Sachin Sabharwal is the face of the Australian café giant - Di Bella Coffee - in India. As the Managing Director of the Indian operations, he has been assigned the challenging task of introducing and positioning the premium coffee brand in a price-sensitive market that has so far been unfamiliar with the global coffee blends. With an all-embracing knowledge of the hospitality industry via running numerous cafés in Sydney in ownership capacity, Sachin is determined to induce a discerning taste culture in India as well. He says, “Why do the people of an emerging economy need to look abroad for a distinct coffee experience? Di Bella would offer it at their doorstep.”

In an exclusive interview to India Hospitality Review, Sachin Sabharwal further talks at length on Di Bella’s expansion plans and strategies of selling the premium brand in a price-conscious market.

This is the maiden entry of Di Bella in India. What observations of the Indian café culture have you made so far?

Coffee retailing is a growing segment in India. It is close to Rs 450 cr at the moment according to IBISWorld report, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 per cent. India is an emerging Cafe Nation with immense scope for coffee consumption and production. This is a clear motivation for international players like us to foray into this promising market. Moreover, since India is a budding coffee market, time is opportune for all to take the first movers’ advantage and encash upon their Unique Selling Prepositions.

What is Di Bella’s expansion plan for the next three years?

Di Bella is opening five outlets in Mumbai in the next six months with a total staff intake of 40-50 people in the beginning. From there on, we will add a number of outlets in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore within the next two years. We would have our cafes in malls, high-end streets, and corporate offices which is so far an untapped area with great potential in India.

Apart from this, we will introduce our full online coffee retail store – My Di Bella Coffee - where consumers will get freshly roasted coffee beans anytime, anywhere, at their doorsteps. My Di Bella Coffee will include the full range of Di Bella Coffee products: from any one of our signature coffee blends to chocolate syrups, chai powder or frappe mix. Moreover, one can also purchase the latest equipment for cafés and the home barista, including grinders, espresso machines, cups, and every coffee accessory one could possibly need. It will, therefore, be an exceptional online coffee retail store experience for the Indian consumers.

Besides, in Australia we have been doing a lot of coffee wholesaling. India is one market where we see great growth potential.  We do plan to wholesale to luxury hotels such as Waves hotel group with whom we are currently in talks; high-end restaurants and even the airlines. These initiatives will help us in increasing our customer reach, and building brand equity in this new market.

What is the gap between Indian cafes and what Di Bella has to offer?

India has so far not tasted a wide variety of coffees from across the world. We have noticed that when the younger Indian generation goes abroad to pursue their studies or for job reasons, they get a range of coffees sourced from different regions of the world. But when they come back to India they are left with the few Indian varieties. Being an emerging Nation, India should have these offerings at its doorstep. Therefore, to provide for this, Di Bella is offering its full-time premium A-grade coffee beans sourced from countries like Yemen, Cuba, Peru, etc, to the Indian consumers.

Other unique offering includes Di Bella crockery. The entire range is designed around our exclusive menu. Our crockery has interesting names as well. For instance, a Koala Cup for Cappuccinos, Cuddle Cupfor Hot Chocolates, Curved Cup for Flat White, Mug & Warmer set for Lattes and Mochas, and Irish cup for Espressos and Macchiatos. Our range of high-end Swiss desserts like Tutti-Frutti Waffles and Fire-Water-Chocolate Fondue would also be served in specifically designed stylish crockery.

On top of it all, Di Bella will be the first café chain to have a full digital interaction platform throughout its outlets. There will be a Tablet on each table for customers to read the menu and place orders. They would also have net-surfing & email facilities on these devices. Moreover, the menu application software on these Tablets is being designed to offer full Facebook interactivity. These offerings are one-of-a-kind in India and would stand Di Bella apart in the niche café market.

What features would justify your price point?

I believe India is now looking forward to having premium and niche players in the coffee retail segment. However, we also know that it continues to be a price-sensitive market. In this regard, we are starting all our offerings around Rs 90-100. We believe the price point will be justified by our exclusive coffee blends and menu, unique crockery, digital interactivity experience, and the stores that will sport a stylish contemporary look. They will boast a mix of Italian and modern age café styles. And, remarkably, all our stores across the globe will look exactly the same as part of our global brand equity exercise. People would be able to recognize our stores easily without looking at the signage. This will make our stores more standardized and niche globally as well.

What talent management strategies would Di Bella adopt?

India is predominantly a tea drinking nation with the young generation rapidly catching up with the global café culture that popular brands like Café Coffee Day, Barista and Costa Coffee have propagated locally. However, India is still away from offering the right blends of coffee from diverse and untried beans assortments. At the moment, we are therefore bringing our own baristas and technicians from Australia to Mumbai to train our staff in-house on a weekly basis. At a later stage, we hope to have our very own Indian baristas and technicians. We are also planning tie-ups with academic institutions and universities like we have done in China where we have a training affiliation with the University of Shanghai.

Besides this, we are planning on introducing our training studios to give home baristas and discerning coffee connoisseurs an opportunity to refine their coffee making and roasting skills. We will offer training sessions covering topics such as: how to make a great cup of coffee at home consistently, setting up your coffee machine, cleaning and maintenance, and troubleshooting techniques for both coffee and equipment. This will eventually promote entrepreneurship within these training centers and eventually give us more confidence to hire locally.

What kind of challenges do you foresee for Di Bella in India?

India’s new generation is developing taste for the Cappuccino and the Café lifestyle. However, the Indian customer is currently drinking coffee which is a blend of Indian sourced varieties only. The challenge we face in India is thus to teach and educate the Indian consumers to differentiate and appreciate the uniqueness of any variety of coffee with any world origin. Moreover they should be able to grasp the taste profile of beans that changes with the bean roasting and sugar caramelizing techniques. We are trying to induce that taste culture in India.

In this regard, though Di Bella serves12 different varieties of coffees, it is initially starting with three blends in India. These blends have very distinct taste profiles – Caramel & Creamy Butterscotch, Dark Chocolate and Malt. We wish the consumers appreciate the distinctiveness of each, over time.