Compartive Study of Barista and CCD
Compartive Study of Barista and CCD
Compartive Study of Barista and CCD
Topic
Synopsis
Research Methodology
1
Section 5: Conclusion
Annexure
I Primary Questionnaire 1
II Primary Questionnaire 2
Bibliography
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SYNOPSIS
The objective of the thesis is “To compare and study Barista & Café Coffee Day, identify
areas of excellence and areas needing improvement; and provide suggestions for such
improvement”. The aim of this Thesis is to successfully compare two prominent service
sector companies on a common platform, analyze their working and performance, and
highlight what they are doing well, while providing suggestions and recommendations for
improvement.
Barista and Café Coffee Day were chosen because of their identical pattern of
functioning and growth. They are the only two major players in the national coffee café
industry, and their customers consider both as interchangeable brands. This is why it is
important to study how these brands differentiate themselves from each other, and
For the purpose of this study, I prepared 2 research tools, both questionnaire, to find out
the relevant primary data pertaining to the functioning and working of both Barista and
Café Coffee Day. The data was collected based on information provided by:
Besides the primary data collected with the help of the questionnaire, I have also
collected the relevant secondary data from various sources like magazines, books and
Internet and newspapers. Based on the relevant primary and secondary data, a
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comparative analysis has been done so as to find out the areas of excellence and areas of
The areas of excellence and improvement have been identified based on factual
information, in light of which recommendations and suggestions have been provided for
This Thesis was conducted in 2005 in Kolkata, India; so the information is relative to this
city.
Section one of the Thesis is a peek at the coffee café industry. It takes a look at how the
industry has evolved through time, from its early beginnings in Europe, to its current
form of a highly organized sector. It also details the structure of the industry, with its
various components, in its current form. It finally deals with how this industry has grown
Section Two is a case study on the first organization being compared in this study,
Barista. The case study looks at the overall working and performance of Barista, and the
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Section Three: Case study on Café Coffee Day.
Section Three is a case study on Café Coffee Day, the other organizations being
compared in this study. This section deals with the overall operations of Café Coffee
Day, and like the previous section, the functioning and aspects of its Marketing and
Human Resource.
Section Four is the main comparative rating of both Barista and Café Coffee Day, based
on a survey of customers visiting the outlets. The survey analyses how both are
performing in the areas of Taste and Quality of Products, Value for Money, Delivery,
The last section of the Thesis identifies areas where both organizations are performing
excellently, and areas where they need to improve. It also provides recommendations
based on the finding of the market survey, and the case studies of both firms. This section
will provide an overall perspective on the comparative study of both the firms.
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INTRODUCTION
Section 1: THE COFFEE CAFÉ INDUSTRY
1.1: Evolution of a Coffee Café
The beginning:
It all began around 1000 A.D. when Arab traders began to cultivate coffee beans
in large plantations. They began to boil the beans creating a drink they called ‘qahwa’
which translates to ‘that which prevents sleep’. The drink became widely popular, and the
need for coffee beans grew. The brief timeline for the growth of coffee, cafés and
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The first coffee house opens in England.
Coffee houses were called ‘penny universities’
1652 (a penny is charged for admission and a cup of
coffee) because a person could visit a café to
discuss current affairs and social issues.
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One of Europe’s first coffee houses,
Café Greco opens in Rome. By 1763, 1750
Venice has over 2,000 coffee shops.
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Coffee is now the world’s most popular
1980s beverage, which leads to a boom in retail
and hotel cafés. The American retail café
Starbucks in born.
• Coffee is presently the second most traded commodity in the world. It is second
only to oil.
• Nescafe was invented by Nestle because it had to assist the Brazilian government
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1.2: The Coffee Café Industry
The Coffee Café industry is currently one of the biggest and fastest growing
sectors in business. The industry consists of a mix of individual cafés, hotel cafés and
Individual Cafés:
The main bulk of revenue is earned by small, individual cafés, run mostly by
families and friends. It is a relatively unorganized sector. There are millions of such cafés
around the world, and they provide customers with a homely, casual experience.
The bulk of these cafés are mainly in Europe, where every little town or village has local
These cafés have been the birthplace and sanctuary for various creative
minds, revolutionaries and thinkers of our time. The most recent example
is the author J.K. Rowling, who has written most of the Harry Potter series of books,
These cafés set themselves apart from retail chain cafés and hotel cafés because they
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Hotel Cafés:
Ever since the popularization of coffee, hotels all over the world started opening
24-hour coffee shops where visitors to the hotel could walk in for a cup of coffee and
These coffeehouses are extremely important, because they provide international visitors
to the hotel with a universal drink- coffee. Any customer can walk into any major hotel in
the world, and enter the coffeehouse, and know what to expect. These cafés are not really
major players in the coffee café industry, but rather provide supplementary services to the
hotel industry.
The last, and the most organized sector in the coffee café industry, is the retail
café chain. Off late, these chains have become extremely popular and are growing at an
ever-increasing pace. These retail chains have work with an organized structure of man,
material and money. The work on developing a recognized brand consistent to all their
outlets, which customers can easily relate to, wherever they go. They provide customers
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The vast popularity of these retail chains is shown in the rapid international growth of
brands like Starbucks. Customers can do to any Starbucks across the world and know
Coffee Day.
Hot beverages have always been a part of the tradition of India, especially South India.
Coffee took the first seat in South India when the traditional Brahmin classes brought
down the beverage from the ruling British around the 1930s. During the early years the
drink was confined only to traditional rich Brahmin families who served filter coffee in a
‘davra- tumbler’. Coffee is no more confined to the rich Brahmin class now, though the
tradition of serving filter coffee in the ‘davra- tumbler’ continues to this day.
In order to spread the drink, coffee houses emerged at various places in the country,
which also served as the opposite places for lawyers and the educated class to hold
discussions ranging from politics to cinema. It is also believed that many scripts and
ideas for films evolved here. One of the oldest coffee houses in South India is the
Raayars mess, Chennai, which serves first class filter coffee even today. The mess was
established in the 1940s and continues the tradition of coffee but supplements it with
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tiffin also. The vintage location of the mess attracts huge crowds even today early in the
mornings, Coffee however was not the only item on the menu. These places also served
The drink also became famous and as a result even five star hotels began cashing in on it.
Several hotels all over the country started opening coffee- shops that catered to high- end
customers. This showed the popularization of coffee cafés, to all sections of society.
