Costa Coffee, the leading chain owned by Coca-Cola, is accelerating its growth plans in India to tap into the fast-growing cafe culture. The chain recently touched the 200 stores-milestone with plans to add 40-50 new stores every year. The brand has been witnessing double-digit growth in the Indian market.
Vinay Nair, Vice-President, India & Emerging Markets, Costa Coffee, told businessline that the cafe chain is focusing on becoming a multi-occasion and omnichannel brand at a time when specialty coffee segment is at a tipping point. “Costa Coffee sees India as a priority market where we have a strong partner. We are seeing a tremendous amount of interest from consumers in the specialty coffee segment as they want to try new innovations. This is driving buoyancy in this segment. For us the opportunity is to tap into multiple new occasions and platforms that are emerging and be part of the daily coffee rituals of consumers in India. So we are see a tremendous runway for growth for the brand in the country,” Nair explained.
The brand is present in India through stores across high streets, malls, airports, hospitals, highways and corporate offices besides institutional vending machines. “ As part of our focus to strengthen our omni-channel presence, we are also undertaking various strategic initiatives to unlock new consumption occasions. We are now also present across about 85 cinemas of PVR INOX.”
Devyani International
The chain’s Indian franchisee partner, Devyani International, aims to set up 40-50 new outlets annually with a strong focus on tier-1 and tier-2 markets. In Q1FY25, Devyani International said the Costa Coffee business’ revenue grew by 40.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis, on account of expansion of new stores. In FY2024, revenue from operations for the Costa Coffee business stood at ₹151.8 crore up 49 per cent, the company stated in its annual report.
“We are following a disciplined approach with a focus on growing revenues of our existing stores even as we continue to add new outlets every year. On one hand, infrastructure and new mall development has opened up new opportunities. At the same time, we have also seen an uptick in enquiries from corporates and large institutional spaces as associates are coming back to offices,” Nair added.
Coca-Cola completed the acquisition of the Costa business in 2019. Responding to a query on acceleration of growth for the brand post takeover by Coca-Cola, Nair said, “ In the past 24-30 months, the growth has definitely been accelerated. There has been increase in points of sales and we now have over 200 outlets in the country with a focus on leveraging on new opportunities.”