complications.
World over there are many
controversies surrounding the business models of multinational QSR, their
exploitation of farmers by forcing them to produce what the MNCs want and not
paying them a fair price for their goods. The internet is full of stories how
these restaurants pay low wages to their employees and force them to adopt
dangerous driving practices to meet the delivery time deadlines. All this is
important to discuss but can be left for another day in another post. The most
dangerous aspect of such organized QSR chains are the adverse impact they have
on health of their consumers, especially children and young adults.
Many developed countries have
started enforcing calorie displays for every item on the menu. Some activist
groups even want the total calories to be displayed in the invoice along with
the total purchase amount. The more extreme types want pictures of obese people
on the packaging (similar to the gory pictures used on tobacco products). Indian
Affair thinks it is time that the Indian government woke up to the new age
health challenges people are facing. An evolving mechanism to regulate food
industry has to be worked out to inform people on what they are eating. A good
start will be prominent display of total calories, total fat and sodium content
as a percentage of daily requirement on the menu.
The Ministry of Health should aim
to curb the QSRs directly marketing their products to children below a certain
age. The very concept of the “happy meal”, which is tailored to attract
children (with a free plastic toy) should be banned. Ten year olds are in no
position to decide what is good for them and end up forcing their parents to
buy them unhealthy food. What India needs is a gradual process, which regulates
not just the QSR industry but other organized food businesses like carbonated
drinks, sweets and chocolates and processed food. Until that happens Burger
King can sell its Whoppers without a care for people’s health.
