How Burger Singh Competed With McDonald’s To Build a ₹400Cr+ Franchise

Mashable Mornings is a YouTube show that features business stories and startup journeys from India’s top founders. In this episode, Kabir Jit Singh, founder of Burger Singh, one of India’s fastest-growing quick service restaurant (QSR) brands.

From starting a small outlet in Gurgaon to expanding across 175+ locations in India, Kabir explains how Burger Singh became a ₹400+ crore homegrown burger chain, competing with global players like McDonald’s and Burger King.

Podcast Summary

Q1. How did the name “Burger Singh” come about?

While studying and working in the UK, Kabir often experimented with Indian spices to make local burgers tastier. His colleagues and customers found it hard to pronounce his name, Kabir, and simply started calling him “Burger Singh.” The nickname stuck, and it eventually became his brand identity.

What began as a fun label among peers transformed into one of India’s most memorable QSR brand names. Kabir leveraged this identity to create instant recall, blending desi humour with international fast-food culture.

Q2. What was your first encounter with the food business like?

Kabir recalls working at a British fish-and-chips shop during his MBA days. He started adding mint chutney and red onions to burgers, which quickly became popular with co-workers and customers. This was his first taste of how cultural fusion could create a unique food experience.

That small experiment planted the seed for Burger Singh. Kabir realised that Indian flavours could make fast food not just global, but also hyperlocal, tailored for the Indian palate.

Q3. What challenges did you face when you returned to India with the idea?

Despite his UK experience, Kabir found it difficult to land jobs with McDonald’s or Domino’s. His qualifications didn’t fit their hiring profiles, which left him frustrated. Instead of seeing it as rejection, he reframed it as an opportunity to build something of his own.

This rejection became a blessing in disguise. Kabir soon began working with startups like Beer Café, where he learned the operational complexities of India’s F&B industry — insights that later saved him from costly mistakes.

Q4. How did you build the first Burger Singh outlet?

The first outlet in Gurgaon was just 94 sq. ft. smaller than a typical bedroom. Kabir and his co-founder, Nitin Rana, managed everything from flipping patties to handling deliveries themselves.

Starting small allowed them to refine operations without burning excessive capital. By focusing on efficiency, delivery, and consistent taste, they built a strong base for expansion.

Q5. How does Burger Singh differentiate itself from global QSR chains like McDonald’s?

Kabir stresses that Burger Singh isn’t trying to copy McDonald’s — instead, it focuses on Indianized flavours like “Chulbul Pandey Burger” and “Chunky Paneer Pandey.” These quirky, localised menu items set the brand apart.

While McDonald’s brought global systems, Burger Singh built cultural relevance. By fusing Indian spices and humour into the menu, they captured loyalty in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where Western menus often felt alien.

Q6. What role did Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities play in your expansion?

Unlike many startups that target metro consumers, Burger Singh leaned heavily into smaller towns. Kabir highlights that QSR penetration in India is still only 3 outlets per million people, compared to 50 in China.

This means the real growth potential lies outside metros. Burger Singh’s desi branding clicked instantly with smaller-city consumers, fueling faster adoption and stronger word-of-mouth.

Q7. What were your biggest learnings from the Beer Café experience?

Working at Beer Café exposed Kabir to licensing, bureaucracy, mall negotiations, and manpower challenges. He admits that had he started Burger Singh without this experience, he would have “burned through money and failed.”

These lessons taught him the importance of SOPs (standard operating procedures), operational efficiency, and location strategy. Today, those systems form the backbone of Burger Singh’s scaling model.

Q8. How important are operations and SOPs in running a QSR chain?

According to Kabir, the heart of QSR success lies in efficiency: managing manpower, ensuring speed in cooking, and optimising table turnaround. A single store needs to flip tables multiple times a day to be profitable.

Without SOPs, growth would collapse under inconsistency. Burger Singh invested early in detailed operations manuals, training, and systems, giving franchise partners confidence to replicate success.

Q9. Can you share insights on the Indian burger market vs. global markets?

In India, burgers are still under-penetrated compared to pizza or biryani. While international chains dominate urban malls, there’s a huge untapped demand in high streets and smaller cities.

Kabir believes this gap is why Burger Singh has been able to carve its niche. By offering affordable yet localised burgers, the brand avoided direct head-to-head battles with American QSR giants.

🚀 Inspired by Burger Singh’s growth?

Explore more stories and guides in our Franchise Business category to learn how you can start and scale your own venture.

Q10. How do you approach franchise expansion?

Franchise growth is central to Burger Singh’s model. Kabir explains that they get directly involved at each step, from landlord negotiations to training staff, ensuring franchisees feel supported.

This hands-on approach creates alignment and protects the brand’s reputation. Unlike many franchise-first brands, Burger Singh focuses on quality growth, not just rapid store counts.

Q11. What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs entering the food industry?

Kabir encourages entrepreneurs to first work in an F&B setup to understand the nitty-gritty before launching their own. He stresses that the industry requires patience, resilience, and people-management skills.

He also advises focusing on differentiation. In cluttered markets like Indo-Chinese, scaling is difficult, but burgers still have headroom for growth. Picking the right product category is half the battle.

Q12. How has Burger Singh achieved a valuation of ₹400+ crore?

The growth is a mix of brand recall, operational efficiency, and tiered expansion. Kabir shares that smaller-format outlets, combined with delivery-first strategies, have driven revenue beyond projections.

By balancing affordability with scalability, Burger Singh has cracked a model that appeals to both investors and everyday consumers.

🎥 Watch the full conversation with Kabir Jit Singh on Mashable Mornings — click below to see how Burger Singh took on McDonald’s and built a ₹400+ crore brand.

Conclusion

The story of Burger Singh is more than just the rise of a burger chain — it’s proof that Indian flavors, when combined with global formats, can disrupt even the toughest markets. Kabir Jit Singh’s journey highlights the power of resilience, adaptability, and staying true to one’s roots. From being rejected by multinational food chains to building a ₹400+ crore homegrown QSR brand, his path shows that failure can be the foundation of innovation.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in the F&B space, the Burger Singh journey underscores two timeless lessons: start small but think big, and always design a product that resonates with your audience. Whether in Gurgaon, Patna, or Bengaluru, the hunger for authentic, affordable, and localised experiences is universal and that’s exactly where opportunity lies.

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