We see ourselves as an adult QSR chain: Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts believes it has hit a sweet spot in India's consumption story - it targets what it calls the 'adult QSR' market. President and Chief Operating Officer of Dunkin' Donuts India (Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd) Dev Amritesh explains why it is a lucrative space.

Q. Do you see yourself as a burger chain?

Amritesh: Not at all. We see ourselves as an 'adult QSR chain' -  it's the sweet spot between the cafe and the QSR (quick service restaurant) market. The cafe market is adult in its DNA; young adults meet for coffee, social occasions. Cafes have not been strongly dominated by families. The profile of the consumer is more evolved, in terms of preferences and tastes. They are not first time consumers. However, because of the strong hangover of coffee, its sophistication and formality, coffee shops are not taken seriously for the food that they offer. QSRs, on the other hand, are not really adult. Evolved consumers find them somewhat infantile. So the market is divided between these two. Adult QSR addresses the consumer who hangs out in the cafe and is the young adult, and evolved. But we don't address them through only coffee but through the experience of burgers, donuts, and coffee.

Q. As a percentage of overall revenues, how much do burgers contribute?

Amritesh: While people really love our burgers, they account for one-third of our total revenues. Donuts and coffee have a similar contribution. In a market where most of the brands are built around one product category - either a burger brand or a coffee brand - we are a brand that is different from the current market construct. A customer can come multiple times a day. In office complexes and neighbourhood stores, consumers come once in the morning for coffee; for donuts in the evening or for a meal and have a burger. We see the adult QSR as an interesting opportunity and there is a vacuum in the market.

Q. Does India's changing demographics lend itself to this model in cities?

Amritesh: Demographic change happened earlier. The change that we see now is far more interesting. It is the second phase of consumption. In the first phase, people were not exposed to many brands. There was a celebration of consumption itself and consumers were wow-ed by the brands. It was democratisation of access. Very simple and undifferentiated offering was seen as exciting. Consumers had simple expectations. That happened with the demographic change. Now, people who got democratised 10-20 years ago, are no longer infantile. The younger lot that is joining the consumption story right now have access to these brands. There is an evolution of consumption.  So we will be more adult in our overall design - whether it is a store, the product, or complexity to the product, whether it is making it fun in an intelligent way.  The young adult is looking for an interesting experience and a conversation around that; he wants to blog and tweet about the burger. That's the big change we are seeing in the top 10-15 cities.