Wat-a-Burger

Wat-a-Burger was started by an airline pilot. Rajat Jaiswal, who has logged more than 7,000 flying hours, built the business in his time between flights with his childhood friend Farman Beig, who had come back from business studies in the UK in 2015. The company was registered on 14 February 2016 and opened its first outlet in Noida, just outside Delhi, the same month.

The pitch is in the chain’s tagline, “India ka Burger”: an American format with Indian flavours. The menu is built around vegetarian patties, from aloo tikki and paneer to a ghost chilli burger, next to chicken burgers in tandoori, makhani and peri peri styles, with no beef.

It grew mostly through franchising and away from the big metros. By May 2021 it had 60 outlets in 21 cities across 11 states, 44 of them franchises and more than 60 per cent in smaller, second-tier cities. Revenue rose from about 1 crore rupees in its first full year to 30 crore in 2019–20, then fell to 13.1 crore in the first pandemic year.

Outlets in cities across India, most of them franchises outside the big metros.

• Jollibee (Philippines, since 1978). The Philippine chain that beat McDonald’s at home, with sweet spaghetti on the side. Also built on beef.
• Mom's Touch (South Korea, since 1997). Korea’s chicken burger chain, famous for a whole fried thigh in a bun. Also built on chicken.
• Dicos (China, since 1994). China’s home-grown rival to KFC, built on Texas-style fried chicken. Also built on chicken.
• Freshness Burger (Japan, since 1992). Tokyo’s relaxed burger café, famous for a yellow bun made with pumpkin. Also built on beef.