The drink has now become more of a concept than merely a drink itself. The last decade
witnesses the growth of numerous coffee pubs in the country. A number of coffee café
Now, large retail chains like Qwikys, Barista, and Café Coffee Day have opened up
around the country. The concept of a café today is not merely about selling coffee, but
about developing a national brand. Retail cafés now form a multi- crore industry in the
country, and have huge potential for growth locally, and internationally.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For the purpose of this study, I prepared two research tools, both questionnaire, to find
out the relevant primary data pertaining to the functioning and working of both Barista
Besides the primary data collected with the help of the questionnaire, I have also
collected the relevant secondary data from various sources like magazines, books and
Based on the relevant primary and secondary data, a comparative analysis has been done
so as to find out the areas of excellence and areas of improvement of both organizations.
The areas of excellence and improvement have been identified based on factual
information, in light of which recommendations and suggestions have been provided for
This project was conducted in 2005 in Kolkata, India; so the information is relative to this
city.
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Section 2: CASE STUDY ON BARISTA
2.1: Corporate Profile
Barista coffee was establishes in 1999 with the aim of identifying growth opportunities in
the coffee business. Increasing disposable incomes and global trends in coffee indicate
More significantly, they believe they have been quick to spot a latent need waiting to be
trapped: Coffee lovers seek a complete experience. One that combines intelligent
brand”.
As of today, Barista exists in over 22 cities, and operates over 140 outlets nationally. In
the last 2 years, Barista has opened over 100 outlets in the country and with a new outlet
With outlets opening in Sri Lanka and Dubai, Barista is looking at potential growth
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2.2: Marketing Mix
Product Mix* :
* Some products may have been added/ removed from the product mix, due to changes
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Product Sources:
Barista sources its coffee beans from around the world, but a major supplier is TATA
Coffee, part of the TATA Group that owns a large stake- holding in Barista. These coffee
beans are then sent to Venice, Italy where they are roasted into
Quality Sources:
Barista has a check on the quality of its products every 14 days. Barista also incorporates
TQM at its headquarters in Delhi. Since Delhi is the base for all its distribution, quality
control measures are adopted there to avoid any poor quality products being distributed.
Serving Size:
The serving size of a product is a measure, not only of quantity, but also of value for
money. The average serving size for Barista’s main product categories is detailed in
Smoothies 300 ml
Granitas 340 ml
Table 3: Barista Serving Size
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Merchandising:
Barista sells various kinds of merchandise through its stores. The table details the
Merchandise
Tiramisu Flavors
Coffee Mugs
Blue Curacao
Pricing:
Barista has a ‘Skim Pricing Policy’. They began with a higher price, and skimmed the
cream for the market. With the sudden spurt of growth in number of outlets, came the
benefits of economies of scale. Because of this, they have been able to gradually lower
Currently, their prices are the lowest they have ever been, and they can competitively
match their prices against Café Coffee Day’s prices. The prices are constantly changing
though, and the last 1-year has seen 3 changes (mostly reductions) in prices. This gradual
price reduction meant that Barista could maintain its profit- maximization policy until it
could earn large cost savings because of the benefits of high volume.
The main factors that affect their pricing are their cost of goods sold. The costs are quite
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Process:
The order and delivery process at Barista is based on self- service, where a customer goes
up to the counter to place his order, and goes back to the counter to pick his delivery once
it is prepared.
Positioning:
Consumer Profile:
According to research, over 65% of Barista’s customers are in the 15- 30 age- group. The
Brand Image:
Barista positions itself as a brand for anyone who loves coffee. Their products, services
and outlets are more like the traditional European cafés, where people would meet for the
love of coffee, and for an intellectual appealing time. They position their outlets as a
place “where the world meets”, and they look to appeal to anyone in the 14- 60 age group
that loves good coffee and looks for a nice quiet time.
¾ Products:
Barista’s product mix constitutes a wide range of products that appeal primarily to
traditional coffee lovers. Their products themselves are traditional products with
traditional names. Food items like croissant, pastas, and sandwiches are
complimentary to their coffee, and project a very classic image of Barista. Their
merchandising also consists of primarily coffee related products like coffee beans,
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¾ Prices:
Considering that Barista is trying to target a market whose age range is between 18
and 60 years, a pricing policy appealing to this segment is difficult. Extremely low
quality, while very high prices cannot be afforded by most of the youth. But since
Barista’s current consumer profile is quite young, their prices are mostly inexpensive,
¾ People:
The people at Barista are characteristically trained to be Pleasant, Polite and Positive.
They ensure you have a quiet, uninterrupted visit and provide an escape from the
daily pressures of life. Their uniforms are in sober shades of brown and orange, and
¾ Physical Evidence:
Barista, since the beginning has looked to use colors in its café interiors, logos and
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The logo is a combination of Brown, Orange and Light Yellow; with the word “Barista”
written in an upward curve, and the word “Coffee” underneath. A simple logo that
perfectly expresses Barista’s brand image: A traditional café for coffee lovers.
Barista’s internal décor and architecture expresses the simplicity you would normally
associate with traditional cafés. The furniture is made of light shades of wood, and
there are comfortable sofas in bigger cafés. The walls are shades of orange, with
various photographs of the love for coffee spread around each outlet.
c) Literature:
The literature provided by Barista is indicative of its brand image. The menus,
posters, pamphlets are all traditionally designed, with a classic and simple look. One
aspect of particular note is their magazine, which is privately circulated in the cafés.
The magazine encourages customers write, draw, make etc anything creative; and this
is then published in the magazine. The magazine not only provides an avenue for
advertising, but also an opportunity for Barista to express its brand image.
¾ Place:
Barista looks to cater to their target market with strategically located outlets. Their
Considering their generic appeal, there are Barista outlets in and around Malls,
Cinemas, Colleges, and Offices etc. this endorses their brand image of a café that
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Promotions:
Barista currently carries out mass promotion campaigns. This is mainly in the form of
promotions in the Press, TV and Radio Medias. At present, they do not rely heavily
on advertising, but rely more on sponsorships and strategic alliances with other
corporations. Barista also takes part in various sales promotion activities to help
a) Sponsorships:
Barista sponsors various events and festivals, which provides them valuable
b) Collaborations:
Barista has entered into special collaborations and alliances with various partners for
co- marketing brands. For example, Barista entered into a deal with Leo Mattel toys
to provide the popular board game Scrabble at every Barista outlet across the country.
