Local cuisine strikes taste buds, outperforms fast foods

Tikka, Biryani led the way with 49% and 13% shares.


Our Correspondent January 06, 2015
The number of web searches for food witnessed a 16% year-on-year growth in 2014, according to the data. STOCK IMAGE

KARACHI: Proving its delicious worth, Pakistani cuisine remained the top-ordered food category in 2014 at EatOye with chicken Tikka alone accounting for almost half the orders booked through the online food portal.

Pakistani food remained the top-ordered cuisine in 2014, holding a strong 39% share in the overall orders booked through the online platform, thanks to chicken Tikka and chicken Biryani that remained the main drivers of this growth with 49% and 13% shares, respectively.

The numbers are substantial at a time when fast food restaurants are flourishing across the country – dozens of fast food outlets, especially those focused on pizza and burgers, have opened during last couple of years in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, according to industry sources.

Fast food accounted for only 20% share in the most-ordered cuisines at EatOye’s platform last year, the company said in a report. However, the only exception was the pizza, which remained the second most-ordered cuisine with a 29% share, statistics showed.

The number of web searches for food witnessed a 16% year-on-year growth in 2014, according to the data.

Chicken Tikka is easily available at almost every restaurant, which is the one reason why it remains the most selling item, says EatOye CEO Nauman Mirza. EatOye estimates online food ordering to be a $15 million market.



The statistics for local cuisine, Mirza says indicate that there is a lot of room for other categories as well. For example, the CEO says there aren’t many specialty cuisines, such as Mexican, Turkish or Lebanese to name a few.

“Though we don’t have much tourism or foreigners who would go to such restaurants, there are a lot of Pakistanis who want such cuisines,” Mirza said, adding, “Some growth will come in this area.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th,  2015.

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