Costa Coffee, which is owned by Coca-Cola and is a top coffee chain, is placing a significant bet on India by expanding its reach in major cities. The restaurant franchise, managed by Devyani International in India, aims to bolster its nationwide presence over the next three years.
Vinay Nair, General Manager, India & Emerging Markets, Costa Coffee, said, “We believe India can be a significant growth story for Costa Coffee’s global business.”
He added, “Last year, we kickstarted our expansion in India (after Coca-Cola took over the brand in 2018-19) with Devyani International and added about 60 stores.”
Costa Coffee launched its 100th outlet in Delhi, India in January and presently runs 115 stores. The brand aims to fortify its market share in the current regions and venture into unexplored cities.
“We are following a cluster-based approach for the expansion. So over the next three years, we expect to have a strong presence in the top 8-10 cities along with the adjacent markets. We are also tapping into specialised channels at airports, highways, and healthcare,” Nair explained.
The coffee chain is considering expanding its operations in the Mumbai-Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad clusters.
“Coffee culture is still in the early stage of category development in a tea-drinking nation of ours. Young consumers are increasingly embracing coffee as a category, and there is a thriving coffee community in India. There is a growing interest in speciality coffee. We are quite bullish about the India consumption story, as for us, coffee is a long-term bet,” he added.
With the introduction of its new campaign ‘You x Costa Coffee,’ the brand has also revitalized its brand positioning.
“We have been building up to this over the past six months and all our new stores are being launched with the “uplift design” elements. This initiative aims to enable the brand to strengthen its connection with the current and next generation of coffee drinks as our outlets serve as networking and socialising hotspots,” Nair added.