This is an ideal alliance for both the organizations, because it provides Leo Mattel
with an important avenue for promoting their product, and it provides Barista’s
Barista has also entered into partnerships with various movies, for promotions
Everybody” campaign.
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d) Sales Promotion:
Barista uses a special “Barista Coffee Card” for its sales promotion activities. The
Barista Coffee Card entitles you to one complimentary hot beverage when you are
done sipping seven. It is available to all Barista coffee regulars. No membership fees,
no references required. Fill out the card and you are a member. As a Coffee Card
holder, you earn one stamp on the card every time you purchase a beverage. Simply
present the card to the cashier when you place your order at any of their outlets. Once
you have collected seven stamps, you can hand over the card to receive your
complimentary hot beverage. Barista hopes this card can help drive sales growth, and
Distribution:
Distribution of outlets
Every Barista outlet is owned by the company, and not franchised out to anyone.
Barista can thus control and make quick changes to its entire retail chain.
Barista currently operates in over 120 outlets all over the country, and at their current
rate, they are opening a new outlet approximately every 10 days. They have a market
presence in over 20 cities. Mumbai alone has over 30 outlets, and the number of
Barista has a thumb rule for selecting cities and locations for the distribution of
outlets.
Location: this is a prime factor in determining the success of a retail chain. However,
Barista Coffee has adopted a top down approach, wherein they first identify the cities
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Selecting a city: Barista has devoted substantial management time and effort in
zeroing in on the cities where they are now situated. The selection of the cities was
category;
¾ High disposable income with people looking for new vistas in leisure and lifestyle
oriented concepts;
employment.
On the basis of the above criteria, they had initially targeted cities like Delhi,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Chandigarh and Ludhiana were later
added due to tie- ups with ‘Planet M’ and ‘Ebony’ to set up store-in- stores at their
outlets.
strategy. They have over 50 overseas locations presently under their consideration.
They have already done their groundwork in terms of getting brand and name
plan to work with strategic partners, who share the same vision of expanding and
promoting the brand worldwide. Currently they have opened new outlets in Sri Lanka
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Distribution of Stock
The distribution of stock at Barista begins from the coffee beans being sent abroad for
roasting. The roasting takes place in Venice, and the beans are then supplied to the
Warehouses, and then to the local Warehouses. The outlets get their stock from the
Local Warehouses. Barista uses a Re-Order Level system for the distribution of their
stock.
Barista out sources its transportation needs from external organizations, and currently
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2.3 : Human Resources
Barista’s boom in growth has sparked of a greater need for more and more human
resources. This poses a challenge for Barista to ensure that their employees all across
the country are well trained and provide consistent service at every outlet.
Position
Counter Staff:
Junior Executive (0-2 years experience)
Executive (1-3 years experience)
Senior Executive (3-5 years experience)
Field Staff:
Territory Manager
Area Manager
Regional Manager
Support Staff:
Marketing
Supply
Human Resources
Finance
Training
The average age of Barista employee is 22. Most employees are in the 19-26 age
Barista currently opens a new outlet somewhere in the country every 10-12 days. The
spurt of growth can only be successful if they have the right people working for them.
The high expansion means that more staff is needed immediately at the Counter Staff
and Field Staff Level. This is only possible is Barista uses the correct recruitment and
selection policy
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Sources of Recruitment
i. Walk- ins
ii. Referrals
Barista hires people for their counter staff from external sources, and follow the
Recruitment is usually done on a monthly basis, depending on the number of outlets and
To insure consistent employee performance, training and development policies are very
important- even more so in service sector organizations. Barista Coffee has a set, 14 days
rigorous training procedure for each employee. With training modules customized to fit
the professional needs of each employee. In the case of their brew masters, the training
programs are drawn up and conducted by trainers who have been trained by Italian brew
masters.
Barista has a Training & Development policy, which basically consists of two parts,
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i. Induction Training
Induction Training occurs when a new employee joins Barista. The employee is taught
about the Barista culture, what it means to be a Barista employee, the sort of attitude and
Refresher Training usually happens ones every two months, in the form of technical
training and soft skills training. This ensures that the employees are constantly aware of
Barista employees work on an average for 9 hours, and there are usually 3 shifts per day.
Barista employees are trained with regard to their code of conduct at the induction level.
It is at this stage Barista tries to infuse, what it refers to as key qualities for its employees:
pleasant manners, polite behavior and positive attitude. The code of conduct of each
Promotion Policy:
Barista prefers promoting from within, rather then externally. The amount of training and
development programs that go into developing an employee, they would like to harness
that potential for higher posts. The current promotion policy is based purely on
performance.
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Performance Appraisal:
Barista currently carries out performance appraisals every quarter of a year. Direct
supervisors in most cases carry out these appraisals. Currently Barista doesn’t have any
Barista does conduct Exit Interviews though, and uses it to improve employee retention.
Barista’s current rate of Employee Turnover is about 10 %. The company attributes this
to the fact that some of the employees in the 19-22 age group, look at this job as a
¾ Right hiring
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Section 3: CASE STUDY ON CAFÉ COFFEE DAY
3.1: Corporate Profile
It was in the golden soil of Chikmagalur that a traditional family owned a few acres of
coffee estates, which yielded rich coffee beans. Soon Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading
Company Limited, popularly known as Coffee Day was formed. With a rich coffee
growing tradition since 1875 behind it coupled with the opportunity that arose with the
deregulation of the coffee board in the early nineties, Coffee Day began exporting coffee
to the connoisseurs across USA, Europe & Japan. In the calendar year 2000, Coffee Day
exported more than 27000 tonnes of coffee valued at US$ 60 m to these countries and,
for the second time in its short career of 7 years retained the position as the largest coffee
exporter of India.
Coffee Day has a wide and professional network in the major coffee growing areas of the
country comprising over 48 agents and 50 collecting depots. Coffee Day's two curing
works at Chikmagalur and Hassan cure over 70,000 tonnes of coffee per annum, the
Coffee Day has a well-equipped roasting unit catering to the specific requirement of the
consumers. The process is carried out under the control of experienced personnel to meet
highest quality standards. The most modern technology available is used to maintain
consistency and roast the coffee beans to the demanding specifications of the discerning
coffee consumers.
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Coffee Day Comprises of the following Sub Brands
Café Coffee Day currently owns and operates 213 cafes in all major cities in India. It is a
part of India's largest coffee conglomerate named Coffee Day, Rs. 200 crore ISO 9002
certified company. Coffee Day's most unique aspect is that it grows the coffee it serves.
