'It Is Not Just The Coffee; It Is The Unmatched Coffee Experience That Matters'

Brotin Banerjee, head, marketing and strategy, Barista Coffee Company, tells Lakshmi Subramanian about their new plans to woo the Southern market

EH&C: What are the reasons for the rapid growth of the South market?

BROTIN BANERJEE: Until recently, our major markets were in the North, East and West. We have approximately 10 outlets in the South that have shown fantastic results. There has also been an exponential rise in the footfalls and one of the outlets in Bangalore is the highest grossing outlet in India, which only proves that there is tremendous potential that is yet to be tapped in the South. The retail revenue is good and all the outlets are doing well on account of the availability of several formats. The formats include the highly visible espresso bars, malls, departmental stores, supermarkets, highways, colleges and airports. Also on cards are 20 new outlets in about 12 to 15 months, with a new outlet per month.

What would you say are some of the important features of the market in the South?

It is a strange thing that except the South the rest of India's population drinks tea. People in the South drink coffee, particularly filter coffee which is famous. The Barista brand has been successful in convincing these people that it is not just the coffee, but the entire coffee experience. Other than this there is no major difference between the South and the rest of the country.

Considering that the South is emerging as a strong market what are your plans to exploit this potential to the maximum?

We have several new initiatives such as the 'Barista Brew Reward Programme', which is based on the smart card system. This system was introduced recently in Bangalore and will soon be launched in Chennai and Hyderabad. The smart card has a microprocessor at the back, which will track the details of the customer. It will keep track of the consumption patterns of the customer as to the number of times they visit the place. There are two card packages one for working professionals and one for students. The students get a discount of 12.5 per cent and working professionals get a discount of about 10 per cent. The discount will see an increase as the number of visits increase. For example if a customer drinks coffee worth Rs 1,000 then they would get a discount of 21 to 22 per cent. In Bangalore, there are already 7,500 to 8,000 cardholders.

The other initiative is that the Chennai and Bangalore outlets are going to be completely Wi-Fi enabled. Finally, there is the 'Sound of Barista' wherein we have brought in professional DJ's who have created six or seven profiles of customers visiting Barista, based on which we have a selection of music. Different customers come at different times of the day. For instance during the afternoons more students come in as opposed to evening when several professionals come. Students prefer lively music whereas professionals may prefer mild, relaxing music. Therefore we personalise the kind of music for each customer group. Music is a very important aspect at Barista as it enhances the ambience and adds to the experience. This pre-programmed music concept is a revolutionary one in India and is also referred to as the customer retail music. In addition, we keep adding about 40-50 new tracks to cater to the changing requirements of the regular customers.

What is your target market and what kind of investment will be required to execute these plans?

The footfalls are on an increase of 20 per cent every year and our target group is in the age group between 18-35. These results are because of a combination of factors such as change in the menu every six months, product mix to suit the local palette, value for money and so on. We keep innovating on a regular basis. For instance, we recently introduced in-fusion meals within the price bracket of Rs 45-50.

As for the investment, it depends on the format and size of the outlet. The investment ranges between Rs five to 23 lakhs.

What was the idea behind introducing the Corner Bookstore to Barista?

The corner bookstore is a library inside a coffee shop. Books and coffee have traditionally had a great relationship. If the outlet attracts a lot of student the library will stock books that will interest them. If the outlet is in a residential area then there will be more fiction, books on Yoga and so on. Our main idea is to focus on the books and music, which we believe are characteristic features of the coffee experience.