New Delhi: Starbucks on July 11 revamped its menu with masala tea and filter coffee to attract customers with Indianized and affordable options.
As per reports, the menu will also include street-style sandwiches, milkshakes, bite-sized munchies and a small drink cup, which will be tested in four markets: Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Bhopal and Indore. Read more: Swiggy gets ‘mystery horse rider’ from viral video, says – he is not a delivery boy
After Pizza Hut discovered its Indian taste buds with Paneer Pizza, McDonald’s discovered Subway with its ‘McAloo Tikki Burger’, Subway with ‘Hara Bhara Kebab’ and KFC with its ‘Biryani Bucket’, Starbucks Now joining the list of global fast food chains. who are localizing their flavors to cater to the tastes of the Indian diaspora. READ MORE: Elon Musk Shares Fatherhood Wisdom! Employees asked to have more kids, enjoy these benefits at Tesla, SpaceX
On the other hand, the Chole Paneer Kulcha and Turmeric Latte are already on the Starbucks menu. So, what really inspired the move?
The affordability and demand for local and small-sized solutions, according to the company.
India being primarily a tea drinking country and filter coffee being an irrefutable element of South Indian culture, the business felt that it could not be absent from these categories.
Sushant Das, CEO, Tata Starbucks explained, “Some of the foods that we are offering at Starbucks as a starting point tend to be more affordable and attract a larger proportion of consumers.”
“It also aims to learn, observe consumer acceptance in markets, look at the subtleties, test and optimize, and then see where it leads,” he continued.
Starbucks’ premium currency in India is in contrast to competitors Cafe Coffee Day and McCafe, which have much cheaper prices.
Starbucks, which began operations in India in October 2012, had the fastest retail expansion in the last fiscal year, opening an average of one store per week. The company recently expanded into eight new locations, taking the total number of stores in India to 268, spread across 26 cities. The aggressive growth resulted in a 76 percent increase in sales despite two COVID-19 waves, albeit from a lower base.
Starbucks has previously localized its products in many other countries, including China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and more.
The company has a history of embracing localization for its global market expansion, and not just in terms of product offerings.
For example, in Saudi Arabia, the company’s emblem, a topless mermaid, was considered sexual and was replaced by a crown with waves.