Rise and Fall of an Industry? Anjula Devi writes on the dynamics of the curry industry

I have written before on the dynamics of the curry industry, sharing some of my personal views on the UK’s great restaurant and take-away trade, which is worth an estimated £3bn per annum to the UK’s economy. London currently has more curry houses than Delhi!

In February, featured in both The Telegraph and The Independent, an article grabbed my attention. It was a projection that 50% of UK curry houses would disappear within the next ten years. This equates to around 17,000 restaurants closing.

I use the term ‘curry houses’ advisedly here, as estimates suggest that in the UK, 90% are Bangladeshi owned.

I was delighted to be invited onto the Sunny and Shay show, on BBC Radio London, recently to discuss this structural threat to one of the UK’s great industries.

A contemporary initiative, which you may well have heard of, is that of so-called ‘Vindaloo Visas’, a proposition which is designed to lift immigration restrictions on skilled chefs. The intent of these visas is to halt the rate of curry house closures.

My own view is that the demise of the curry house industry is more complex than this and that this initiative, on its own, won’t be enough to stem the current rate of decline. The top tier of UK restaurants which serve Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani food will survive and thrive. However, many restaurants serving these cuisines in the UK have a few even bigger challenges to wrestle with right now.

The shortage of skilled chefs is clearly one factor, but I believe that there are other core structural essentials which need to be addressed with real urgency…

1. The core proposition itself – the food. Many restaurants have been slow to evolve their menus to embrace lighter and healthier food and to recognize the trend towards fish, plant based and vegan offerings. 

As time passes a growing number of customers are eagerly learning more and more about the myriad regional variations of Indian cuisine. Some restaurant and take-away menus are still incredibly long, without convincing differences between many of the dishes.

Colouring agents, which aren’t good for you, are often overused and don’t enhance the flavour of restaurant food. Plenty of discerning diners now know this. Some restaurants are evolving in this respect, many are not.

2. The dining environment – the overall ambience. A core principle of running a small business is to reinvest to always present a contemporary proposition in a rapidly changing world. Many Indian restaurants look very dated!

3. Defining a point of unique difference in a crowded and competitive market – why customers should visit a particular curry establishment. Many restaurants haven’t ever really worked out how to shout to customers ‘visit me because…’. When I work with many of my clients this is the thing that they find most difficult to achieve. The word ‘unique’ is a great one for any business to challenge itself on – what service or product do I provide, which is unique to me.

The ebb and flow of any large industry over time is always fascinating to review and dissect. This is a key moment for our beloved Indian food industry to reinvent and evolve itself…