By Prarthana Mitra
India is the biggest market in Asia in terms of food sales for global coffee retailer Starbucks, according to its regional chief executive officer. Sumitro Gosh said the company has been continually localising its menu to take advantage of the growing market in India.
Tata Starbucks, a joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages, has been trying to extend their services from beverages to quick service restaurants and take away counters.
In an effort to further benchmark their expansion, Starbucks recently started offering fusion finger food along with their coffee at all existing outlets, in keeping with local demands. After localised dishes like chatpata paratha wrap and murg kathi wrap, which have shown promising sales in other cities, the menu in Kolkata has also been adapted to suit local tastes and preferences. In fact, the outlets are offering twists on the classic tiramisu and mousse, keeping the Bengali sweet tooth in mind.
“Starbucks is a beverage company, but the opportunity to expand into food is equally high in Indi,” Gosh said in an interview with the Economic Times.
Gosh also revealed the company has been looking to set up outlets in smaller cities across the nation and also been on the hunt for places where they can operate two outlets simultaneously.
According to information filed with the registrar of companies, Tata Starbucks reported net sales of Rs 272 crore for 2017, with a growth rate of 14%. The company operates in seven Indian cities so far, including, Mumbai, the National Capital Region, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and now Kolkata.
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