~NRAI Food Delivery Summit 2026 in Ahmedabad brings together 5,000+ restaurant owners and industry leaders to discuss ₹1,000 crore food brands, AI, food delivery, GIFT City and sustainable growth.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Aug 20 (VNI): The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) hosted the 5th edition of the NRAI Food Delivery Summit 2026 in Ahmedabad, bringing together more than 5,000 restaurant owners, 100+ industry leaders, 3,000+ brands and delegates from over 30 cities. The summit focused on the next phase of India’s restaurant industry, including building ₹1,000 crore food brands, the future of food delivery, GIFT City and the growing role of artificial intelligence.
The summit was inaugurated in the presence of Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi. Presented by Petpooja under the theme ‘Automate to Dominate: Tech Powers Growth’, the event brought together restaurateurs, food brands, technology companies, investors and ecosystem partners to discuss growth, scalability, consumer behaviour, technology and sustainable profitability. MoUs were also signed with Mitti Café, GIFT City and Easy Caters.
Key sessions included ‘Food Delivery – Decoding the Next Decade’, ‘Building India’s Next ₹1,000 Crore Food Brand’ and ‘The Franchisee Paradox – Scale with Excellence’. Discussions examined how food delivery, franchising and new business models can support expansion while maintaining quality and operational excellence. A dedicated session on GIFT City explored opportunities for restaurant brands at the intersection of global capital, business infrastructure and the food and hospitality ecosystem.
Artificial intelligence and automation remained a major focus, with the session ‘The Intelligent Restaurant – Who Will Own the Future: Restaurant Platforms or Algorithms?’ examining how AI, data and digital platforms could transform restaurant operations and decision-making. Sagar Daryani, President, NRAI and CEO & Co-Founder, Wow! Momo Foods, said the industry is shifting from expansion for its own sake towards building resilient, profitable and scalable businesses. Petpooja Co-Founder & CEO Parthiv Patel highlighted the growing importance of technology in the decision-making layer of restaurant businesses.
The summit also featured 13 focused workshops covering AI-led restaurant operations, direct ordering, customer acquisition, business valuation, menu innovation, content creation and repeat business. Leading industry voices including Sameer Khetarpal, Ankush Grover, Anshul Gupta, Rohit Kapoor, Nitin Saluja, Mohit Khattar, Dr. Tapan Vaidya and Zorawar Kalra participated in the event. The summit concluded with an emphasis on technology, scale, consumer relevance and profitability as key drivers of the next phase of India’s restaurant industry. VNI NEWS, NRAI Food Delivery Summit 2026, India restaurant industry, Ahmedabad food summit, AI-powered restaurants, food delivery industry, ₹1000 crore food brands, GIFT City restaurants, NRAI, Restaurant Industry, Food Delivery, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Artificial Intelligence, AI Restaurants, GIFT City, Petpooja, Food Brands, VNINews, VNINews.com