The Foods and Beverages (F&B) industry in India is expected to get a massive boost from new international and domestic outlet launches at retail destinations like airport, train stations and highways across the country.

The joint venture between Lite Bite Foods and HMSHost is expected to pump in Rs 100 crores in reinventing the outlets at the various travel destinations in India.

This JV, which will operate under the name Lite Bite Foods HMSHost, will be based out of Gurgaon in Delhi.

HMSHost?s presence across the dynamic F&B markets in the world, permeates Lite Bite Foods entry in new markets. The association combines the global resources and expertise of HMSHost and Lite Bite Foods, and will capitalise on the strong reputation HMSHost has developed as a leading provider of food and beverage services for travellers.

Lite Bite Foods? overseas chains are Baker's Street, Punjab Grill and Fresc Co, and Autogrill, which are among the oldest F&B service provider for travellers across the globe.

Lite Bite Foods chairman Amit Burman is hopeful that the new company has the combined value of Autogrill's international expertise and Lite Bite Foods' extensive local market and cuisine knowledge and network of established outlets. ?This agreement represents each organisation?s strong commitment to provide the best F&B retail experience to our consumers across all travel channels. Together, we will bring an exciting new force to the country's travel food retail industry and revolutionise this emerging channel,? he adds.

Lite Bite Foods CEO Sharad Sachdeva said, ?With millions of passengers travelling annually, the transit hubs like airports and railway stations have become a strategic location for our brand?s presence. We are very excited about this JV and this association will definitely help extend our brand in neighbouring countries as well.?

By Papri Das

Known for his chiseled body and action packed roles, Sonu Sood is the kind of actor that makes you root even for the villain. (Remember Dabangg?) Given his 'angry young man' image, it comes as a surprise when we found out that he is a self confessed shopaholic. 

After a two month hiatus from the maximum city, Sood is back in Mumbai and Exec Lifestyle caught up with him at Vogue Fashion's Night Out. Looking dapper in a black on black suit, he soon slipped into the crowd of celebrities inside a popular pub for the after party of the event, but not before answering a short Q&A on fashion with us.

Excerpts:

What's your fashion mantra?

Wear what's comfortable and be confident in it. Don?t follow a fad blindly unless you want to experiment and are down for it. In events like these, you generally see a lot of people decked up for the occasion, but for me this occasion is all about meeting my friends. I was out of Mumbai for a few months and I am going to have a good time catching up.

Have you ever gone on a shopping spree?

Although I hold myself back here, but yes, there have been a few instances abroad where I have gone on a shopping spree. There was time during shoots when I over stacked myself with stuff I bought and I had nowhere to store them. Women are often teased for their love for shopping but it is definitely not exclusive to them.

What do you go gaga over in a store?

Shoes, shoes and more shoes. I am head over heels for a new pair of shoes. If I do an inventory of my wardrobe, I think there will be around 250 to 300 pairs of shoes at least.

What type of shoes do you prefer?

Depends on where I am headed to and what the occasion is. I like the good old classics, but off late I am experimenting with colours and patterns but within my comfort zone.

Would you go to a party wearing the wackiest pair of shoes?

Oh absolutely. I sometimes wear bright red converse shoes with formals. But then again, I need to be among people I hang out with.

Starbucks hosted a unique challenge called Starbucks Coffee Championship in India, where 150 of the company?s partners competed with each other on their expertise and knowledge of coffee.

After many regional rounds that tested their coffee skills and acumen, Saili Rane from the Starbucks store at the Mumbai Domestic Airport earned the title of the Starbucks Coffee Champion, while Rubeena Qureshi from Starbucks Bandra, Mumbai and Shikhar Hali from Starbucks Mantri Mall, Bangalore were the runner ups.

