Food Connoisseurs India Convention 2027 - South India Edition
Information
- Address: Bangalore
- Call Us: For Nomination/Sponsorship +91 82873 97477
- Agenda
Agenda
10:00 AM – 10:05 AM
Welcome Note
10:05 AM – 10:20 AM
Inaugural Session
10:20 AM – 11:20 AM
Session 1: HoReCa 2.0: South India's Next Chapter in Foodservice & Hospitality
- • South India’s evolving HoReCa landscape and its growing influence on India’s foodservice industry.
- • Emerging markets and new growth opportunities across South India and beyond.
- • Taking South Indian cuisines, indigenous ingredients and regional food concepts to national and global platforms.
- • The rise of premium dining, destination restaurants and experience-led hospitality.
- • Changing consumer preferences, Gen Z and millennials shaping the future of dining.
- • Expansion strategies balancing location, operating costs and local market demand.
- • Strengthening supply chains through local sourcing, quality control and operational efficiency.
- • Leveraging technology and talent while preserving service quality and the human touch.
- • Building profitable, scalable and differentiated HoReCa businesses.
- • Key opportunities and challenges shaping the next phase of South India’s food and hospitality industry.
11:20 AM – 12:20 PM
Session 2: Brewed to Perfection, Baked to Stand Out: South India's New Café & Bakery Culture
- • From filter coffee to specialty brews: How South India’s coffee heritage is shaping modern café experiences.
- • The new café consumer: Gen Z and millennial preferences for specialty coffee, matcha, innovative beverages and social spaces.
- • Beyond coffee: the growth of café-bakery hybrids, artisanal bakeries, patisseries and all-day dining.
- • The premium baking opportunity: growing demand for sourdough, artisan breads, viennoiserie, cakes and contemporary desserts.
- • Local flavours, modern menus: reimagining regional favourites and traditional desserts for today’s consumers.
- • Craftsmanship and consistency: balancing in-house baking, central production and quality across outlets.
- • The business of every cup and bake: managing pricing, ingredient costs, wastage and profitability.
- • Designing distinctive cafés: using interiors, presentation and local identity to attract customers.
- • Beyond walk-ins: growing revenue through delivery, takeaway, celebration cakes and corporate orders.
- • What’s next for cafés and bakeries: emerging opportunities in specialty coffee, premium baking and neighbourhood concepts.
12:20 PM – 12:30 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
Session 3: The Intelligent F&B Business: Technology Driving the Next Wave of Hospitality
- • AI-led decision-making transforming forecasting, planning and day-to-day restaurant operations.
- • Smart kitchens and connected equipment enabling greater precision, consistency and operational control.
- • Data-powered guest experiences through personalisation, digital engagement and predictive insights.
- • The connected restaurant ecosystem bringing together POS, ordering, payments, inventory and customer data.
- • Automation beyond the kitchen across procurement, inventory management, workforce planning and service workflows.
- • Digital-first dining journeys from discovery and reservations to ordering, payments and post-visit engagement.
- • Technology-enabled delivery and omnichannel operations creating more seamless foodservice experiences.
- • Human and technology — equipping hospitality teams with digital tools while keeping service and human connection at the centre.
- • The next frontier of F&B technology with emerging applications across AI, automation, analytics and connected hospitality.
1:15 PM – 1:25 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
1:25 PM – 2:10 PM
NETWORKING LUNCH
2:10 PM – 3:00 PM
Session 4: Beyond the Night: The Evolution of India’s Nightlife Landscape
- • The transformation of nightlife from traditional bars and clubs into immersive, experience-led destinations.
- • The rise of live music, DJs, comedy, cultural programming and themed experiences as new anchors of the night.
- • Late-night dining and grazing culture reshaping food menus, formats and consumption occasions.
- • The evolution of mixology and beverage culture through signature serves, innovative formats and non-alcoholic alternatives.
- • Rooftops, listening bars and next-generation social spaces creating new nightlife experiences.
- • Designing nightlife destinations around music, mood, lighting, storytelling and service.
- • The influence of younger consumers and changing social habits on India’s evolving night-time culture.
- • India’s emerging nightlife hubs shaping the next chapter of the urban after-dark economy.
3:00 PM – 3:10 PM
KEYNOTE SESSION
3:10 PM – 3:55 PM
Session 5: The Profitability Blueprint: Building Scalable & Sustainable F&B Businesses
- • Decoding the profit drivers across menu, manpower, operations and marketing.
- • Menu engineering and pricing strategies for stronger margins and sustainable growth.
- • Building cost discipline through wastage control, vendor negotiations and smarter sourcing.
- • Balancing dine-in, delivery and takeaway to create a resilient revenue mix.
- • Franchising and expansion models for scaling concepts while maintaining consistency.
- • Leveraging first-party data, loyalty and direct customer engagement to strengthen revenue and reduce platform dependency.
- • Location and format strategy aligned with consumer demand and the potential of each market.
- • Creating multiple revenue streams through new occasions, formats, partnerships and complementary offerings.
Understanding the investor lens through unit economics, capital efficiency, scalability and long-term value creation.
4:05 PM – 4:50 PM
Session 6: The Hotel Leadership Imperative: Talent, Culture & Competitive Advantage
- • Rethinking talent acquisition and retention strategies in a competitive hotel industry.
- • Building a high-performance culture across hotel departments and multi-property operations.
- • Preparing hotel leaders to navigate changing guest expectations and operational challenges.
- • Strengthening professional development through structured training and internal growth opportunities.
- • Creating an inclusive workplace that supports employee engagement and long-term retention.
- • Empowering hotel teams to deliver personalised guest experiences and resolve service challenges.
- • Integrating technology into hotel operations while preserving human connection.
