Summer is on. The heat is on. And therefore, desserts are finding their way to top
the charts in popularity to quench the dryness of mouth and soul. From retail outlets
to hotels, all are offering sumptuous desserts to make summer pleasant for people.
Hospitality Outlook presents some unique facets of the companies and hotels who are
using desserts as an important tool to raise F&B offerings and increasing their revenue
meter.


Mr. G.S. Bhalla
Founder & CEO
Cocoberry

Product demand-
Cocoberry is India's first & premium frozen yogurt chain. Since the time of its inception,
the company has witnessed positive growth and with summers showing its effect, we
are expecting a phenomenal rise in the demand of our desserts. Cocoberry is an exciting
destination for all frozen yogurt lovers as it pampers them with refreshing flavors like
strawberry, green apple, blueberry, blackberry and 20 innovative and lip smacking
toppings to go with your mood, be it the romantic choc chips or naughty strawberry,
sweet melons, nutty walnut or the every child’s love - playful gems!

Varieties on platter
We have already introduced an innovative form of yogurt called Parfaits, which is
frozen yogurt clubbed with cereals which altogether makes it a healthy breakfast option.
However, we even have a plan to launch another exotic flavor, called Tiramissu. And we
would be shortly entering into packaged food market as well.

Trend
Definitely, like every year, these summers also a chunk of regular Ice cream lovers
would look forward to gorge in some innovative and unusual options of desserts, which
includes Parfaits, yogurts. The USP of Cocoberry Yogurts is that they are an ideal low
fat substitute for traditional ice creams. The amount of calories present in one scoop of
Yogurt is half of what is present in an equal amount of ice cream. Yogurt being termed as
a “guilt free indulgence” caters to diabetic and healthy people alike.

Business environment
Since the time Cocoberry incepted in February 2009, the challenge was to create
awareness of the frozen dessert / yogurt, as it was a westernized concept, so initial 6

months were challenging to develop the fan following and create a niche in the premium
segment. However with the growing urbanization and the changing lifestyle, Cocoberry
has been accepted and adored by the target consumers. With a 95 % market share in
the frozen yogurt chain segment, today we are India’s first and largest premium frozen
yogurt chain with the widest network of stores across the country.

Growth plans
Induced by the growth potential of the health food market, we plan to increase the
number of our exclusive outlets from 30 currently to 100 outlets by the end of 2011 and
ramp up that number to over 400 stores in the subsequent years. At present, Cocoberry
is sold through its branded outlets through three retail formats: shop-in-shops, takeaways
and cafes. Furthermore, we also plan to foray into pre- packaged products selling through
supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Besides being an exciting treat to beat the scorching summer, Cocoberry is popular
amongst its lovers as a tasty and a healthy desert option, which is made up of fresh pro-
biotic cultures, yogurt and non-fat milk and clubbed with an assortment of exotic fruits.

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Mr. Saumitra Chaturvedi
Food & Beverage Manager
Park Plaza, Gurgaon

Offering seasonal flavors
With summers, it is obvious that maximum customers are going for cold desserts. The
demand is going to increase more and more as the season progresses. New varieties do
lure customers to crave for more. Our focus will be on the seasonal fruit like mango and
mango flavored desserts.

For health conscious
Lots are going for sugar free desserts, which also has become a standard for most of the
leading hotels in the country. It is true that desserts are being made even for diabetic
people that not only compliment the basic menu style but also add on to the surprise
element. There is a lot of demand for sugar free desserts. It should have a balance of all
like – fruit base, chocolate base, cream base, baked, sugar free, eggless, etc.

Business wise
The sale matters a lot in the pastry shop. Over the years the pastry and confectionary
business is growing and Pastry shops are becoming very important revenue generation
outlet for all the hotels.

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Mr. Gaurav Wattal
Director Food & Beverage
Goa Marriott Resort

Summer trends
As summer sets in, the trend moves towards lighter and fresher dessert offerings. The
trend changes from heavy dessert to sorbets, ice creams along with fresh fruit and citrus
desserts.

This is an exciting time for us as we are launching our new menus this season and
desserts are big on our list of priorities. The trend has moved toward bite sized dessert
and our buffets are going to be a reflection of this trend in the coming months. We are
doing a lot of citrus desserts, sorbets and traditional favorites in our new menu.

Freshness approach
Like I stated earlier our focus is going to be on sorbets and citrus desserts and for the
market we are in these are very popular with our guests. Summer is also a great time for
fresh fruits and for all health conscious people fresh fruit platters, sorbets and fresh fruit
yogurts is a great way to pamper their sweet cravings yet eat healthy and stay fit.

With lifestyle changes and with a lot of our guests having dietary preferences and
diabetics being one of them we ensure we have enough variety to cater to them and
have various options on the dessert menu and on the buffet. These would include dessert
options which are made with sugar substitutes and are also low on carbohydrates. A
dessert menu should have a fair mix of traditional favorites, the new trends, local flavors
and the Chefs signature which is important to give the restaurant its identity.

Business wise
Hotels often underestimate the power of desserts, but anyone who’s really looking at
the bottom line in this business knows that the profit margin on dessert is high. With a
great dessert menu that’s effectively promoted, restaurants can significantly increase
their average check. What’s more, nothing delights customers more than a gorgeous
dessert. Whether it’s an elaborately plated confection with six different garnishes,
or a simple slice of apple pie à la mode, dessert makes people smile. And what’s the
point of a terrific appetizer and entrée followed by a mediocre dessert? Dessert is the
last impression that you give your guests, so it’s important to make it last – and it will
certainly help you to build a loyal customer base.

