India's 1st desi QSR
Bengaluru’s Darshinis are answer to western QSR brands such as Mcdonald’s and KFC.
Published in
3 min readSep 24, 2018
Upahar Darshini is among the first few Indian QSR to challenge western QSRs. In its place was the first Darshini. Now there are more than 5000 in Bengaluru.
A brief history of Darshini:
- Mr. Prabhakar liked how fast food brands like Mcdonald’s and KFC served people food within minutes of them placing the order.
- He started Cafe Darshini in 1983. It closed down. His innovation was a see through kitchen. People could see the food they had ordered, similar to QSR brands.
- His idea revolutionized the Indian quick service restaurant business in Bengaluru. Food was nutritious, cheap and quick. Also, restaurants could sell any food, as long as it followed the basic tenets of a Darshini.
- He has helped entrepreneurs open more than 1000 darshinis. He offers his advice free of cost.
What is a Darshini?
An outlet is darshini only if…
- It serves hot and quality food at pocket-friendly prices.
- It limits itself to fewer items.
- It knows how to control costs.
- It uses pure water.
How is it revolutionary?
- Most darshinis are profitable. It’s easier to start a darshini kitchen with a minimal investment. Cooks and workers, who join the restaurants, require little training. As a result, the costs and other overheads are less. Unlike fine dining brands, darshinis focus on volume.
- Western QSR brands in India are not profitable. Dunkin Donuts is struggling, so are Wendy’s, Papa John’s, Burger King and others. Casual dining and cafe brands are also struggling. Barista and Starbucks aren’t profitable yet.
- A ready and captive audience for darshinis make it viable. The moment darshinis open, the customers flock to buy food. Western QSR and casual dining brands have to educate the customers. Darshinis started selling North Indian dishes as population from the North exploded. They sell what people want, a prerequisite of successful businesses.
- Darshinis do not compete for the prime locations or high streets. They open where there are people. On the other hand QSRs like Mcdoanld’s set up their restaurant in high foot fall areas such as CP. It again brings down the costs.
What is in it for Delhi-NCR?
- Indian QSRs in North are stuck in 50s. Most quick service restaurants in Delhi-NCR are either fine dining or disorderly sweets/ savory items shop. Using the model of darshinis, sweet shops such as Aggarwal sweets can revolutionize the food scene of the region.
- North Indian darshinis will have the advantage over MNC QSRs in terms of cost, ready audience and quicker learning curve of the workers.
- Small vendors and hawkers can also kickstart darshinis. As a result food sector will become more formal. Fresh Food Factory is the perfect example of a north Indian darshini.
- Low hygiene levels haunt budget restaurants of North India. They can learn from darhinins. Darshinis disinfect cutlery by boiling it in hot water.
Darshinis worth exploring:
