With nearly 15,000 Km of highways up for construction over the next five years, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that India is a nation on the move. As more and more people pour out on to the roads, the potential for retailers to set up shop along our brand new economic lifelines can no longer be ignored. Add to that the growing popularity of the coffee culture in our metros, and it’s no wonder that coffee retailers are lining up to serve us a cup of that perfect brew. And getting ready to take advantage of this undeniable potential is Cafe Coffee Day, India’s leading coffee retailer, that has decided to come out with plans to fill in the one segment that has so far been relatively devoid of serious competition. As anyone with HBO at home would know, highway diners/coffee shops are big business in many parts of the world, and with the new generation of young Indians having enough cash to spend, it is one segment that can surely expect to see rapid growth in the coming years.
But is it really as big an opportunity as is being made out to be?...after all, can we seriously expect the air-conditioned charms of a modern day coffee outlet to pose a threat to the myriad dhabas that have been the stop-over point of choice on our highways for about as long as one can remember, even to the extent of becoming a part of popular folklore. Do you seriously expect Kartar Singh, the hardy truck driver from Jalandhar to give up his daily glass of lassi for a mugful of foamy latte, however exotic the source of the coffee beans may be?... If not, then where can we expect the customers to come in from?...well, don’t forget that this is a country where nearly 5 million new vehicles hit the road every year, and in such a scenario, getting hold of the right number of coffee drinkers should not be that difficult a task – CCD, for one, seems to be counting on this demand, given the massive growth plans it has chalked up for the coming years. With 1,080 outlets already operational across a number of Indian cities, the Bangalore based chain is planning on taking that number up to 2000 in the next three years, reflecting the sense of optimism that prevails regarding the future of the café culture in the country, as more and more people come around to the idea of spending Rs.100 plus for a cup of coffee.
However, the highways are by no means the end of the road in so far as CCD’s expansion plans are concerned. It is also increasingly looking upon newly constructed hospital complexes as yet another source of growth- after all, unlike the govt hospitals of yesteryears where only the very brave would venture to take even a sip of the highly suspicious looking liquid that would pass off as water, our new-age hospitals increasingly resemble five star hotels, trying their level best to ensure you don’t want to leave even long after you have gotten hale and hearty.
For the time being though, the road ahead looks promising indeed for coffee retailers across the country, and the next time you take your set of wheels out for a spin, you might just consider giving Shyamlal Ji’s dhaba a miss…