Key Features
• Pioneers of the Café Concept in India with the its first Café at Brigade Road,
Bangalore in 1996. This Café was opened as a Cyber Café (first of its kind) but
later, with the burst of cyber cafes it reverted to its core competency…. Coffee.
• Essentially a youth oriented brand with majority of its customers falling in the 15-
• Each café, depending upon its size attracts between 400 and 800 customers daily.
¾ Affordable Price
¾ Coffee – Winner of Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the India
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250
213
200
150
Series1
100
50
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1
0
Product Mix:
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Biryani
Sandwiches
Kulcha
Burger
Pasta
Masala Sandwich
Coffee Add-ons Cool Refreshers
Honey Fruit Juices
Flavoured Syrups Mineral Water
Red Eye
Whipped Cream
Scoop pf Ice cream
Chocolate Sauce
Teas
Assam Tea
Masala Chai
Lemon ‘n Ice Tea
Kashmiri Qahwah
Apple n Cranberry ice tea
Table 7: Café Coffee Day: Product Width
Product Sources:
Coffee Day's most unique aspect is that it grows the coffee it serves in its cafes. Coffee
Day has a well-equipped roasting unit catering to the specific requirement of the
consumers. The process is carried out under the control of experienced personnel to meet
highest quality standards. The most modern technology available is used to maintain
consistency and roast the coffee beans to the demanding specifications of the discerning
coffee consumers. The coffee beans are supplied to all the cafés from Chikmagalur.
The eatables at Café Coffee Day are catered by different vendors: example: ice creams
are catered by Cream Bell, Milk by Amul and samosa’s by Patsiers Gallery.
Café Coffee Day also sells merchandise through its stores. 5 per cent of the revenue
Quality standards:
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Café Coffee Day has a check on quality all the time and in several aspects. The
operational in-charge will go around checking business, record keeping, service and
check the feedback forms. The food in-charge will look at the way food is being stored,
coffee is being made, what is the time take to extract the coffee and so on. Marketing
person will go about checking displays, how the merchandise are displayed
Serving Size:
The serving size of a product is a measure, not only of quantity, but also of value for
money. The average serving size for Café Coffee Day’s main product categories is
detailed in table:
Merchandising:
At Café Coffee Day merchandise started more as a sentimental thing than as a revenue
stream. They wanted to reward coffee lovers and they started selling mugs. People
wanted to wear something that reminded them of the cafe so they designed T-shirts and
But soon it has become a serious business. 5 per cent of their revenue comes from the
merchandising.
Café Coffee Day sells various young and trendy merchandise through its stores:
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Caps
T-Shirts
Bags
Mugs
Coffee Filters
Coffee Powders
Coffee Mints
Pens
Table 9: Café Coffee Day - Merchandising
Process:
The order process at Café Coffee Day is based on self-service, where the customer goes
to the counter to place his order. Whereas they have a flexible delivery process, where
they wait for some time for the customer to pick up the order but if the customer takes too
Positioning:
Consumer Profile:
Research shows that 37% of the customers are between 20 and 24years. 27% of the
customers are between the age group of 25-29 years. 60% of the customers who visit the
café are male and 40% are female. 52% of customers who visit the cafes are students.
18% of the customers visit the cafes daily while another 44% visit weekly. Each café,
depending upon its size attracts between 500 and 800 customers daily, mainly between
4pm and 7 pm. Customers describe Café Coffee Day as the place they frequent most after
“home and workplace/college”. It is a place where they meet friends and colleagues, in
groups of 3 or more. The prices here are perceived to be reasonable and it is a place
where customers come to rejuvenate themselves and be themselves rather than a place to
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Brand Image
Café Coffee Day is a regular meeting place for 15 to 29 years old, both male and
female, who are waited on by friendly and informed staff, and are offered the best
made coffee, hot or cold, beverages and food in an invigorating ambience. It is urban
youngsters favorite “hangout”. Its customers are mostly young college students and
Products:
Café Coffee Day product mix constitutes a wide range of products that appeal primarily
to Indian coffee and snack lovers. products have a decided Indian taste to it - be it food or
coffee. Most of the eatables have been adopted to meet the Indian taste buds like samosa,
biryani, masala sandwich, tikka sandwich etc. Thus they have been trying to capture the
The best selling item in summer is frappe, which is coffee and ice cream blended
together. The young people favor it. In winter it is cappuccino. Their merchandising
Prices:
Considering that Café Coffee Day knows its major customer lies in the bracket of 15- 29,
it has tried to derive a policy whereby it can satisfy all its customers. The price for a cup
of coffee ranges from Rs.17 to Rs.54. From the time it first started its operations, there
has been only minor changes in the pricing policy of Café Coffee Day. The changes have
been more due to the government taxes than any thing else.
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People:
People at Café Coffee Day believe that “People are hired for what they know but fired
for how they behave”. Motivation and personal skill are laid emphasize upon.
Physical Evidence:
Café Coffee Day has used bright red and green colors in its logo. RED stands for
leadership and vitality. It also stands for passion (… for coffee). The GREEN stroke
harks back to their coffee growing heritage and the coffee plantations that they own.
Café is noticeably larger than the rest of the text inside the
logo box. This denotes that Café Coffee Day pioneered the
customers.
When one thinks of a café it’s got to be Café Coffee Day. The font used for “Café” is
called SLURRY. The font looks as though the letters have congealed out of a liquid.
It gives the impression that the word is still forming itself and evolving into
something new and something better constantly. This is the characteristic of Café
Coffee Day’s customers and this is the characteristic that the brand too wants to
adopt. The upward SWIRL inside the logo box stands for the invigorating and
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Décor & Architecture:
Café Coffee Day had gone in for image change and revamping of interiors in the last
quarter of 2001. Café interiors have been given a whole, new look. In a change from
the largely wood and granite based interiors, there is more of steel and lots more
predominate.
Literature:
The literature provided by Café Coffee Day is indicative of its youthful image. The
menus, posters, pamphlets are all designed to attract young and young at heart. They also
have their magazine called as ‘Café Beat’, which is published monthly at their Bangalore
Locations:
Café Coffee Day looks to cater to their target market with strategically located outlets.
Their outlets are generally located in High Street/ Family Entertainment Centers.
