'Food services industry to re-employ 1 million people by 2021'

The restaurant industry will re-hire one million people by 2021 as it moves towards revival following the sector's worst downturn in 2020, a report by dining out and restaurant tech platform Dineout.

Pointing towards a drastic change towards wholesome nutritional preferences, the study noted that 45 per cent of young adults are going to make healthier food choices by 2021.

It further added that restaurants are now more predisposed towards owning customer data and that 90 per cent of them will adopt digital menus by 2021.

Also Read: Coronavirus impact: What the future holds for battered restaurant industry

"Apart from re-employing about one million people as it emerges from its worst crisis ever, the restaurant industry is seeing a paradigm shift with food consumption preferences shifting to healthier meals, the rise of shared kitchen spaces, increasing digitisation in terms of menu, more take-aways, and deliveries, and lowering dependence on third-party aggregators," Dineout Co-founder and CEO Ankit Mehtrotra said in the report, cited by The Economic Times.

The report added that 100 per cent of customers will favour contactless and digital payment options, whereas takeaway and delivery will grow exponentially by 15 per cent and 30.5 per cent respectively.

It further stated that cloud kitchens, which currently command a 13 per cent market share, will grow to 30 per cent in the coming year. The report said that there will be an exponential rise in the number of home chefs, which is likely to expand 4 times by 2021.Also Read: Rural India hooked to packaged food; delivers 11x growth over metros

The food services industry has been among the worst-hit sectors over the past seven months due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Even after lockdown restrictions were lifted, restaurants managed operations with curbs in place comprising early closures and checks on serving alcohol.

The sector employed over seven million people before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. According to data by industry body NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India), more than 30 per cent of bars and eateries in India have closed operations permanently because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.