Café culture in India was largely within luxury hotels till late 90s, and if we remember and look at the homegrown brands, Barista was the pioneer of this culture and introduced truly international experience of coffee beyond hotels in 2000. “Journey of two decades has been quite exciting and the culture has grown big in the last 10 years basis the evolution in the market place and the evolved consumer eating habits,” shared Rajat Agrawal, CEO, Barista by adding that coffee has always been a lifestyle product with new add-ons over the decade of being a socializing & a meeting place. Pandemic has added a new zone to the business of work from cafes/Delivery. “The portfolio spread and food offerings today have a larger variety than what we started with, today we are also known for our non-coffee beverages along with food which has a large spread and categories. Today consumers are more knowledgeable and well-traveled, they know their preferences well and are well educated on their coffee choices,” he added. Excerpts from the interview:

With over 300+ operating outlets across 95+ cities, Barista thrives to provide an international experience in terms of cafés and coffee culture. How are you bringing the same experience for the customer?

As a branded concept, the ethos of our success over the year has been consistent experience across locations. Manpower management and training plays an important role and we as an organization are focused on the same. Further the entire supply chain is centralized to keep the product experience consistent. 

We see that brands like Starbucks that entered in 2012 now operate more than 250 outlets. Similarly, Tim Hortons that entered a few months before is also expanding fast. How are you trying to compete with such chains that are globally recognised?

Café chain category is growing well, compared to developed economies our per capita consumption of coffee is significantly lower. India consumes 100 gm coffee per capita vs 12 kgs per capita in developed economies. We have already build a large base with 350 plus operating outlets and earmarked our business zones, we have opened 150 stores in the last 3 years which includes the pandemic period, this shows the growth and network we have created over the past few years even with competition coming in. Category growth is important and there is a space for everyone to penetrate, you need to identify your sweet spots and strengths and capitalize on the same.

How is the Barista Franchise model different from other café chains? What franchise support do you provide to your partners?

Our franchise model stands out to rest and our biggest strength is our strong market knowledge and our vintage of operation which is spread over decades. Three most important criteria for evaluating a successful franchise model is the brand vintage and how successfully the brand has been able to sustain itself, another key factor is expansion with existing partners, how well they are growing with the brand and lastly the formats which the brand operates in, its commercial model and viability. We have delivered on all these 3 fronts in the past and are very confident to keep up the momentum.  

How have you designed the menu keeping in mind coffee as the main beverage option?

Coffee is the mainstream product of our menu, we keep on innovating and launching new products at a periodic level to create fresh engagements with the guests and give them more touch points to engage with the brand.

Also, FMCG as a vertical has grown across India especially in the last one year. We have seen many QSR players entering the space. What’s the future of such a segment? Also, what’s your FMCG response?

FMCG is a strategic fit to our business segment, we have a large proprietary merchandise portfolio and the idea was to sell it beyond stores, that’s how FMCG kicked off for us. It’s always important for a brand to be showcased at maximum touch points available. We have strategically chosen categories which are directly related with our brand such as Coffee, Cookies, Chocolates & Spreads. We are now available in more than 1500 retail points across multiple states in India.

The brand has on the go as well as diner format. What was the idea of launching a different segment? Which is the most profitable segment for you?

Innovation around formats is a continuous process for any brand to be relevant, change is imperative. Diner & Express formats are a strategic fit to our portfolio and help us fasten the process of growth with formats suited for all location types.

Also, we see that the delivery/cloud kitchen segment has grown post pandemic. How much do you focus on delivery? What is your delivery vs dine-in ratio?

Delivery post pandemic has become a very important aspect of business with a lot of innovation around packaging and strategic partners to assist on delivery. Delivery volumes have picked up relatively but compared to QSR food brands it is still lower for the coffee brands. For a store which has a good concentration and proximity to residential areas where the guest profile prefers coffee, our delivery % are between 12-15% of the net revenue. These contributions are increasing on a YoY basis.   

How is the Food Service Industry in India gearing up with Standardisation to serve good food?

Chained outlets categories are always known for their consistent food supply, at Barista we have been focusing on a centralised SCM eco system which standardizes the food opportunity. Processes & rigorous on the job training take care of the service and food, processes have to be deep routed for any brand to scale up and be successful in the long run. 

CSR initiatives at the brand

We have recently partnered with project EKA foundation, whose objective was to set up schools for underprivileged kids. We are managing 600 students so far across two schools and looking to open a few more centers in association with EKA foundation in times to come. We as a brand have also been sensitive to working for the society at large and our partnership with EKA foundation further strengthens the same. 

5 trends in the cafe segment you foresee.

Technology to play an important role, Café becoming a utility product than lifestyle in times to come, Spur in takeaway & online business, Leaner store formats, Automation of processes than manual interventions on the product side. 

What’s your expansion plan?

We are growing at a healthy pace with 350 plus cafes across 100 plus cities and our targeting to be 500 operating stores over the next 2 years.