Tata Starbucks has announced the launch of its first outlet in Horniman Circle in Mumbai by the end of October. This will serve as the flagship store for the company and will be at Elphinstone House – a heritage property owned by the Tata Group.
At a press briefing, Mr John Culver, President, Starbucks China and Asia-Pacific,said, "We have worked very hard in creating this partnership with the Tatas and will leverage the credibility and trust of the Tatas with our global brand."
Avani Saglani Davda, the new CEO of Tata Starbucks, said: "A lot of Tata companies own real estate and we will leverage that in terms of getting sites that are iconic and at the heart of the city in the commercial capital of Mumbai and Delhi.’’
Tata Starbucks will enter Delhi next year.
In terms of the menu, there would be a unique dish specific to the city that it enters. Almost 60 people have already been hired by the company. Starbucks coffee will be positioned as premium brand in the country.
Starbucks had entered into a tie up with the Tata group to source and roast premium coffee beans for the coffee chain as well as open retail outlets around the country through Tata Starbucks.
Tata Coffee has kicked off a modern roastery in Kushal Nagar, Coorg in Karnataka, to supply the roasted coffee beans. The Rs 3 crore, 375 tonnes a year roastery is a fully automated one. While the new roastery will supply in India to Starbucks, the coffee chain will send the beans to its outlets abroad as well.
Tata Coffee had entered into an agreement with Starbucks Coffee International Inc and Tata Starbucks Ltd, an equal joint venture between Tata Global Beverages Ltd and Starbucks, for roasting coffee produced in the company's estates using the global coffee major’s knowhow and technology. The coffee is to be distributed to Starbucks cafes, to be set up by Tata Starbucks in India, as well as to Starbucks’ operations overseas.