- • Building organisational resilience through effective crisis management and decision-making.
- • Aligning employee satisfaction, service quality and operational performance for sustainable hotel growth.
4:50 PM – 5:00 PM
KEYNOTE SESSION
5:00 PM – 5:45 PM
Session 7: The Next Frontier of QSR: Brand Innovation, Profitable Growth & Market Expansion
- • From first idea to first outlet — identifying the right concept, consumer opportunity and format before entering the market.
- • Building a QSR brand that stands out through a clear proposition, distinctive menu and strong brand identity.
- • Choosing the right business model — company-owned, franchise-led or a hybrid approach for sustainable growth.
- • The franchise playbook — selecting the right partners, creating operating standards and protecting brand consistency.
- • Getting the unit economics right — understanding costs, pricing, volumes and the key numbers behind a successful outlet.
- • Menu engineering for scale — creating menus that balance consumer appeal, speed, consistency and operational efficiency.
- • Choosing the right location, format and market — from high streets and malls to food courts, airports and emerging consumption centres.
- • Building systems that allow brands to replicate success without losing quality, identity or customer experience.
- • Using technology, data and digital ordering to strengthen operations and connect with changing QSR consumers.
- • Taking a homegrown concept from one successful outlet to a multi-market foodservice brand — and knowing when and where to scale.
5:45 PM – 5:55 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
10:00 AM – 10:05 AM
Welcome Note
10:05 AM – 10:15 AM
Inaugural Session
10:15 AM – 11:05 AM
Session 8: Inside the Modern Restaurant Kitchen: Creativity, Control & Consistency
- • From regional recipes to modern menus, preserving South Indian culinary traditions while embracing new dining formats.
- • Creativity meets commercial reality: Balancing innovation, customer preferences and food costs.
- • Consistency across outlets: Standardising recipes, portions, taste and presentation.
- • Food safety first— Managing hygiene, temperature control, allergens and safe food handling.
- • Local sourcing and seasonal produce, maintaining quality amid changing ingredient availability.
- • Efficient kitchen operations: Improving preparation, station planning and peak-hour coordination.
- • Building stronger kitchen teams— Improving skills, communication and performance under pressure.
- • Technology and modern techniques, improving kitchen speed, precision and efficiency.
- • Reducing kitchen waste: Smarter menu planning, inventory management and ingredient utilisation.
- • What makes a great kitchen— Combining culinary excellence, safety, teamwork and operational discipline.
11:05 AM – 11:35 AM
Session 9: Cloud Kitchens: The Next Evolution of India’s Foodservice Landscape
- • From delivery-only kitchens to sophisticated foodservice ecosystems built around multiple brands, formats and occasions.
- • Building a cloud kitchen from scratch — concept selection, menu design, kitchen setup and route to market.
- • The rise of multi-brand and multi-concept kitchens and the ability to serve different consumer segments from one operational base.
- • Creating delivery-first menus designed for consistency, travel, packaging and the complete off-premise experience.
- • Using consumer data and ordering patterns to identify demand, refine menus and develop new virtual brands.
- • Reimagining the cloud kitchen operating model through smarter kitchen layouts, technology, inventory control and streamlined workflows.
- • Balancing delivery-platform dependence with direct ordering, loyalty and owned customer relationships.
- • Expanding beyond conventional delivery through pick-up formats, satellite kitchens, dine-in extensions and hybrid models.
- • Building brands that can move from one kitchen to multiple locations while maintaining food quality, consistency and identity.
- • The next generation of cloud kitchens — faster, more flexible and increasingly integrated into India’s evolving foodservice ecosystem.
11:35 AM – 11:45 AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
11:45 AM – 12:35 PM
Session 10: The Craft Beer Frontier: Brewing Innovation, Local Identity & New Experiences
- • The continued evolution of India’s craft beer movement and the changing role of independent breweries.
- • The shift from classic ales and lagers towards experimental brews, seasonal releases and contemporary beer styles.
- • Indian ingredients and regional flavours inspiring distinctive brewing profiles and stronger local beer identities.
- • The emergence of taprooms and brewery-led experiences bringing consumers closer to the craft of brewing.
- • Brewing innovation through new techniques, ingredients, equipment and quality-control practices.
- • Building a stronger beer culture through food pairings, tasting formats and brewery-led programming.
- • Advancing sustainable brewing practices through water efficiency, energy management and spent-grain utilisation.
- • The growing ecosystem of brewer-chef collaborations, local sourcing and cross-industry partnerships shaping the craft beer experience.
12:35 PM – 12:45 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
12:45 PM – 1:00 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
NETWORKING LUNCH
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
AWARDS REGISTRATION
3:00 PM – 3:10 PM
INAUGURAL AWARDS KEYNOTE SESSION
3:10 PM – 3:50 PM
1ST SET OF AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED
3:50 PM – 4:40 PM
Session 11: Beyond the Table: The Art of Creating Immersive Destinations & Memorable Experiences
- • The rise of destination-led hospitality, where the concept itself becomes a reason to visit.
- • Creating distinctive moments and occasions that turn ordinary visits into memorable experiences.
- • Food, culture and storytelling coming together to create hospitality concepts with a strong sense of identity.
- • The emergence of chef-driven experiences, pop-ups, themed concepts and unconventional formats that challenge traditional dining.
- • The convergence of hospitality, art, music, design and entertainment in shaping new-age destinations.
- • Designing spaces around discovery, participation and social connection, rather than simply seating and service.
- • Local culture and contemporary creativity inspiring experiences that feel authentic, relevant and distinctive.
- • Extending the experience through community, collaborations and programming that give guests new reasons to return.
- • The rise of experience-first hospitality concepts redefining what consumers expect from restaurants, hotels and foodservice destinations.