Considering their generic appeal, there are Barista outlets located in and around Malls,
Cinemas, Colleges, Offices, etc. This endorses their brand image of a café that appeals to
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Promotion:
Café Coffee Day does not believe in mass media promotions. But they are involved in all
Through television:
Café Coffee Day held a contest around a very popular programme on Zee English called
Friends. All the six lead characters are shown often visiting a coffee shop and a lot of
youth like watching the programme. That is why they had a contest running where
customers could win Friends' merchandise. The linkage was that it is a youth based
They have tied up with Channel [V]'s Get Gorgeous contest. The reason being that a lot
of their young consumers are interested in careers. Modeling is a career that a lot of
youngsters are interested in and this was an excellent platform. They have also done
promotion for History Channel, where they have run promotion for Hollywood Heroes.
They had asked a few question and a lucky winner won a trip to Hollywood.
Ticket sales:
Café Coffee Day is involved in ticket sales in quite a few events, Enrique being one of
them. They were involved in WWE, Elton John, and Bryan Adams ticket sales. These
It helps both the organizers as well as Café Coffee Day. Organizers need to tell people
where the tickets are available and single Café Coffee Day logo says it all. From Café
Coffee Day’s point of view, they always ask for a certain amount of tickets around which
they have a contest. Couples can win ticket for free. This in turn raises the awareness
level as cafe staff approaches the consumers to inform them about the contest. There is
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not a better publicity mechanism then the person who is serving you telling you about the
same.
Tie-ups:
Besides that Café Coffee Day also tie up lot of the youth brands. Their promise to the
customer is that a lot can happen over a coffee. So every time they try to ensure
something good happens to their customer. So they have a contest going on with Levis,
another one with Scooty, Liril, latest one with Airtel Friends.
Another placement area they have is with HDFC. HDFC wanted to promote their debit
card and they choose Café Coffee Day. So 21 cafes have debit card machines.
Café Coffee Day also decided to stick with the next big thing i.e. Bollywood. Earlier a
few movies, whose target audience matched that of the consumers at Cafe Coffee Day,
started shooting a few scenes in the cafe. So they had a Hindi movie Bas Yun Hi and a
couple of Telugu and Tamil films with prominent Cafe Coffee Day brand placement.
Later they took a conscious decision of being seen in certain movies like Khakee and
As part of this effort, the brand was placed smartly in two Bollywood ventures,
the Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vivek Oberoi starrer Kyun Ho Gaya Na,
Karoge, forthcoming movies like Salman Khan starrer Lucky and Socha Na Tha.
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A lot of serials are shot in Cafe Coffee Day. Recently, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii
was shot.
Sales Promotion:
Café Coffee Day uses special ‘Café Citizen Card’ for rewarding Café Coffee Day’s
customers. It is a loyalty program to gain new customers and retain the existing ones.
Distribution:
Distribution of outlets:
Every Café Coffee Day outlet is a part of India’s largest coffee conglomerate named
Coffee Day. Since all the cafes are owned by the company, it becomes easier for them
conduct feedback surveys like dipsticks etc. Coffee day’s most unique aspect is that it
Pioneers of the Café Concept in India with the its first Café at Brigade Road,
Bangalore in 1996. This Café was opened as a Cyber Café (first of its kind) but later,
with the burst of cyber cafes it reverted to its core competency…. Coffee.
Café Coffee Day currently operates 213 outlets all over the country. They have a market
presence in over 49 cities. Delhi, NCR alone has 24 outlets, and the number of outlets in
the area is increasing at a phenomenal pace. Each café, depending upon its size attracts
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In addition to that they are also going abroad. They will open 50 outlets overseas in 10
cities.
Location:
This is a prime factor in determining the success of a retail chain. Café Coffee Day is
Distribution of stock:
Coffee Beans
Chikmagalur
The distribution of coffee beans start from their roasting plant at chikmagalur. The coffee
beans are sent to the main offices of north and south India on monthly basis. The outlets
As far as other eatables are concerned, the inventory is checked on daily basis and orders
are placed according to the requirement. Café Coffee Day uses its own store vehicle
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3.3 Human Resources
With the boost in the number of their retail outlets, Café Coffee Day had to concentrate
on the quality and quantity of their human resource in order to meet up with the set
standards. They make sure that the employees all across the country are well trained and
effectiveness is crucial for at least two reasons; first work performance depends on
individuals and second because of the costs incurred in hiring individuals is enormous for
an organization.
The best way to improve performance is to hire the people who have the competence and
the willingness to work. Arguing from the employee’s viewpoint poor or inappropriate
choice can be demoralizing to the individual concerned and demotivating for the rest of
the workforce. The cost of searching and training individual may range from Rs.
Selection is a long process commencing from the preliminary interview of the applicant
and ending with the contract of employment. The process differs among organizations
and between two different jobs within the same organization. Selection procedure for
senior managers is long-drawn and rigorous but on the other hand for shop floor workers
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EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
INTERNAL ENVIORNMENT
PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW
REJECTED APPLICATION
SELECTION TESTS
EMPLOYEMENT INTERVIEW
SELECTION DECISION
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
JOB OFFER
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
EVALUATION
Café Coffee Day is expanding at a phenomenal rate. Thus the need for right people, in the
right place at right time is also increasing. In order to meet the demand for efficient and
effective workforce, Café Coffee Day has adopted the correct recruitment and selection
procedures.
Sources of recruitment:
Café Coffee Day has different sources for recruitment depending on the job profile in
In store Posters
44
Referrals and Walk- ins
Test.
2. Application blank.
To ensure consistent employee performance, training and development policies are very
important- even more in service sector organizations. Café Coffee Day has set 12 days
rigorous training procedure at their office in Bangalore for all the assistant managers.
Whereas all the team members undergo a 3 days training at respective head offices in
The working hours are split into convenient shifts spread over 8:30 am to 10:30 pm.
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Employee code of Conduct:
After substantial efforts Café Coffee Day has been able to convey to their staff (the ones
who serve food) that they are doing a job and are at par socially with many consumers.
Along with cleaning the table well, their employees communicate with the consumers on
one to one basis. It is a cultural shift; it is a huge responsibility as, in India you do not
Their employees are like friend to the customer but at the same time they know about the
Promotion Policy:
Café Coffee Day prefers promoting from within, rather than externally.
