I orchestrate my mornings to the tune of coffee.- Terri Guillemets

India has primarily been a tea-drinking nation since time immemorial. However, coffee has become an increasingly popular drink since the turn of the twentieth century. It is now no longer a typical drink, but a refreshing and voguish beverage.

Over the past two decades, India has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of coffee lovers. An increase in disposable income, global exposure, digital and media penetration, urbanization, and lifestyle changes, are responsible for India’s Coffee Market growth. These changes have led to what we call coffee culture and are driving the growth of coffee in the market. Factors driving demand for coffee in India include rising incomes, growing demand from the institutional sector, changing eating habits, health benefits, increased coffee cultivation in India, etc.

While coffee consumption in the country grew at an average rate of 2 percent per annum in the 50 years leading up to 2000, it has since picked up and has been growing at about 5 percent per annum since the turn of the century. It is estimated that India now consumes 120,000 tons of coffee per year.

Given the stellar rise in coffee consumption coupled with urbanization and changing food habits Reliance Brand Limited is now eyeing F&B retail after its first foray into fashion and lifestyle.

The company has announced a strategic partnership with Pret A Manger, the UK-based fresh food and organic coffee chain that has more than 550 stores across the world, to launch and build the brand in India. Started in London in 1986, Pret A Manger, French for “ready to eat”, is known for its sandwiches, salads, and wraps, besides coffee.

As part of the master franchise partnership, Reliance Brands will open the food chain across the country, starting with major cities and travel hubs.

With the consolidation of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), once the largest cafe chain in India, Tata Starbucks, an equal joint venture between Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Group and Seattle-headquartered Starbucks, has emerged as the strongest contender in the space with 272 outlets across 28 cities.

Entrepreneurs are roasting an aroma of change in a predominantly tea-drinking nation. Fueled by India’s coffee revolution, the pioneer who led the country’s “bean business” have taken interesting routes to discover the diversity of local coffee. Pret A Manger a late entrant will be stepping into a highly competitive market and it will be interesting to see how pret will fare under the umbrella of Reliance.

In today`s episode of The Insightful Story, you will get to know about-

• The partnership between Pret A Manger and Reliance.
• History and expansion plans of Pret A Manger.
• Why Pret sees India as a potential market.
• How Pret with reliance plans to take over its competitors.
• Interesting take of Darshan Mehta(President and CEO, RBL) over the food and beverages space in India.
• How Pret will penetrate into the regional parts of the country.
• Past holdings of RBL.
• The X factor that Reliance brings to the table on its merger with Pret A Manger.

Are you excited to see the two biggest conglomerates of India Tata and Reliance as they lock their horns for a battle of coffee in India?

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