Reliance brings UK’s Pret a Manger to India to take on Starbucks
Reliance Brands (RBL) is set to take on Tata Starbucks by bringing to India British sandwich and coffee chain Pret a Manger.
RBL, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, plans to launch and build the Pret a Manger restaurant chain in India with a long-term master franchise agreement. The contours of the deal were not disclosed.
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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.
While Pret a Manger is perceived as predominantly a food-led brand globally, Darshan Mehta, MD at Reliance Brands told TOI that the chain boasts an exhaustive beverage play including coffee.
“Unlike other cafe chains, where the food items have to be microwaved, this brand will have a hot section where fresh food will be served fresh,” said Mehta. “One can use the restaurants for meet-ups, work or even picking up coffee on the go.”
A major area of focus for the Reliance-led brand will be airports, where Tata Starbucks currently dominates. “The number of domestic passengers is just set to grow rapidly,” said Mehta.
RBL will open the food chain across the country starting with major cities and travel hubs. Pret A Manger, which first opened in London in 1986, is owned by Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, which acquired the chain from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors in 2018 to challenge the dominance of Nestle in the coffee business.
The brand embarked on a global expansion spree last year aiming to double the size of its business in five years. Pano Christou, CEO at Pret A Manger said during an interaction with TOI that in markets the brand enters, 20% of the menu is kept local while the rest follows global trends.
Pret A Manger currently has 550 shops globally across nine markets including the UK, US, Europe, and Asia, offering organic coffee, sandwiches, salads and wraps.
