Similarly, Pizza Hut, another high-end fast food chain, claims to have received exceptional response to its recently opened outlets in Ludhiana and Amritsar. McDonald’s, too, is very enthused by the response it is getting in Ludhiana. This is one outlet where traditional Sikh women with their heads covered with dupattas throng to eat the burger which they had first eaten in London while visiting their kin.

Today, these companies are counting mega bucks away from megacities. And they are not alone. Beer majors, for instance, are also seeing Class-1 towns (with a population below 10 lakh) guzzling the spirit.

Call it an inflection point in non-metro marketing, but from global fast food chains to premium beer companies, all are turning to this segment. Domino’s Pizza was the first global fast food chain that opened its outlets away from megacities to sell pizzas. Little did it realise that for a fast food chain to do this was to start a movement. They had to first create product awareness before brand awareness.

Domino’s invited people to taste its pizzas. "Most of the time we did trial runs in the schools as children are the greatest influencers and adapt to tastes easily," says Nair.

Similarly, Pizza Hut which has so far only been in the metros, plans an aggressive drive to go to smaller towns and expects a growth of 20 per cent by being there. It plans to expand from its existing 48 restaurants in 15 cities to 100 by 2004. It will move mostly to places like Jalandhar, Meerut, Kochi, Mysore, Nashik, Coimbatore, etc.

McDonald’s, which is essentially a fast food chain based in megacities, is now expanding in north Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh.

Says Vikram Bakshi, Managing Director, McDonald’s India (North): "Three months down the line we will open a restaurant in Chandigarh, then Shimla and Kasauli. The response in Ludhiana has convinced us that there is a huge potential in the smaller metros and cities," says Bakshi.

Even Hindustan Lever Limited’s (HLL) high-end ice creams have entered the interiors of States like Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, which they consider as continuous markets. "These are compact markets that are being catered to through our feeder routes, with certain assigned centres like Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Ernakulam in Kerala," says HLL’s executive director (ice-cream) J. H. Mehta.

The reasons for this are not difficult to guess. "The global exposure, particularly fuelled by satellite TV, is creating a demand. The Indian customer is very awakened," stresses Bakshi. A study by AC Nielson-ORG Marg has shown that there are small pockets of big spenders even in smaller towns. In fact, the surprise finding of this research agency is that the level of ownership of certain high-priced consumer durables such as laser discs, home theatres and MP3 players is higher in small towns than in large metros.These companies are confident that in these cities there is a dramatic shift in lifestyle trends, a substantial increase in disposable incomes, a burgeoning of the Indian middle class, mushrooming of consolidated entertainment complexes, exposure to newer cuisines, etc. In fact, with an increase in the disposable income and the propensity to spend, a similar surge is evident in semi-urban areas.

For Pizza Hut’s Director, Marketing, Pankaj Batra, the best way to reach these new customers is by way of localising the product. There is an extensive and distinct range of pizzas, which offers a differentiating trademark dining experience. Says Batra: "Even though Pizza Hut has brought to India its pizza expertise, internationally standardised operations and procedures, training and best practices, etc, we have also, over the years, developed and successfully introduced a range of products that suit the Indian customer, who traditionally prefers hot and spicy food." The offerings like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer, the Masala range and the recently launched Tandoori range of pizzas testify to this. It is the first pizza chain to open a 100 per cent vegetarian restaurant in Surat where they offer Jain menus sans all root-based ingredients.

Rasna, a soft drink brand, is planning to reach every corner of the country this year. It has launched a new campaign called Rasna Ek Ka Do. Says Piruz Kambhatta, Chairman and Managing Director, Rasna Drinks Pvt. Ltd.: "We felt that price should not be a barrier for those residing in villages and semi-urban areas. Earlier this season, we introduced Rasna Ek Ka Do, especially for someone who needs to think twice before spending a rupee." It is priced at Re. 1 and gives two glasses of all-purpose, all-season soft drink. With the launch of this product, one can get a glass of Rasna at only 50 paisa.

And how do they plan to market it? By strengthening their distribution network. "Over a period of time we will be covering a total of two million outlets. The sales force will be strengthened by another 55 people. An additional 400 cycle salesmen, 220 pilot sales representatives and 300 additional stockists will be put in place," says the chief of Rasna.

Beer companies too see a huge possibility away from megacities. In fact, all leading beer makers say that the smaller cities have a sales potential of 50 to 55 per cent of their total production. "Strong beer brands are sold the most in semi-urban areas as consumers want larger alcoholic returns on the money spent, whereas an urban consumer focuses on lifestyle and holistic imagery of the brand rather than alcohol content," says Ramesh Vishwanathan, General Manager, Marketing, United Breweries.