Avani Saglani Davda, the CEO at Tata Starbucks Ltd since September 2012, has played a key role in the development of the joint venture between Tata group and Starbucks Corp, which runs the world’s largest coffee chain.

The company recently entered South India by opening a coffee outlet in Bangalore. In an interview with Business Line , Davda shares the joint venture’s plans for the India market. Edited excerpts:

Now that you have entered South India, how many stores are you planning in this region?

In addition to the flagship store at Koramangala (Bangalore), Tata Starbucks will open two more stores by the end of this year in Bengaluru. It is an important city entry that demonstrates our long-term commitment to expand across India and we will continue to work thoughtfully to build a strong foundation and open stores quickly.

The South is primarily a coffee drinking market. Can we expect any specific flavour for both food and beverages here?

We are committed to delivering a locally relevant Starbucks experience to our customers; one that reflects the Starbucks brand as well as India’s rich culinary heritage. Our store here in Bangalore will introduce a strong mix of international favourites as well as specially designed food offerings to reflect local flavours. Additionally, our store offers a broad beverage portfolio to include a wide range of Starbucks signature espresso-based beverages and Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

We will introduce the India Estates blend to consumers in Bengaluru. This blend is Tata Starbucks’ special country-specific coffee, developed thoughtfully with Tata Coffee for the Indian market and reflects the high quality Arabica coffee available in India. Created to celebrate our first anniversary in the country in October 2013, this coffee captures the essence and rich heritage of the Indian coffee history. Additionally, with our entry in the Indian market, we launched the Indian Espresso Roast which is sourced locally through the coffee sourcing and roasting agreement between Starbucks and Tata Coffee.

What will be the price range of the food and coffee at the India stores?

We strive to price our products competitively based upon the assessment of how we can provide high-quality products and an uncompromised experience.

We understand how important it is to our customers that they receive a high quality experience at an appropriate value, and we believe that our approach to value holistically balances the experience we provide customers with our need to effectively run our business.

You had a target of 50 stores in 2012. Are you revising this number?

Since our foray into the Indian market in October 2012, we have launched 30 stores across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Pune.

We are overwhelmed by the way in which our customers have embraced us. With a little over one year of being in operation in the country, I can assure you that our business in India continues to exceed our expectations.

We work to balance the need to run the business effectively while ensuring that we deliver the highest-quality Starbucks experience to our customers.

It’s not only about running several stores across the geography, but to nurture each store to provide the experience and deliver the brand promise to customers – every day.

What kind of investment you have planned for 2014 in India? When do you plan to break even?

We are committed to India for the long-term and the JV will invest long term in the development of our partners (employees), coffee growing communities and the neighbourhoods we serve. Our business in India continues to exceed our expectations and we remain focused on a long-term, disciplined growth in this dynamic market to establish a strong presence here, delivering an elevated coffeehouse experience to our customers in India.

What has been the experience so far? Are you revising your footprints here?

Our journey over the last year has been very gratifying and the venture has attracted acclaim from Indian consumers. This journey has only just begun and we will continue to work to exceed the expectations of our customers.

We are confident in our ability to build and grow the Starbucks brand in India, and continue to remain excited about the opportunities India presents for our business.

>anil.u@thehindu.co.in

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