On Wednesday, the Aditya Birla Group announced its entry into the premium casual dining space, a rapidly growing segment of the organised food services market.

Aditya Birla New Age (ABNA), the group's hospitality arm, has collaborated with India's well-known chef restaurateur Rahul Akerkar to build premium casual dining restaurant chains across India.

Under the umbrella of ABNA, Aryaman Vikram Birla, son of Chairman Aditya Vikram Birla, aspires to create a preferred house of F&B brands in India.

"High disposable income among the rising middle class in India, and the expansion of the urban cosmopolitan lifestyle is driving the boom in dining out behaviour. Therefore, the demand for premium casual dining restaurants (PCDR) is expected to increase across India as consumers seek new dining experiences," Aditya Birla Management Corporation director and ABNA Founder Aryaman Vikram Birla said.

Akerkar is a chef-restaurateur entrepreneur who has joined ABNA's wholly-owned subsidiary as creative director and director cuisine, where he will be in charge of the restaurant's concept as well as the culinary vision.

ABNA currently operates Jolie's, a 30,000-square-foot members-only club in Mumbai's Worli neighbourhood.