Forkcast Editorial
Who we are
Forkcast Editorial is the in house research team behind Forkcast; the India first HORECA operating brain. We publish data led, operator tested writing on restaurant unit economics, supply chain volatility, festival driven demand calendars, and the operational details of running a restaurant, hotel F&B desk, or catering business in India.
Our writing is sourced from three streams: (1) a panel of 200+ Indian restaurant openings tracked 2023-2026; (2) daily Agmarknet mandi snapshots across 6 commodities and 12 states; and (3) operational telemetry from Forkcast pilot outlets in Pune, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Where we cite a number, we cite the source. Where we don't have the data, we say so.
We are not a marketing content shop. Every post is reviewed by a working operator (chef, owner, or F&B head) before publish. We update old posts when the underlying numbers change.
Areas of expertise
- Restaurant unit economics in India (capex, rent to revenue, food cost benchmarks)
- FSSAI compliance and state level licensing for restaurants
- Indian commodity supply chain volatility (onion, tomato, paneer, oil)
- Festival demand calendars (Shravan, Onam, Eid, Diwali, Pongal)
- Menu engineering for Indian cuisines
- Restaurant POS, KDS, CRM, and aggregator economics (Zomato, Swiggy)
- Wedding & corporate catering operations
Credentials & background
- Founded 2024 in Pune, India
- Pilot outlets across Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat
- Data partnership with Agmarknet (publicly available mandi feed)
- Cited by HORECA operators across 14 Indian cities
Reach us
Published work; 96 posts
FoSTaC training and medical fitness: restaurant staff requirements
July 2026 · compliance · 8 min read
How much does it cost to open a cloud kitchen in India in 2026?
July 2026 · pre-launch · 10 min read
Salary week demand dip: how to plan for the 1st–7th ordering slump
July 2026 · calendar · 7 min read
FSSAI annual fee 2026: deemed suspension on FoSCoS
July 2026 · compliance · 7 min read
Corporate catering quote formula: per-plate (India 2026)
July 2026 · operations · 10 min read
Pune QSR pilot: 30-day forecast accuracy at 91% dish-level
July 2026 · case-study · 8 min read
ADD buffet par-level when hotel occupancy drops
July 2026 · operations · 9 min read
FSSAI licence suspended in Maharashtra: how to restore and reopen
July 2026 · compliance · 8 min read
Plow Horse repricing: raise bestseller prices without losing volume
July 2026 · menu · 9 min read
Prime cost explained: food + labour ceiling by format
July 2026 · finance · 8 min read
Nightly close-out case study: actual vs forecast prep
June 2026 · case-study · 7 min read
Ganesh Chaturthi demand playbook (Maharashtra, Karnataka)
June 2026 · calendar · 8 min read
Shravan fasting-day prep: Pune pilot case study
June 2026 · case-study · 8 min read
Restaurant viability: 7 numbers before you sign the lease
June 2026 · pre-launch · 9 min read
Catering procurement plan: T-14, T-7, T-3 checklist
June 2026 · operations · 9 min read
College exam week demand patterns for restaurants
June 2026 · calendar · 7 min read
Maharashtra FDA penalties: fines, jail, licence cancellation
June 2026 · compliance · 8 min read
Swiggy margin recovery: fixing top 5 negative SKUs
June 2026 · case-study · 9 min read
Restaurant dashboard tour: what tomorrow's profitable day looks like
June 2026 · product · 8 min read
Menu calorie and allergen labelling: who must comply?
June 2026 · compliance · 8 min read
Kitchen throughput cap: when your forecast exceeds kitchen capacity
June 2026 · operations · 8 min read
IRD attach rate: why in-room dining revenue falls
June 2026 · operations · 9 min read
Cost to open a café in Mumbai and Bengaluru (2026)
June 2026 · pre-launch · 10 min read
RUCO rules for restaurants: used cooking oil, TPC limits, and fines
June 2026 · compliance · 8 min read
Why Western restaurant software fails on Ekadashi
June 2026 · product · 9 min read
Plate-cost leak: why recipe says 32% but P&L says 40%
June 2026 · operations · 8 min read
Maharashtra FDA compliance order 2026: what restaurants must do
June 2026 · compliance · 9 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi
June 2026 · pre-launch · 10 min read
Holi and Baisakhi restaurant demand playbook (India)
June 2026 · calendar · 8 min read
True profit per Zomato order: commission and refunds (2026)
June 2026 · finance · 9 min read
Restaurant weekly P&L: what to track vs monthly
June 2026 · finance · 8 min read
Buffer stock planning: how much safety stock to carry?
