Whenever people want a break from the routine of home-cooked food, they pick up the phone and order in stuff from outlets such as ours," says Arvind Mediratta, Chief Marketing Officer, Yum Restaurants International, which runs the kfc and Pizza Hut chains. "The convenience of having warm, freshly cooked food delivered at your doorstep is obviously driving this demand," adds Ashim Gupta, General Manager, Operations, Wimpy's International.

The operative words, then, are convenience, warm food and doorstep. Most fast food outlets-like McDonald's, Domino's, Wimpy's and Pizza Hut-and some other retailers (we'll come to them later) employ teams of young boys (girls are poorly represented here; women's libbers, equal opportunity activists and gender equality crusaders take note) to make deliveries. Scooters fitted with food boxes on the pillion riders' seat are the most popular mode of transport, but some companies are experimenting with other sets of wheels.

Kaati Zone, located on Church Street, in Bangalore's central business district, has sought to replicate the ambience of a typical American diner. But it is its team of six cycle-borne delivery boys, dressed in bright yellow jerseys and aerodynamic racing helmets that draws attention to the outlet. "We tried out a variety of options and found that cycles provided the cheapest and most efficient way to deliver hot kaati rolls to customers," says Virendra Yadav, Executive Chef at Kaati Zone, adding that pedal power allows him cut delivery time by as much as 20 per cent. "They don't face any one-way restrictions and can cut through the bumper-to-bumper peak hour traffic with ease," he adds.

The all-American (but now considerably Indianised) McDonald's, too, has had to adopt cycles to beat the traffic snarls in Delhi's ultra-crowded Chandni Chowk area. Reason: even scooters find it difficult to manoeuvre through the narrow bylanes of Old Delhi. "We looked at rickshaw deliveries, but this didn't fit in with our image; we even considered having our delivery boys walk to their delivery destinations, but this wasn't time-effective; bicycles provided us with the ideal option," says Vikram Bakshi, Managing Director of McDonald's North India.

His colleagues in Mumbai have also come to the same conclusion. McDonald's Ville Parle outlet uses cycles to deliver orders to customers. "We are constantly innovating to keep ahead of the game. And cycles help us remain competitive by cutting down on delivery times," says Nishit Pandey, Head of Corporate Affairs at the company. It has recently acquired special delivery bags from Indonesia which can be strapped to the shoulders and keep food warm. These bags, the company says, will gradually replace the big (and ugly) food baskets one sees riding pillion on Kinetic home delivery scooters.

Some companies are using their wheels to differentiate themselves. The Bangalore-based Nagarjuna Residency chain of restaurants specialises in home delivering traditional Andhra food using scooters. "But Andhra food is very common in Bangalore. So we distinguish ourselves from the rest of the market by having a huge red mock chili sticking out of the food carrier," says Mohan Reddy, proprietor of the chain.

Incidentally, food retailers aren't the only ones using innovative wheels to further their business interests. Manish Dutt, a qualified commercial pilot turned entrepreneur, runs a cigar shop called Kastro's at Delhi's upmarket Santushti market complex. His specialty: delivering premium, hand-rolled cigars at your doorstep. "A good Cuban cigar costs Rs 350-1,500. They aren't available everywhere; you won't also get them late in the evening, when most people host parties. Hence, the home delivery service," explains Dutt. Kastro's precious merchandise is stored in humidors (airtight containers that keep tobacco moist) and is grandly conveyed to customers on brightly painted Yamaha cruiser bikes by liveried riders. Dutt carries out 3-4 home delivery orders every day and business is growing fast.

And all this just to deliver what you want where you want it on time, every time.