In a bid to tap India's growing cafe culture, and to brew faster than its competitor Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts has launched its signature international ice blended cold coffee in the country.

Called the ‘Dunkaccino’, the new brew is expected to give competitor Starbucks a run for its money. It is made by blending Dunkin espresso coffee (beans sourced from Karnataka) with ice, milk and another flavour.

Dev Amritesh, President and COO, Dunkin Donuts India, said, “There is a huge demand for our coffee. We are dialling up more activation on coffee.” Speaking to Business Line in an earlier interaction, he had noted that if one was under any belief that Dunkin’ Donuts in India is all about doughnuts, not coffee, it would soon be time to think again.

Elaborating further, he said that the company uses two types of coffee – drip and espresso. “We source the drip coffee directly from the US. For the espresso, we source Arabica beans from Karnataka from the Chikmagalur area. The roasting of the beans takes place in Bangalore,” Amritesh said.

With the coffee business already booming across the country, the entry of Starbucks had upped the ante. Both Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are American transplants.

According to market research company Technopak, annual coffee consumption in the country stands at 100 gm a person, as compared to 4.5 kg in the US.

While this does provide coffee majors with plenty of opportunity for growth, what makes the market crackle is the keenness of India’s middle class to adopt international tastes. Coffee consumption is growing by between six and nine per cent every year.

At the time of its launch late last year, Dunkin’ Donuts had cast its retail chain (currently nine stores in the Delhi-NCR region and one in Chandigarh) as an all-day eatery that sells more than just coffee.

As Amritesh said, “The lessons that we learnt are very specific to the country. We have kept the format Western, which is what customers want, but have traditional style ingredients.” Dunkin’ Donuts sources most of its ingredients locally. It’s chief competitor Starbucks too, after years of buying very little of Indian coffee beans, now uses it exclusively for its espresso drinks here.

The Dunkaccino makes its India debut with four variants: Choco – a chocolate-blended cold coffee topped with whipped cream, Caramel Butterscotch – blended with caramel sauce, whipped cream and butterscotch crystals, Frosted Mint – a spearmint flavour that gives it a sharply distinctive taste and Muesli – blended with muesli and rich dry fruits, pitching it as a ‘power drink’. The local beverage menu has been expanded further with fruit milkshakes, smoothies and tea.

> amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

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