As the sanctification of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir is set to occur on January 22, FMCG companies and food service chains have been making a headway to the pilgrimage spot. Expected to deal with a tourist surge that is 8-10 times higher than usual, popular mineral water brand – Bisleri – plans on setting up a greenfield plant in Ayodhya to deal with the demand from within, as well as surrounding markets within the state of Uttar Pradesh.
In addition to this, Parle Products – which make Monaco and Fab biscuits, has also experienced a peak in demand for their packaged foods, which has led them to increase the number of distribution centres. A new McDonald’s outlet is also set to sprout on the Lucknow-Aypdhya highway, to deal with the anticipated higher percentage of visitors. Interestingly, the famous North Indian QSR chain, Burger Singh, opened up an outlet in the Civil Lines area, taking advantage of being one of the first brands that has brought in a significant amount of revenue for them.
What’s also notable is that while most chains continue to set up vegetarian-only outlets within Ayodhya, some brands have decided to retain their non-vegetarian menu and open shop along the outskirts, as a way of catering to international tourists. The announcement of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple coming up in Ayodhya has already resulted in the place getting a redeveloped railway station, replete with multiple food plazas, a dozen upcoming hotel projects, an airport in the making and investments of over 15,700 crores.
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Besides the current population of 3,50,000 who are residents in the place of worship, the surge in tourism and economical boost as a result of this, is also expected to inflate the total count to 50,00,000. As discussions about the temple construction were proposed few years ago, the number of visitors increased from 3,25,000 in 2021 to 23.9 million in 2022.