Performance Appraisal:
with a view to attaining organizational goals and enhancing overall effectiveness and
productivity. The immediate superior carries out the performance appraisal at Café
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Café Coffee Day’s current rate of Employee Turnover is about 9%. The reason behind
this is the people between the age group of 19-24 who do not see their job as permanent
A survey was conducted, consisting of a sample of randomly selected people, in the age
group of 18-25. This survey aims to find out how Barista and Café Coffee Day’s target
market, rate their products and services. A copy of the customer survey is attached in the
Annexure.
Characteristics of visit:
The respondents were first asked to describe the characteristics of a typical visit to a
coffee shop. This includes their choice of coffee shop, frequency of visits, time & money
spent on a single visit, average group size and influential factors affecting their choice.
Comparative Rating:
The survey also asked the customers to rate the following parameters on a scale of 1-5 (1
being the worst, 5 being the best), for both Barista and Café Coffee Day:
2. Prices of products.
4. Performance of staff.
5. Ambience.
6. Availability of products.
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7. Value for money of products.
8. Overall performance.
Barista
50% 50% CCD
Graph – 1
The Graph – 1 shows which coffee shop the respondents usually preferred to visit.
Although this is not a true indicator of market share, it gives us some idea or the
closeness in which both companies operate. They both received an equal preference in
the survey, with 50% of the respondents choosing Barista and the remaining 50%
choosing Café Coffee Day, indicating there is no clear winner in terms of actual visits to
the outlets.
This can be analyzed in relation to the comparative rating respondents give both outlets,
to help us identify which areas both the chains are doing well in, where they need to
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Frequency of visit:
Not often
20%
2-3 Tomes
a week
50% 2-3 Times a
month
30%
Graph – 2
The Graph -2 indicates how often the respondents visited a coffee shop. Considering the
age- group for the sample, it’s quite evident that they have enough free time to visit cafés
regularly. Out of those surveyed, 50% said they visited a coffee shop 2-3 times a week,
and 30% visited a coffee shop 2-3 times a month. This is great opportunity for Barista
Spending Habits:
Over 125
Rs.
10%
25-75 Rs.
50% 75-125 Rs.
40%
Graph – 3
The values of Graph - 3 illustrate how much money the respondents usually spend at
coffee shops. While the majority of respondents spent between Rs. 25 & Rs. 75 on a
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single visit to an outlet, a high percentage also spent between Rs. 75 & Rs. 125. An
important point to note here however is that a majority of the people who were in the Rs.
Length of Visit:
Over 2
hours
1/2-1 hour 10%
40%
1-2 hours
50%
Graph – 4
The survey also asked the respondents how much time they would usually spend on a
single visit to a coffee shop. The Graph - 4 shows that half of them would spend between
1 hour and 2 hours, and 40% would spend between ½ hour to 1 hour.
More than 5
2 people people
20% 20%
3-5 people
60%
Graph – 5
Another important factor to consider is the size of the groups that go to these cafés. This
would help us identify consumer patterns, and enable us to create customer- specific
policies. The Graph - 5 shows that 60% of the respondents visit café in groups of 3-5
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people. This would indicate that they are usually accompanied with common friends, who
have similar tastes, and buying patterns. The remaining 40% either went with only 1
Deciding Factor:
Value for
money
Ambience/
20%
Experience
40%
Taste of
coffee/ food
40%
Graph – 6
When asked about the most important factor that contributed to their choice of coffee
café, an equal number (40%) of respondents selected the taste of coffee/ food and the
ambience/ experience. Only 20% of them choose value for money as their most important
factor. This would indicate a clear shift of consumer focus from price factors to service
factors.
The first parameter that respondents were asked to rate was the taste and the quality of
the products available at both Barista and Café Coffee Day. Essentially these products are
Coffees, Other Drinks (like Granitas, Cremosas etc), eatables and desserts.
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Finding out how customers feel about the taste and quality of products offered, could
help both these organizations improve their share, by adapting and improving their
products.
This parameter is also especially important, because 40% of the sample stated Taste &
Quality of Coffee/ Food as the most influential factor in choosing a coffee café.
Coffees
3.5/ 5 4/5
Diagram 11. – Comparative Rating - Taste & Quality of Prime Products.
Since coffee is the primary product served by cafés, it is vital that the taste and quality
standards of their coffee are up to the mark, because it directly affects the cafés
performance. Various kinds of coffee are available, and a detailed list can be found in the
The Coffee at Café Coffee Day seems to have a slight edge over Barista. This is quite an
important fact, considering Café Coffee Day uses its own brand of Coffee beans, while
Barista uses a combination of imported coffee beans and coffee beans from TATA
Coffee.
A large chunk of Barista’s costs are tied up with importing Coffee Beans and roasting
Some respondents highlighted the variety of flavors Café Coffee Day has as an added
advantage.
Other
Drinks
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4/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 12. – Comparative Rating – Other Drinks
Though most customers visit café for coffee, other drinks like Granitas, Cremosas,
smoothies and ice teas are very popular. Cafés need to focus on providing the right kind
Ratings for the taste and quality of Other Drinks indicate a marginal advantage for
Barista over Café Coffee Day, with ratings of 4/5 and 3.5/5 respectively. Café Coffee
Eatables
3.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 13. – Comparative Rating - Eatables
Café customers usually have a light snack or side order along with what they are
drinking. This provides an opportunity for cafés to offer these eatables at marginally
higher prices, and increase their revenue. Increase in revenue though, would be useless if
they offered substandard eatables, which can often be caused by inefficiencies in storage
and distribution, which leads to eatables becoming stale. That’s why it is important for
cafés to provide high quality food, which allows them to charge a premium.
Respondents rated the eatables available at both Cafés equally, this in spite of the fact
that Barista uses Taj as their national caterers, while Café Coffee Day has private caterers
in each city.
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Café Coffee Day got a positive rating with respect to the variety of their eatables
(especially their Indian food), although the quality was often inconsistent. While,
Overall, Barista did not live up to expectations considering they use the Taj as their
national caterers, while Café Coffee Day performed well in spite of their seeming
Desserts
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 14. – Comparative Rating - Desserts
Desserts are another valuable source of revenue for a café. The better the taste and the
quality of the desserts, the higher the premium a café can charge. Desserts, like eatables,
have a tendency to spoil quickly if not stored or distributed properly, so taste and quality
is of paramount importance.
