Bangalore-based coffee shop chain, Hatti Kaapi, will open 50 quick-service outlets along highways and at railway stations.
Hatti Kaapi started three years ago as a tiny 50 sq ft outlet serving filter coffee in Basavanagudi. Encouraged by customers who throng its outlets for a cup of traditional coffee and a quick bite, the 24-outlet chain, started by 39-year-old engineer US Mahendar, plans to open 50 quick-service outlets, serving bisi bele bhath, khara bhath, maddur vada as well as tea and coffee within a year.
Apart from opening outlets at junctions and busy circles, Mahendar is targeting Yeswantpur and city railway stations, as well as highways such as Bangalore-Mysore, Bangalore-Tumkur, Bangalore-Tirupati and Bangalore-Hassan.
These newer outlets will double Hatti Kaapi’s business from the current 60,000 cups of coffee per day by 2013. Focused on providing the taste of traditional filter coffee to the non-complaining lower middle class, the chain has managed to retain its identity amidst a wave of western-style cafes.
“We are not competing with Cafe Coffee Day (CCD). Our target audience and marketing strategy are different. Alongside the lower middle income category, we aim to attract traditional south Indian families for whom filter coffee is a culture,” said Mahendar, who started the chain along with TS Lakhshmana Swamy, adding that: “We encourage takeaways. Ours is more of a quick-bite outlet rather than a lounge where you can linger long”.
Starting off as a purely coffee joint, Mahendar soon realised the importance of serving something to munch on. “Though our Hattti Kaapi mini centres offer only Maddur vadas, the bigger outlets serve poha, uthappam and idli,” he said.
The chain’s varied customers— auto drivers and students to old-timers looking for something traditional—are lured by its `7 coffee and `15 snacks combo.
It seems Hatti Kappi may replicate CCD’s success, though at a lesser scale.
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