The UK coffee chain and its Indian franchise partner Devyani International Ltd are seeking to open up to 50 stores a year as demand for premium coffee among younger Indian consumers continues to rise
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Costa Coffee made its debut in India via local franchisee Devyani International Ltd in 2005 | Photo credit: Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee CEO Philippe Schaillee has said the coffee chain plans to open 40-50 new stores annually in India, one of its ‘priority markets’ globally.
UK-based Costa Coffee made its debut in India via local franchisee Devyani International Ltd (DIL) in 2005, with an outlet in New Delhi.
The franchisee, which also operates licensed stores of KFC and Pizza Hut, has opened 38 net new Costa Coffee outlets this financial year to reach 150 stores.
“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,” Schaillee said.
Speaking at a media roundtable, Schaillee also discussed how rising coffee consumption among India’s younger generation and a broad increase in disposable income levels is creating growth opportunities for Costa Coffee in the Indian market.
“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.
In a further move to gain ground in India’s increasingly competitive coffee shop market, DIL has entered into a strategic agreement with Indian cinema chain PVR Inox to sell hot and cold Costa Coffee products at select premium screens.
With further details on the partnership not yet published, it is unclear how many of PVR Inox’s 360 cinemas will offer Costa Coffee or which format the coffee chain will have within the sites.