Barista Coffee Company Ltd is planning to open about 50 cafes in India this year, and is aiming to position itself as a global player.
Barista currently has 130 cafes, including four in Dubai and three in Sri Lanka. "We are looking at 40 per cent growth this year (in terms of number of cafes in India)," Barista's CEO Yogesh Samat told reporters in Bangalore on Thursday.
The company proposed to open cafes in Kuwait shortly, he said, adding international sales accounts for 10 per cent of the company's total sales.
According to him, the company requires an investment in the region of Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) to Rs 65 lakh (Rs 6.5 million) to open a cafe.
Samat said the company aimed to become number two globally in the coffee retailing space in terms of brand imagery and turnover, among others, behind world leader Starbucks in ten years.
He claimed Barista had the capabilities, skill-sets and would tap opportunities to attain the target. Focus would be on Asia, Samat said.
To shed its image of being "inaccessible" in terms of price, the company brought down the prices by 15 to 20 per cent last April, a move that resulted in increase in number of customers by 47 per cent over the subsequent three months, he said.