IndiaRetailBiz

Barista Lavazza, the wholly owned Indian subsidiary of famed Italian coffee major Lavazza, (which earlier known as Barista was acquired from well-known NRI businessman Shiva Sankaran (who had earlier also acquired it from Tatas) is making new strides in its new rebranded avatar by focusing on highways.

Barista Lavazza is setting up new eateries on either side of Murthal village in Haryana, located on busy Delhi -Karnal highway, that boasts of several dhabas (local eateries serving fresh hot meals), says a recent BS report.

Barista Lavazza will be competing with several dhabas that offer traditional food favourites like paratha, dal makhani, tandoori roti and lassi to travellers on their way to Karnal, Chandigarh, and Shimla. Apart from offering coffee and cake, the new Barista Lavazza eateries will also offer paratha and butter milk, among others, to compete with local dhabas operating along the road. This will, however, be Barista’s second highway store as it already runs a similar store on Mysore- Bangalore highway.

“Coffee, according to Barista’s Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Coutinho, will remain the core promise that Barista Lavazza delivers on,” however, the retail chain “will continue to deliver on the core promise of a truly Italian coffee experience in a warm, friendly and relaxed environment.”

Barista Lavazza, operates a coffee chain of 215 Espresso Bars and 15 Crème cafes. These recently opened Crème cafes require larger space (over 1,600 sq ft) compared to about 1,200 sq ft of Espresso Bars. Crème cafes also remain open for longer hours than Espresso Bars and offer an elaborate food menu — breakfast options, sandwiches, salads, pastas, pizzas and lasagna.

Barista Lavazza is competing in an estimated Rs 400 crore organised coffee cafe chain market with the likes of ‘Cafe Coffee Day’ and ‘Mocha’ coffee chains. The entry into highway eateries business is an attempt of the coffee chain to expand the size of cake as overall size of cooked food business may be running into thousands of crores.