Everything You Wanted To Know About Wok Express

Wok Express offers its patrons a world of fun with its laid-back ambience, rotating dim sum menus, bubble teas and woks in any way you would like them. We love Wok Express and if you live in Mumbai and have not been there yet, you must be living under a rock.

Grab a tasty bowl of Noodles (from Wok Express of course Mumbaikars) and delve into this fascinating and exclusive interview with Mr. Ayush Agarwal, Director Wok Express.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the growth of Wok Express; where did it start and where is it today?

Wok Express started its journey in May 2015 with setting up its first outlet in Pali-Naka and expanded to Lokhandwala, Church gate and BKC in one year itself. Seeing the excellent response from the customers, as of today, we have already established 12 outlets across Mumbai within two years.

In the next four years, we plan to increase our presence to over 100 locations across Mumbai, and enter new markets, including Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. We are looking at an investment of 100-150 Crores over the next four years. Simultaneously, we are targeting areas like corporate hubs and neighbourhood areas.

2. Can you share some personal anecdotes of experiences setting up and running the chain?

Setting up is the first step and the most difficult one, but it does not get easier for a while after taking this first step. You realize that you need to scale up fast, build awareness of the concept and the brand.

Every market that we enter is a new challenge; we need to ensure that all aspects of our business – location, seating capacity, team, training, food, and marketing are perfect. Focusing on each of these aspects helps us to give the desired experience to the customers.

3. Why did you chose to begin an Oriental QSR?

Until a couple of years ago, oriental cuisine was a completely new concept for consumers. However, with rising per capita income and urbanization, Indian’s demand for various superior food products along with the urge for experimentation has led to necessitating a possible change in the food consumption pattern. They are warming up to the mixed bag of cuisines and flavors now available to them like Chinese, Japanese, American, Italian etc.

Indian-Chinese food has long enjoyed its status as comfort food in both India and amongst the diaspora. The staples for the Millennials are also changing. We now have chicken katsu baos, Edamame and Truffle dumplings, glazed chicken wings and tempura prawns as our new go-to foods. In addition, of course, we cannot forget the sushi and ramen noodles.

The consumer preference for QSRs has increased considerably, followed by casual dining restaurants. The standardization across food outlet chains in terms of ambiance, hygiene, time to service and easy accessibility has generated instant interest in the mind of the consumers, leading to an increase in the overall footfalls.

Keeping all of this in mind, the potential in India for a branded Asian food QSR is huge and every individual, family, newlyweds, collegians and working professionals are our potential customers. We aim to bridge the gap between a larger niche audience & people who are on the go. I think customers need a branded organized Asian food QSR player serving customized fresh food to them.

Also, inspired by ‘Wok to Walk’, a restaurant in New York that allows customers to make their own Asian recipes, Wok Express competes with Chinese restaurants and other QSR brands.

4. Tell us a little about how the menu is designed and ingredients are sourced.

As a brand, we have always believed that food is the centre of life and our aim is to serve the best possible ingredients to provide the unique Fusion of Asian Cuisine.

Ensuring consistency in the quality of food that we prepare has always been a challenge for us, and therefore we have strictly followed our recipes to maintain the set standards. When it comes to food, we use the finest ingredients available and across all our 12 locations across Mumbai.

About 35% of the selective ingredients are imported and the rest of the ingredients are freshly procured from the local markets.

5. What are some of the most popular items at Wok Express?

Keeping in mind that ‘Rice’ is the staple food across India, our effort is to bring an array of Chinese dishes with rice to ‘suit the Indian palate’.

We are known for the famous “Make your own wok” which works on three easy steps. You can customize by first choosing your own base (Steamed Rice, Wheat/Ramen Noodles/Soba Noodles, or Skip the base), then choose your favourite fresh vegetables or meats and lastly the sauces, which range from traditional teriyaki to more adventurous ones such as Bangkok. Each preference is uniquely designed so that you will always have something new to try at Wok Express.

Among the array of freshly prepared dishes, our favourites from the menu are:

*Edamame & Truffle dumpling

*Crunchy coriander dumpling 

*Chicken Katsu Bao 

*’Make Your own Wok’ with hot crispy garlic / Kung Pao@ Soba noodles

Other hot selling dishes:

Appetizer: Wok Chilli Paneer, Asian Chicken Wings, Tokyo Tempura Prawns

Dumplings: Edamame & Truffle Dumpling, Wasabi Prawn Dumpling

Sushi: Jalapeno Cream Cheese Roll, Ninja Prawn Roll

Bao: Chilli Mushroom Bao, Hot Spicy Chicken Bao

Main Course: Khow Suey with Ramen Noodles, Green Thai Curry with Steamed Rice, Indonesian Nasi Prawns

Simultaneously, we are hoping to get foodies hooked on to the Taiwanese beverage, Bubble Tea which is available in a variety of flavours like Rose Petal with Boba, Bombay Butterscotch with Boba, Mano Basil and Milo – Tella with Boba.

6. What are some trends in the QSR space at present? What do you predict in the future?

In the midst of culinary development and an overall challenging industry, India is witnessing a rise in home grown brands in the QSR space who are playing an instrumental role in helping Indians to warm up to the western cuisines. While, Indian cuisine still remains to be the most preferred choice in India, Chinese cuisine is gaining significant popularity, followed by South Indian, American and Italian. Seeing the immense potential in this segment, these domestic brands are also on a lookout for funding from private equity players to establish a strong foothold.

The new digital wave has seen a surge in the food delivery apps in the form of aggregators and app based restaurants, which are playing an important role in helping the QSR segment grow. The ease in ordering food and checking restaurants online has led to companies coming out with mobile apps. Now, there are a number of players who are only virtually present and offer top quality customer service online. An upcoming trend in the recent times has been the advent of food trucks in this space. Moreover, new payment options in the form of mobile wallet companies are spurring this segment.

The boom in this sector is only expected to continue as the Indians will continue to be food-obsessed.