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Coca-Cola-owned Costa Coffee on Friday said it considers India among its top ten “priority” markets and expects to see significant growth in the size of the consumer base for specialty coffee in the country. The brand said its franchisee partner in India, Devyani International, plans to add 40-50 outlets annually to grow the brands’ retail footprint. It added that it remains committed to this franchisee partnership in India.
Addressing a select media roundtable, Philippe Schaillee, Global CEO, Costa Coffee, said, “ India is among the top ten priority markets for us. We are very happy with the growth rates in India in terms of store openings. Our partner is committed to maintaining that and we also want to make sure we make the most of the stores that we are opening. We are focused on increasing the like-to-like sales of every store and achieving operational excellence.”
He added that the store addition growth rate has been ramped up since Coca-Cola took over Costa Coffee.” Our partner aims to open 40-50 stores per year. If we see opportunities to do more than that ...we will do it,” he added.
Coca-Cola completed the acquisition of the Costa business in 2019. The franchisee partner in India, Devyani International, is part of RJ Corp, which is also the parent company of Varun Beverages, the leading bottler for rival PepsiCo. However, the coffee chain decided to continue its franchise partnership with Devyani International and inked a revised pact in 2021.
Asked if there are any changes on the card in this regard, Schaillee said, “ We are committed to this partnership and very pleased with this collaboration. We always want work with the best franchisees that have expierence in the international food and beverage segment. In India we scouted the market for the best partner and we landed with Devyani International.”
Coffee consumption
India is considered to be among the top 20 coffee consumption markets globally and growing at 11 per cent rate double than the global average of 5 per cent.
“ India’s per cap coffee consumption is smaller than the global average. The size of the population in India that is gravitating towards specialty coffee stands at 20-25 million consumers and it is expected to continue to grow strongly. As disposable income grows, per capita consumption rises and with double-digit category growth momentum, India is poised to emerge among the top 10 or 15 coffee consumption markets over the next decade,” he added.
On Thursday, Devyani International announced that it has inked a strategic agreement with leading multiplex chain PVR INOX. Under this agreement, “handcrafted hot and cold coffees” will be introduced at some of the multiplex chain’s properties. The brand will also be leveraging on its association with the ICC World Cup to drive footfalls in the coming weeks.
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