Recording revenues of ₹4,500 crore per year, there’s more space at the table, say established players

The growing Tamil appetite for biryani has kept cash registers jingling across the State, with a fourfold increase in the number of restaurants serving the rice and meat (or vegetables) favourite.

According to analysts who track the industry, the organised biryani business in the State is pegged at ₹1,500 crore per year while the unorganised segment records a healthy ₹4,000 crore per year.

Currently, there are over 300 brands including well-known names — Anjappar, Buhari, Junior Kuppanna, Aasife Biryani, Dindigul Thalappakatti and Behrouz— that comprise the organised segment. Players in the organised space do an average business of ₹25 lakh per month which translates into ₹3 crore per annum per outlet. The cost of a serving of biryani at these restaurants ranges from a modest ₹180 for the vegetarian variant to ₹600 or more for the fully loaded non-vegetarian delicacy.

For every pocket

In the unorganised sector, costs range from as low as ₹50 to ₹120 per serving. Those operating in this category typically churn out around 10-15 kilos of biryani per day. (A kilo of biryani would serve 8-10 persons on an average). Restaurants in this space also offer smaller quantities like a ‘half biryani’ (priced at ₹70 to Rs 90) and ‘quarter biryani’ (priced at ₹40- ₹60).

Sathish D. Nagasamy, managing director of the Dindigul Thalappakatti chain, one of the early players in the biryani space, said, “This is a huge market and the demand is high. Even if another 100 shops come up, the demand will only go up.”

His kitchens turnout over 4,000 kg of biryani every day. “More than 40,000 people consume biryani from our outlets across Tamil Nadu,” he said, adding, “There is a huge space for vegetarian biryani, a market which remains untapped.”

Aasife Biriyani, another big player, sells over 30,000 servings per day across its restaurants in the State. P.J. Dilip Kumar, Director- Marketing, Aasife Biriyani Pvt Ltd, said, “This is one food item which makes you feel complete — it fills your stomach. It’s cost effective too. You end up paying ₹170 for a vegetarian meal, if you add another ₹20 you can have a vegetarian biryani.”

A market analyst said while the biryani sector has immense potential, the fact that the major players are family-run businesses is a major hurdle to expansion. “Decision making is a key issue. But things are slowly changing with the next generation coming into business,” he said. “Even if there is a slight variation in taste you will end up losing customers. It is also a highly labour-intensive business,” he added.