During the finale held in Mumbai, partners competed in four  challenging rounds, which comprised a personal coffee tasting Pour Over session, a bar skill round, which tested their beverage artistry skills and the ultimate Blind Tasting round to test the accuracy of their coffee palate. The last round was an elaborate Q&A round where Coffee Masters were judged on the basis of their proposed presentations to elevate coffee leadership in their markets.

Tata Starbucks CEO Avani Davda said, ?We?re thrilled to host the first Starbucks Coffee Championship in India. The Starbucks Coffee Championship is a celebration of our unique store partners and their passion and commitment to the brand as well as their coffee artistry.?

The winners of the India Championship will participate in the Starbucks Regional Championship to be held later this year in South East Asia.

By Papri Das

For years Raksha Bandhan has been a symbol of how India upholds the bond between brothers and sisters. This ancient tradition allows sisters to tie decorated threads around their brothers wrists in return for a promise to protect them. It was later relaunched by scholar and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a renewed gusto to propagate brotherhood amongst men and women from different religions, and then later the festival got a whole new makeover as we got more and more consumeristic.

But in essence, Raksha Bandhan remains the same as anticipatory fervours of the festival are felt weeks in advance as shops pop up decking the Indian streets with colourful Rakhis and sweet shops rev up their preparation for the day. It is the perfect time for immediate and extended families to get together and have fun with cousins.

But luck doesn?t favour all in this regard, especially our busy media executives who are so caught up in their schedules that their chance of a full fledged Raksha Bandhan holiday looks bleak. Take the popular brother sister pair Sajid Khan and Farah Khan from the film industry for example. Farah Khan, who has been religiously tying a Rakhi to her brother as well as Sajid Nadiadwala for years, had to leave the country to shoot a song sequence for Dilwale in Iceland for her upcoming movie this year. And so she celebrated the festival a week in advance before leaving for the shoot. ?It?s unfortunate that Farah won?t be with me this Rakhi but she has already tied Rakhi on my hand a few days back before going for the shoot,? Sajid Khan tells Exec Lifestyle.

When asked about how he typically celebrates the day, Khan shares, ?Apart from my immediate sisters, I have many Rakhi sisters. While it's true I might not be able to meet them regularly, I do keep in touch with them on a daily basis. I make sure I catch up with them on Rakhi and go out for lunch or something. ?When it comes to Rakhi gifts, Sajid prefers to keep it simple and go with the classics. This year Sajid has gifted Farah a couple of perfumes from her favourite brands.

Buying a gift remains a complicated process for adman and co-founder of Sideways, Abhijit Avasthi, who has twenty two sisters from either sides of his family, including his Ashima Avasthi - senior creative director at BBC Worldwide. But that doesn?t stop Abhijit from going out of his way to handpick gifts for each of them in accordance with their taste, style and preference.

?Raksha Bandhan has always been a special festival for me, since I am the oldest amongst all my sisters. The day usually plays out like a family feature film with all brothers and sisters gathering under one roof and enjoying to our hearts content!? shared Abhijit, jokingly thanking Exec Life for the reminder as he now has to start buying gifts.

As a child, television producer from Playtime Creations Hemal Thakkar too spent hours deciding on what to gift his sister, Vaishali, who is a popular actress in television industry. Now that she is all grown up, Hemal does it the smart way and instead gifts her in cash. ?Finding a gift that suits their taste is a hard nut to crack and it gets more and more difficult each year. My sisters have all grown up and become independent. I know they appreciate it more when I leave it to them to choose what they want. "When asked what he likes as a return gift, Thakkar shares, ?I have a sweet tooth so my sisters bring me all sorts of sweet dishes and that totally makes my day.?

Other brother - sister duos in the industry who are known to share a close bond include advertising honcho Piyush Pandey and actress - singer Ila Arun, BAG Films managing director Anurradha Prasad and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, actor Tushar and Balaji Telefilms? Ekta Kapoor and Rose Audio Visuals? Shrishti Arya and filmmaker Goldie Behl amongst others. We wish them all a very happy Raksha Bandhan from the team of Indiantelevision.com.