India, Sept. 15 -- India's Food and Beverage (F&B) sector has become a key driver of retail real estate growth, recording about 4 million sq ft of leasing across seven major cities since the last two years. Bengaluru led the trend, accounting for nearly one-third of this activity. In response to strong demand, developers plan to allocate up to 25% of space in upcoming destination malls to F&B. By 2028, around 6 million sq ft of F&B space is expected to come up across the top seven cities, a report by JLL India has said.

Mumbai and Delhi NCR, alongside Bengaluru, form the trinity driving two-thirds of the national leasing activity, while Delhi NCR stands out with 26% of the drinking establishment growth and a unique preference for mall-ba...