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Mr. Rayomund Pardiwalla
Executive Chef
Holiday Inn Pune Hinjewadi

Dessert demand on rise
As the summers are setting the demand for cold desserts in most F&B outlets is on the
rise and a few things are as irresistible as the ice cream, coolers, frozen yoghurts which
contain no eggs for the health conscious people.

At the Holiday Inn Pune Hinjewadi in our 24 hours restaurant - Cafe Bay Leaf we will
be serving desserts like pannacota, mango and lime shots, parfaits, chilled custards, and
traditional ice candies which are all time favorites.

Varieties on offer
Of course ice creams which are of the premium quality apart from which are, fruit
shots, fruit trifle pudding, individual frozen fruit parfait, chilled cheese cake, ice cream
sandwich, mango pavlova with ice cream.

Small size ice cream cakes, frozen yoghurts, popular savory frozen desserts as Curry
Gorgonzola Raisin Gelato, Avocado Cilantro Gelato, Olive Oil & Parmesan Cheese
Frozen Popsicles are becoming the trend. Similar to the soft-serve trend, iced treats are
showing up in flavors such as sugar-snap pea. Authentic Eastern sweets will be in the
mainstream in the US this year, a perfect example of which is mochi ice cream. Sweet
balls of ice cream are coated with candy-colored rice flour to create a nearly melt-proof
treat that can survive the heat of even the most humid summer.

For health conscious
There are specialized bakery products around the world that has built up a reputation by
creating organic, guilt-free gourmet desserts and cakes. The latest sugar alternatives you
can enjoy, low-glycemic, a type of sugar that helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides,
and because of its unique molecular structure can even improve blood sugar metabolism
and boost insulin sensitivity and a type of flour that boost the nutrients and lowers the
glycemic index of your desserts and helps control hunger by sending your brain the "I'm
full" feeling. At Cafe Bay Leaf very soon the incorporation of sugar free desserts and
eggless delights will be introduced for customers who are health conscious.

Diabetic desserts demands are to come by which generally would not compliment the
basic menu style, though a huge emphasis is given on desserts that are low in calories and
fat, a few of considerations that are given while creating dessert menus would be house-
made ice cream, bite-sized or mini desserts, deconstructed classic desserts and savory
desserts. Guests aren’t really interested in paying high price for a particular huge portion
of dessert, but do not mind paying lesser for a smaller portion of the same favorite
dessert.

Sales impact
Clearly, consumers love dessert. Many fancy to the satiate their sweet tooth. Rarely
would you find a single person who regularly skips dessert. That kind of appetite is
driving domestic industry of bakeries, chocolatiers, ice cream makers and countless other
small businesses. By keeping an eye on shifting consumer trends, hotels can leverage the
appeal of desserts to boost incremental sales. According to Global Industry Analysts, a

San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm, the global market for frozen desserts alone
is expected to grow by more than 3 percent a year to some $97 billion by 2010, driven
by a rising demand for low-fat products (although old-fashioned ice cream still accounts
for nearly 70 percent of the market). Desserts don't need to be sophisticated, but they
do need to be made with the freshest and highest quality ingredients. So we seek out
the best even if it means using several different suppliers. Finally a talented pastry chef
is the key ingredient to the success of a dessert and someone with excellent credentials
and experience using advanced techniques who would churn out sweet delights for our
guests.

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Mr. Prashant Sabne
Pastry Chef
Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai

Part of complete meal
Cold desserts have always been a part of a good and complete meal. Due to the changing
trends I have always been able to innovate and meet the guest requirements for cold
desserts. As it is summers people do not tend to eat much but when it come to desserts
and that too cold desserts the appetite definitely goes high. Everyone wants to eat
something cold and sweet in this climate.

New range
I have a complete new range of desserts for this season which consists of lot of chocolate.
I think chocolate is good for all seasons. I am trying some combination of chocolate, nuts,
dry fruits and mangoes. A whole new range of cakes has been developed. Many of such
cake and pastries are served here at the Renaissance.

My Tiramisu at Fratelli and cheese cake, coffee and baileys at the LVC have always been
the favorites and I see the demand for it in the future.

Planned approach
We come across a lot of people who want to have desserts but they are very much
concerned about their health and since we are into hospitality business and we want to
cater them, so our desserts menus for buffets are planned in a way that we have a lot
of option for health conscious people. Like “cereal yogurt and jade” is a cake made up
of cereals, yogurt and milk chocolate. We do try to incorporate various healthy dessert
options for the health conscious.

Yes, we cater to all kind of guests and on request we do make sugar free desserts. We
have a few sugar free desserts options in our Lake View Café for the lunch and dinner
buffets. Yes it does compliment our menu styling as the menu is designed to cater all
kinds of guests.

Chocolate compliments
The most vital factor in creating a dessert menu is chocolate as an ingredient as it
compliments with everything. You will rarely meet someone who doesn't enjoy
chocolates. As a Chef we keep in mind a combination of flavors, taste and presentation
while preparing the menu. As dessert is one of the most important parts of a meal, it
definitely adds a lot of value to our overall business. We do have guests who come for
salad and dessert buffets. Few years back it was a tradition to have some sweet after the
meal but in today’s time the meal doesn’t get over till you have the dessert. Renaissance
offers a wide range of desserts, almost 20 varieties of cold desserts in our buffets at the
Lake View Cafe.