June 2026 · supply · 10 min read
Cloud kitchen FDA compliance Maharashtra 2026
June 2026 · compliance · 9 min read
LPG shortage playbook for Indian restaurants
June 2026 · supply · 8 min read
Chicken price crisis: when broiler hits ₹280/kg
June 2026 · supply · 9 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Chennai (2026): line by line
June 2026 · pre-launch · 11 min read
Revenue calculator walkthrough: model covers before you sign
June 2026 · product · 7 min read
GST compliance for Indian restaurants: what owners miss
June 2026 · compliance · 9 min read
Hindkesari pilot: 30-day forecast from Petpooja in 12 minutes
June 2026 · case-study · 8 min read
Liquor licence for Maharashtra restaurants: cost and timeline
June 2026 · pre-launch · 9 min read
Restaurant staffing roster template India (by format)
June 2026 · operations · 10 min read
Restaurant working capital calendar: rent, GST, payroll vs T+7–14
June 2026 · finance · 8 min read
Newspaper packaging ban for restaurants: what to use (2026)
June 2026 · compliance · 7 min read
Free drinking water rule Maharashtra: signboard, RO, bottled water
June 2026 · compliance · 7 min read
Refund rate on Swiggy/Zomato: margin and ranking impact
June 2026 · finance · 8 min read
Menu engineering matrix in plain English (with template)
June 2026 · menu · 11 min read
Best inventory management for Indian restaurants (2026)
June 2026 · product · 10 min read
Fire NOC for restaurants: cost and timeline by state
June 2026 · pre-launch · 9 min read
Maharashtra FDA raid checklist: 15 things inspectors look for
June 2026 · compliance · 7 min read
Shravan, Ekadashi, Navratri: restaurant demand calendar
June 2026 · calendar · 12 min read
Onion price crisis playbook: what to do when ₹20/kg becomes ₹80/kg
June 2026 · supply · 9 min read
Hotel F&B P&L: ADD vs IRD vs banquet, where margin actually lives
May 2026 · operations · 10 min read
Wedding catering quote: a recipe based plate price formula
May 2026 · operations · 11 min read
Cloud kitchen vs casual dining: real costs, real margins, India 2026
May 2026 · pre-launch · 12 min read
Why Indian restaurants fail in year one (4 numbers that predict it)
May 2026 · operations · 10 min read
Wedding season catering: ops calendar for India
May 2026 · calendar · 8 min read
Petpooja vs UrbanPiper vs Posist: which POS for a 2026 launch?
May 2026 · product · 12 min read
Monsoon: how demand changes for Indian restaurants
April 2026 · calendar · 6 min read
Restaurant break-even formula India (with calculator)
April 2026 · finance · 9 min read
IPL season: 60 day demand playbook for QSR & bars
April 2026 · calendar · 7 min read
FSSAI licence in Maharashtra: cost, timeline, documents
April 2026 · pre-launch · 8 min read
Christmas & New Year: restaurant demand playbook (India)
April 2026 · calendar · 7 min read
How much does it actually cost to open a restaurant in Pune in 2026?
April 2026 · pre-launch · 11 min read
Diwali demand for restaurants: the 5 day playbook
April 2026 · calendar · 8 min read
Ramadan & Eid: restaurant demand playbook for India
March 2026 · calendar · 8 min read
Pongal & Makar Sankranti: restaurant demand playbook
March 2026 · calendar · 6 min read
Onam demand for restaurants: how to plan the sadya rush
March 2026 · calendar · 7 min read
Inventory shrinkage in Indian kitchens: the 4-7% you don't see
March 2026 · supply · 8 min read
Vendor scorecards for Indian restaurant procurement
February 2026 · supply · 7 min read
Edible oil price crisis playbook for Indian restaurants
February 2026 · supply · 8 min read
Paneer price crisis playbook: when wedding season hits supply
February 2026 · supply · 7 min read
Tomato price crisis playbook: ₹20/kg → ₹120/kg
February 2026 · supply · 7 min read
Indian restaurant supply chain: mandi to plate (2026 guide)
January 2026 · supply · 13 min read
Switching restaurant POS without downtime: a 21 day plan
January 2026 · product · 8 min read
Restaurant CRM in India: build, buy, or stay with POS?
January 2026 · product · 8 min read
WhatsApp marketing for Indian restaurants: stack, costs, and ROI
December 2025 · product · 9 min read
Best Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) for Indian restaurants in 2026
December 2025 · product · 9 min read
Menu redesign case study: 15% margin lift in 90 days
December 2025 · case-study · 11 min read
Cuisine pricing benchmarks India 2026: thali, biryani, dosa, pizza
December 2025 · menu · 9 min read
Psychological pricing on Indian menus: what actually works
November 2025 · menu · 9 min read
Recipe costing for Indian kitchens: thali, biryani, tandoor
November 2025 · menu · 11 min read
Restaurant cash flow forecasting template (India 2026)
November 2025 · finance · 9 min read
Zomato and Swiggy commission: what to negotiate, what won't move
November 2025 · finance · 9 min read
Restaurant labour cost benchmarks by city and format (India 2026)
October 2025 · finance · 10 min read
Food cost percentage benchmarks by cuisine (India 2026)
October 2025 · finance · 11 min read
Indian restaurant unit economics: prime cost to EBITDA
October 2025 · finance · 14 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Hyderabad (2026): line by line
October 2025 · pre-launch · 11 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Delhi (2026): line by line
September 2025 · pre-launch · 12 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Bengaluru (2026): line by line
September 2025 · pre-launch · 11 min read
Cost to open a restaurant in Mumbai (2026): line by line
September 2025 · pre-launch · 12 min read
Indian restaurant licences checklist: 11 things you'll need
August 2025 · pre-launch · 10 min read
FSSAI licence for Gujarat restaurants: cost, timeline, documents
August 2025 · pre-launch · 7 min read
FSSAI licence for Tamil Nadu restaurants: cost, timeline, documents
July 2025 · pre-launch · 8 min read
FSSAI licence for Delhi restaurants: cost, timeline, documents
June 2025 · pre-launch · 9 min read
FSSAI licence for Karnataka restaurants: cost, timeline, documents
June 2025 · pre-launch · 8 min read
The complete 2026 guide to opening a restaurant in India
May 2025 · pre-launch · 18 min read
Get the data behind every post.
Eight free tools, daily mandi prices, blog updates.