N. Raghuraman's column: You know how the world is running convenience stores with 'instanticizing'

In many parts of the world, convenience stores are shops where you buy kitchen and personal grooming items, in addition to laundry and soda. Cigarettes are also available in select places. But in South Korea you can also buy single malt whiskey, French wine worth 700-900 dollars. If you think there's anything new in it, wait. You can recharge mobile phones, buy televisions and even 24 karat gold bars. These stores don't stop there. As a customer, you can sign up for a debit card. You can dine at the bar serving 200 types of instant noodles. You can do a lot of other amazing things. These stores are most famous for their 'Instantizing Food' i.e. preparing instant food. While you are waiting to wash and dry your clothes in a corner of the store, they can pick any raw material from the store and turn it into packaged food. At least 70 new food products arrive in stores every week, pushing the food industry there to $25 billion. In South Korea's food retail market, if you can't adapt to changes immediately, you'll disappear. There are also critics of convenience stores in that country, who visit them. They have become influencers in terms of where to buy new ones. There are interviews on this topic in TV shows and newspapers, as it has become interesting and a topic of gossip among people. Books written on food and drink of these convenience stores are selling well. In short, the world is changing very fast as far as consumption items are concerned. Similarly, when the fast food brand Subway opened its 1000th outlet in Shanghai, China, it caught the attention of many people. Not because the brand is new, but because of the pace of opening outlets across China, which changed the food habits of the world's second-most populous country. It started in 1995 and opened only 500 stores in 28 years till 2023. In contrast, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC have opened thousands of stores, making money from the fast-growing middle-income group that wants fresh food but doesn't want to make it. Here, Subway opened 500 new stores in two years and 300 more new branches by the end of this year. Thus, her pace of completing the first phase of opening 4 thousand stores took the food industry by surprise. According to the Hongcann Industry Research Institute's 2025 report on the Western fast food industry, the number of such outlets in China alone has reached 3.25 lakh, growing at a rate of 6.6% year-on-year. Most stores have become profitable from the first year with a 30% increase in year-on-year sales. The tremendous performance of every outlet in the western food industry is a testament to the fact that the trend of quick service restaurants is growing rapidly. KFC is not far behind. Its coffee cafes, quick service restaurants across more than 1300 locations are contributing to the overall operating profits of the industry. Delivery sales are growing by 22%, which is about 45% of Subway's total sales. And in China alone, digital sales have reached $2.4 billion. McDonald's has opened 407 outlets in the first half of 2025, maintaining the momentum of two new stores daily. What is it that is triggering such changes in a country like China? Their mature standardized operating system (tastes consistent across the globe), precise pricing and above all, constantly changing menus, help them grow steadily even in a dull environment. The funda is that the world is entering an 'instantising' era. If you change yourself fast enough and give them what they want – you will continue to earn money.