Moving towards “Slow Food”, the new frontier of culinary innovation in India: The Vedatya experience

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to research the current understanding of Slow Food in the Indian hospitality sector and to identify how the industry can embrace the concept and its sustainability. To begin, underpinnings are considered in relation to traditional, locally produced food for patrons that is actually “farm to fork” in terms of its delivery model as evidenced by backward integration in the supply of key ingredients. The economics of the backward integration is analysed to measure its impact on businesses’ bottom-line in the context of an inflationary economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Existing published literature is reviewed with reference to the “Slow Food movement” from both an international and Indian perspective. Vedatya’s approach to sustainable culinary value chain creation and its applicability for industry adoption with an intent to offer Slow Food on commercial menus is documented and discussed. A round table discussion with key food and beverage leaders is also documented and analysed to establish the current state of awareness and readiness of the sector to offer “Slow Food” through an integrated supply chain in India.

Findings

Slow Food as a concept is new to India; there is a huge shift in many parts of the world towards food that is fresh, traditional and drawn from locally available ingredients. This research shares Vedatya’s experience in developing an integrated value chain that can provide a sustainable Slow Food model for the Indian hospitality and restaurant sector to deploy with a positive impact on profitability too.

Research limitations/implications

There is need for more research to better understand the feasibility of hospitality businesses working on supply chain with backward integration, to offer “Slow Food” to consumers. While there seems to be a demand for traditional food, this paper does not research that aspect; further research is required to ascertain the potential demand for Slow Food in India.

Practical implications

The popularity of Slow Food is global; however, the Indian hospitality sector is yet to warm up to this potential. The customer focus on healthy, traditional, fresh food opens an opportunity to innovate, and businesses that build capacity to offer real farm-to-fork menus can become market leaders and will reap bottom-line benefits through lower input costs because of supply chain integration.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in terms of offering a discussion on the potential of Slow Food as the next realm of culinary innovation in India. It also adds value by sharing the Vedatya experience in terms of developing an integrated supply chain that facilitates the Slow Food offering in a farm-to-fork format. The model can be emulated by commercial hospitality businesses resulting in cost advantages and higher satisfaction levels of customers.

Citation

Munjal, S., Sharma, S. and Menon, P. (2016), "Moving towards “Slow Food”, the new frontier of culinary innovation in India: The Vedatya experience", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 444-460. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-04-2016-0022