The Desserts category shows a huge lead for Barista over Café Coffee Day – one entire
rating point- and this is where Barista’s choice of a single, high quality national caterer
Respondents gave Barista a near- perfect rating (4.5/ 5) because of their excellent
standards and quality of desserts. Café Coffee Day received only an average rating of 3.5/
5, and this is one area where they need to really concentrate on, because they are lagging
Overall
4/ 5 3.5/ 5
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Diagram 15. – Comparative Rating – Overall Taste & Quality of Products
Overall, Barista received a higher rating of 4/5, thanks almost entirely due to its Desserts.
Otherwise, both Barista and Café Coffee Day performed almost identically.
The closer Café Coffee Day gets to Barista in the Desserts products area, the harder it
will be to differentiate the two in terms of taste a& quality. The equality of their
performance in the core product area, would then lead to a larger differentiation in their
peripherals.
Prices
Customer’s perception of prices plays a very important role in a service sector industry.
Because of the intangible nature of a service, prices are often regarded an approximate
indicators of quality.
Pricing policy affects the cafés revenue directly. The higher the price, the larger the profit
margins, but the lower the price, the higher the market share. In a retail café chain
though, volumes are what count- that’s why the more competitive the price is, the better
The survey asked respondents to rate the prices of both the café chains on a scale of 1-5,
1 being most expensive, and 5 being the cheapest. This would directly illustrate whether
Coffee
3/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 16. – Comparative Rating -Pricing
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Respondents rated Café Coffee Day’s coffee prices as highly inexpensive, with a rating
This is strange though, considering the prices of coffee at Barista and Café Coffee Day
are within 8% of each other, and in a lot of the cases, Barista’s actual prices were lower
Other
Drinks
3/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 17. – Comparative Rating – Other Drinks Pricing
The ratings for the prices of Other Drinks followed an almost identical pattern to the
ratings for Coffee. And in this case, all of Barista’s Other Drinks were less expensive
Respondents may not be aware of this, because they gave Café Coffee Day an excellent
Eatables
2.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 18. – Comparative Rating – Eatables Pricing
Although the eatables provided at both cafés are mostly different, the prices for the
Barista received another poor rating of 2.5/ 5, a whole point behind Café Coffee Day’s
3.5/ 5. Again, if the actual prices are used, there is less than a 10% difference in the
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Desserts
2.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 19. – Comparative Rating – Desserts Pricing
In the Desserts category, although most of the products were more expensive at Barista,
Respondents somehow seem to still perceive Barista’s prices as higher than Café Coffee
Day’s.
Overall
3/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 20. – Comparative Rating – Overall Pricing
Overall, Café Coffee Day has done well to live up to its USP of being an affordable
brand. Almost all respondents perceived their prices to be lower than Barista’s.
Barista on the other hand, although their prices are within 10% of Café Coffee Day’s,
received a very poor rating. This is strange considering that in almost 50% of the
products; Barista is priced lower than Café Coffee Day. This could only indicate that
customers are still not aware of the reduction in price, and make customers aware of the
Delivery of Product
The delivery of the product plays a vital role in improving customer service. Factors like
the time taken to place/ deliver an order, and the process of placing and delivering an
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order contribute to the customer’s overall experience. The sample was asked to rate
Order Time and Delivery Time on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the slowest and 5 being the
quickest), to help us discover how much time is usually taken to complete delivery cycle.
Respondents were also asked to rate the Order Process and Delivery Process, on a scale
of 1-5 (1 being the most inconvenient, and 5 being the most convenient), so that we can
understand how much value is really added to the service, in terms of convenience.
Order Time
3.5/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 21. – Comparative Rating – Order Time
Order Time is the time taken from when the customer wants to place an order, till when
the order process is completed. The order process largely affects the order time.
Café Coffee Day scored higher than Barista, with a rating of 4/ 5 to 3.5/ 5.
Some respondents attributed Café Coffee Day’s faster order time to the fact that they had
more staff on hand than Barista (in a café of the same average size).
Delivery
Time
4/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 22. – Comparative Rating – Delivery Time
Delivery Time is the time taken from the point when the customer gives the order, to
when it is delivered to the customer. It largely depends on the preparation time/ process
and the delivery process, and is an indicator of how long a customer must sit idle until his
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Barista scored marginally higher here, indicating that their orders, once entered were
Order
Process
4/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 23 - Comparative Rating – Order Process
Barista and Café Coffee Day’s order process is basically self-service. When the customer
is ready to place an order, he goes to the counter and tells the attendant what he wants.
This process earned both the cafés a near- perfect rating of 4/ 5. Respondents liked the
fact that they could take their own time, and place their order when they found it
convenient.
Delivery
Process
3.5/ 5 4.5/ 5
Diagram 24– Comparative Rating – Delivery Process
Delivery Process is the process of delivering the product to the customer once it is
Barista’s delivery process is again, self-service. When an order is ready, the Barista
attendant calls out the customers name and the customer has to go to the counter and
collect it. Barista received an above – average rating of 3.5/ 5. Although none of the
respondents found the Barista delivery process very inconvenient, some said that they
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Café Coffee Day’s delivery process involves a restaurant- like approach. When the order
is ready, and the customer has not collected it from the counter, a Café Coffee Day
attendant comes to the customers’ table and delivers the order. Café Coffee Day received
an excellent rating of 4.5/ 5 for this process. A lot of the respondents praised Café Coffee
Overall
4/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 25. – Comparative Rating – Overall Delivery
Overall both Barista and Café Coffee Day performed exceptionally, getting an overall
rating of 4/ 5, indicating that there isn’t much difference between the two in the overall
Barista scored higher than Café Coffee Day in Order Process and Delivery Time, while
Café Coffee Day scored higher in the Order Time and Delivery Process.
It is significant to note, that although the convenience of Café Coffee Day’s Delivery
Process was rated higher than Barista’s, Barista still managed to have a better Delivery
Time rating. This would indicate that Barista’s preparation time could be significantly
Barista’s Order Process received a near-perfect rating, but their Order Time wasn’t as
quick as Café Coffee Day’s. Respondents attributed this to the fact that the average Café
Coffee Day outlet has more attendants than a Barista of the same size- so the Order Time
is significantly reduced because there are more attendants to cater to the customer.
Staff
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The staff at any service establishment plays a very important role in the proper
functioning and success of that establishment. Especially in the restaurants and cafés –
the staff makes or breaks the place. For the purpose of this study, the sample was asked to
rate the staff at a café on four counts: Behavior, Manners, Helpfulness and Service.
This would help give us an insight on how customers feel about their interactions with
the staff of a café, and how this affects their overall experience.
