Big catching up for new players: Barista CEO Agarwal on growing competition
Unfazed by the growing competition from new players as well as international chains, coffee house Barista is now looking beyond metro cities for expanding its footprint and drive growth, according to its CEO Rajat Agarwal.
From coffee giants Tim Hortons, Tata Starbucks, the recently opened 'Pret A Manger' to local coffee-related startups like Blue Tokai, Sleepy Owl and Rage Coffee, everyone seems to be betting big on the growing coffee culture in the traditionally tea-drinking nation.
However, the Barista CEO says that there is a "large level of catch-up" that has to be done by new players as the country's second-largest integrated coffee house with a presence in over 100 cities is growing at a rapid pace.
The homegrown coffee chain brand, which last month opened its 350th store in India in Udaipur (Rajasthan), also looks to reach the count of 500 stores in the coming two years.
"Now that we are already 350th, we are much above or far in terms of our number of stores presence. We h