Starbucks, the leader in the global coffee industry, is going local by adding some flavours from India to its menu. The action is obviously intended to satisfy the price-conscious consumer who requests little packets of local flavours.
To begin with, Starbucks will provide masala chai and filter coffee, as well as quick sandwiches, milkshakes, and bite-sized munchies, in four markets: Bhopal, Indore, Bengaluru, and Gurugram.
The world’s largest coffee company will be able to attract more customers by going local. However, Starbucks is not the only multinational restaurant chain that sells Indian cuisine. While Domino’s paneer makhani and chicken tikka pizza are extremely well-liked, McDonald’s has been selling McAloo Tikki well.
With the addition of an Indian menu, Starbucks hopes to gauge the demand for these foods and determine whether they can continue to provide them for a while.
Aware of competition
Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee chain, and Pret a Manger, a British sandwich and coffee chain, are on the verge of joining the Indian market, and it is said that Tata Starbucks’ combined collaboration (50:50 partnership) in India is preparing for the fierce battle that lies ahead.
For the record, Starbucks has been actively seeking out new markets ever since its 2012 entry into India. It averaged one new store opening every week last year. Currently, Starbucks has 268 locations throughout 26 cities, compared to just eight in 2019. Despite the market trending lower owing to COVID-19 in the last two years, the company’s sales increased by 76%.
According to a research published by ICICI Securities last week, Tata Starbucks is on path to become a significant national (urban) brand. The report attributed the faster rise to solid operational performance and rising brand acceptance.
“The third wave of COVID-19 had a slight negative influence on the quarter’s revenue growth, which was 32 percent YoY. After the third wave, 96 percent of stores quickly reopened, propelling growth back onto a robust trend. According to a Motilal Oswal report, the company had a positive EBITDA for the quarter.
