Proposal
A live pizza and pasta counter for QMART
Shoppers build their own pizza, pasta, salad or panini from a line of QMART's own ingredients, made in front of them in about six minutes.
- Prepared for
- QMART, Hyderabad
- Prepared by
- United Restaurants Ltd (U.S.Pizza), Bengaluru
- Date
- October 2026
1The concept
We propose a live counter inside QMART where shoppers build their own pizza, pasta, salad or panini. All the ingredients sit on one line. The customer points, the team builds it in front of them, and it is baked or cooked on the spot.
Most of the ingredients on the line are products QMART already sells: the cheeses, cold cuts, olive oils, sauces, fresh vegetables, breads and pizza dough. Shoppers get to taste them, and the receipt shows where each one is in the store.
What it does for QMART
- Customers taste the higher-value products, such as imported cheeses, cold cuts and oils, before they buy them.
- It gives people a reason to come in, and to stay longer.
- It builds on what QMART already does well: it was the first store in Hyderabad with an in-store deli, imported cheese, cold cuts and hydroponic produce. The bakery can supply the dough and breads.
- It adds food-service sales from a small area of the store.
2See it running
3How it works for the shopper
About six minutes from ordering to collecting.
- Order on the counter tablet, or on their own phone by scanning a QR code while they shop.
- Choose a base: pizza dough, a pasta shape, salad greens or bakery bread.
- Choose a sauce, dressing or spread.
- Add cheese and toppings. The customer points and the team builds, using set portions so every order comes out the same.
- Cook: the pizza bakes, the pasta is tossed on induction, the panini is pressed. Salads go straight to the next step.
- Finish: fresh herbs, burrata, olive oil or balsamic are added at the end.
- Collect when the token is called. The receipt lists the products used and where to find them in the store.
One line, four menus
| Menu | Base | Then | Cooked | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza | Hand-stretched dough | Sauce, cheese, toppings | Stone oven | 5–6 min |
| Pasta | Penne, spaghetti, fusilli or fresh tagliatelle | Sauce, vegetables, protein | Tossed on induction | 4–5 min |
| Salad | Hydroponic greens | Toppings, protein, cheese, dressing | Tossed cold | 2–3 min |
| Panini | QMART bakery bread | Spread, fillings, cheese | Pressed hot | 4 min |
4Ingredients
We will not put every product on the counter. Each one has to pass four tests, and we choose the final products and brands from QMART's range during the study.
- Sold at QMART
- Products customers can buy on the way out come first. A few items are made at the counter.
- Works in the oven
- It melts, crisps or holds up in the oven. Some cheeses are only added after the bake.
- Does more than one job
- Most ingredients are used in at least two of pizza, pasta, salad and panini, which keeps waste down.
- Pays its way
- Premium items such as burrata, prosciutto and truffle oil carry a small extra charge.
Pizza bases are made from the fresh pizza dough QMART sells in the aisle. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients use separate scoops and pans, pork has its own board, and chicken is halal-certified. The menu will carry the FSSAI veg and non-veg marks, calories and allergens.
5Menu
6Ordering
Customers order on a tablet at the counter or on their own phone. The screen shows the dish as they build it, the price, and which ingredients are sold at QMART. A veg-only switch hides every non-vegetarian option.
In the store, orders go to the kitchen screen and to billing. Customers pay at the counter or at QMART's tills.
Try the Q Live Kitchen ordering screenBuild a pizza, pasta, salad or panini. Opens in a new tab.7Counter layout and cost
The counter is one straight bar. Shoppers stand on one side, the team works on the other, and the stations follow the order the food is made in: dough, sauce, toppings, oven, finishing and packing, then billing. Pasta and panini are cooked on a back counter and share the same toppings. Use the options below to see the bar drawn to scale, its size, and the estimated cost to build it in Hyderabad.
| Station and equipment | Size (mm) | ₹, incl. GST |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated set-up cost | ||
Dough
Dough balls are prepared the day before and proofed in trays, ready when the counter opens. Each base is stretched by hand on a marble top in about 30 seconds.
Sauce and toppings
Normally the sauce sits on the same refrigerated make-line as the cheese and toppings. For a more premium counter, the sauce gets its own station so two people can build at once.
Oven
The oven goes on the back counter, behind the team, which keeps the bar to about 15–16 ft. We recommend a two-deck electric stone oven. It bakes eight pizzas at a time and looks like a proper pizzeria. An Italian oven reaches 450°C and bakes in 3–4 minutes. A good Indian stainless-steel, stone-hearth oven runs at 350–400°C, bakes in 5–7 minutes, and costs a fraction of the price. A conveyor oven bakes every pizza the same with less skill, but it is slower for this size of pizza.
Pasta and panini
Pasta is par-cooked each morning and finished to order on induction in 1–3 minutes. The panini press sits on the back counter.
Finishing and billing
Garnish, cut and pack under a heat lamp, then pay and collect at the end of the bar. Two people can run the counter when it is quiet, and three to five at peak.
8How we would set it up
We will agree the timeline with QMART after the site study. After opening, we stay with the counter for 90 days.
9About U.S.Pizza
U.S.Pizza has been in business since 1996 and has 86+ outlets in 35+ cities, with its own supply chain and training programme. We have been developing this build-your-own format since 2021, and the recipes, ingredient list and ordering screen in this proposal come from that work.
10Next steps
- A tasting for QMART's team, made with products from QMART's shelves.
- A visit to the pilot store to measure the space and check power, water and the exhaust route.
- Agreement on the menu, the counter option and the timeline.
- Contact
- Zain Akbar Khwaja
- Company
- United Restaurants Ltd (U.S.Pizza)
- zain.k@uspizza.in
- Web
- uspizza.in