Ambani Enters Coffee Business With UK’s ‘Pret A Manger’, To Compete With Tata’s Starbucks In India

Founded in 1986, the UK-based company Pret A Manger now operates over 550 shops across the world. A total of 10 ‘Pret A Manger’ stores are planned in India in the first year of the franchisee partnership between Reliance Brands Limited.

Mumbai: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Brands on Friday (April 21) launched its first ‘Pret a Manger’ outlet to take on Tata Group’s Starbucks. ‘Pret a Manger’ is a British sandwich and coffee chain, which Mukesh Ambani has now brought to India. The store opened in Maker Maxity at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla complex (also popularly known as BKC).

A total of 10 ‘Pret A Manger’ stores are planned in India in the first year of the franchisee partnership between Reliance Brands Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, and the British chain which was announced last year.

The inaugural Mumbai shop is a recreation of Pret’s iconic London shops with a large dining space spread across 2,567 sq ft, a joint release by RBL and Pret A Manger said. The release said fresh food and organic coffee lovers in Mumbai can drop by to dine-in with their family and friends or grab a quick takeaway.

“The new Pret shop will offer customers a wide range of delicious and freshly-made sandwiches, baguettes, salads, soups, as well as a variety of organic coffee, tea, shakes and smoothie options.”

Meanwhile, Tata Starbucks, the most dominant player in the space, has 275 stores across 30 cities. The 50:50 JV between Tata Consumer Products and American coffee chain Starbucks launched 50 new stores in FY22, the highest ever in a year for the company.

Pret A Manger’s CEO Pano Christou said that coming to India had been a goal for a long time, and the opening of the first shop in Mumbai was a landmark moment in the company’s international expansion plans.  “We have been working closely with the RBL (Reliance Brands) team to create an offer for Indian consumers that reflects the Pret brand, while also adapting to local preferences and food habits,” he was quoted as saying by Business Today.

Several coffee brands and chains have started operations in India recently. Canadian coffee and baked goods chain Tim Hortons opened two stores in Delhi-NCR in August 2022, with plans to open a total of 120 stores in India over the next three years at a total investment of Rs 240 crore.

Founded in 1986, the UK-based company Pret A Manger now operates over 550 shops across the world. Reliance Brand, which also operates and owns the upmarket Jio Mall in Bandra-Kurla Complex, is a business division of the Mukesh Ambani group that has so far been focused on apparel and designer lifestyle brands such as Diesel, Tiffanys and Burberry.

India’s Coffee Market

The growing market for coffee drinkers and café loungers has draw many international coffee chains in India. From London-based Costa Coffee and Di Bella of Australia to Gloria Jean’s Coffee (America-Australia), Coffee Tea Bean & Leaf (America), and Dunkin Donuts (America), many have made a play at growing their footprint in India. However, none could to scale up beyond the narrow regional presence. Some even had to closed their shops due to continuous loss.

But the only expectation that has manage to survive this dynamic Indian market and stand against all odds is the American coffee giant and late-comer to the market, Starbucks.

It is also not just the overseas chains that have struggled to build scale in India. India’s homegrown brands like Cafe Coffee Day, Bru initially grew its footprint in the country but couldn’t survive because of two types of challenges: maintaining standards of quality and keeping its balance sheet in the black.