Chinese food is hard to make at home, which makes it a favorite for restauranters for its attraction to customers and large margins. It is also the second largest cuisine market in India after North Indian food. And now a big player has entered this space, with Jubilant Foodworks (which is in 22 stock screeners) announcing the launch of its Indian brand targeting Chinese food, Hong's Kitchen. The brand, which JFL calls 'fast casual' Chinese, will offer both dine-in and delivery. The first store has been opened in Eros Mall, Gurugram.

The Chinese market doubles JFL’s addressable opportunity. If JFL can replicate its success with Domino's, especially in building great recipes at scale and at speed, as well as speed in delivery, this could be a win for JFL. The key will be in successfully occupying the niche of affordable Chinese food in hygienic settings, which Domino's has successfully done in the pizza market. 

In the meantime, JFL is also likely to see an upswing in its numbers in 2019 thanks to the cricket world cup and IPL - both these events likely to drive delivery consumption, particularly in pizza. The company is also focusing on small-town expansion, in the coming quarters, and that impact on operating margins and revenues will be closely tracked.