Behavior
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 26. – Comparative Rating – Behaviour
The behavior of the staff directly contributes to the customer’s overall experience. Their
actions, reactions and conduct while interacting with the customers will directly affect the
Barista received an excellent rating of 4.5/ 5, which reflects on their training and
development program. Respondents also especially highlighted the Barista staff’s non-
intrusive as a great quality which really made their experience more enjoyable.
Café Coffee Day received an above average rating of 3.5/ 5, but they really need to work
Manners
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 27. – Comparative Rating – Manners
Perhaps the most important aspect of interacting with customers is the way an employee
speaks to them. His mannerism and etiquette should be polite and courteous.
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Barista again scored very highly with their Employees manners, and respondents were
overall extremely happy with the politeness and courtesy of Barista’s staff.
Café Coffee Day received an above- average rating of 3.5/ 5 again, which indicates that
although their training and development programs might not be bad, they still need to do
Helpfulness
4/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 28. – Comparative Rating – Helpfulness
The staff should be able to assist and help customers with their queries and needs. A little
help or assistance goes a long way in improving the customer’s view of the organization.
Both Barista and Café Coffee Day performed quite well, earning ratings of 4/5 and 3.5/5
respectively.
Service
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 29. – Comparative Rating – Service
A customer’s visit to a coffeehouse doesn’t end with his purchase of coffee. He goes
there for the service the organization provides, and this service is provided directly by the
staff. Barista performed exceptionally well, with another excellent 4.5/ 5 rating. Café
Coffee Day stayed at the above- average level once again with only a 3.5/ 5.
Overall
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 30. – Comparative Rating – Overall Service
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Overall, Barista has a huge lead over Café Coffee Day when it comes to the staff at the
outlets. Barista received another fantastic rating of 4.5/ 5 overall, while Café Coffee Day
could only manage an above- average 3.5/ 5.The staff at Barista performed extremely
well in terms of their Behavior, Manners and Service. Café Coffee Day can’t afford to let
Barista outperform them in this area, because it plays a vital role in building and
Ambience
intangibility is that since the service cannot be seen or touched, it is very difficult
communicating its qualities or advantages to the customers. This also poses a problem in
evidence is basically any sort of tangible that can be attached to the service, like the
building, the colors, the furniture, etc. This is especially true in the hospitality industry,
where ambience plays a huge role in building the service organization’s brand- and
For this reason, respondents were asked to rate Ambience & Décor, Colors and Lighting,
Comfort & Feel and Other Entertainment on a scale of 1-5, to see how Barista and Café
Coffee Day use their physical evidence to promote and develop their brand.
Also, considering that 40% of the sample stated Ambience/ Experience as the deciding
aspect.
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Furniture &
Decor
5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 31. – Comparative Rating – Furniture & Decor
The Furniture and Décor of a cafe consists of everything from the chairs and tables, to
the posters and paintings on the wall. It is probably the mist influential factor to affect
customer perception of the brand. The kind of furniture and décor reflects on the kind of
café it is. Barista scored an unbelievable rating of a perfect 5/ 5 for their furniture and
décor. Light wooden finish chairs and tables, artistic photographs on the walls depicting
the love for coffee, wide sofas and high stools all contributed to Barista’s success. Café
Coffee Day on the other hand received another above- average rating 3.5/ 5. A lot of the
respondents didn’t like the fact that Café Coffee Day had so many advertisements and
promotional posters over almost everything in the café. Other than that, the sample
mostly liked the furniture at Café Coffee Day, although some said that it projected a very
Comfort &
Feel
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 32. – Comparative Rating – Comfort & Feel
The Comfort & Feel of a café play an important functional role in improving customer
service. Taking into account, that 60% of the sample visits a coffeehouse for more than 1
hour, comfort forms an essential part of the customer experience. Barista performed
brilliantly with a 4.5/ 5 rating, and Café Coffee Day too did well with a 3.5/ 5 rating.
Other
Entertainment
4.5/ 5 3/ 5
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Diagram 33. – Comparative Rating – Other Entertainment
Customers come to a café because they want to have a good time with friends or family.
Other forms of entertainment at cafés are very useful for enriching customer experiences
and increasing customer retention. Music, T.V., games; books, etc are peripheral services
that a café offers to its customers. These services add to the overall ambience of the café.
Barista has again done brilliantly in this area, receiving a superb rating of 4.5/ 5. Barista
has been able to successfully achieve this because they provide various facilities like
Café Coffee Day has taken steps in the right direction as well, installing Q-Jam
jukeboxes at every outlet. But besides that, they have nothing really to speak of. This is
why they only received an average rating of 3/ 5. They should concentrate more in this
Overall
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 34. – Comparative Rating – Overall Ambience
Barista completely outdid Café Coffee Day in this section, achieving higher ratings than
Café Coffee Day in all 4 areas. Barista earned an overall 4.5/ 5 while Café Coffee Day
could only manage 3.5/ 5.Although Café Coffee Day had an above- average performance,
they cannot afford to lag behind Barista in these areas, especially in their Furniture &
Availability
customer desires a product, it should be made available to him when and where he desires
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it. People visit cafés primarily because they serve coffee and eatables. These are their
basic products, without which the café itself would cease to exist. That’s why it is
essential for cafés to make sure the food and drinks they have on their menu are available
For the purpose of this survey, respondents were asked to rate the availability of the
coffee, drinks, eatables/ snack and desserts of their choice; on a scale of 1-5 (1 indicating
that the product is never available, 5 indicating that the product is always available).
Coffee of
choice
4.5/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 35. – Comparative Rating – Coffee of Choice
Making the coffee of choice available to the customer poses a different sort of problem to
cafés. While a plain black coffee or milk- based coffee is always available, the flavored
coffees, which are not ordered very often, may be unavailable due to insufficient supply
caused by varied demand. Considering coffee is their core product, both cafés performed
exceptionally well. Barista was marginally ahead of Café Coffee Day, with ratings of 4.5/
5 and 4/ 5 respectively.
Drinks of
choice
4/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 36. – Comparative Rating – Drinks Of choice
The other drinks available at cafés like cool drinks, cold coffees and ice teas; depend a lot
on various artificial and fruit based flavors/ syrups. These might not be available to the
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café due to seasonal factors or supply factors. The availability of the café to overcome
Both cafés once again, performed brilliantly, with ratings of 4/ 5 each. This shows that
both Barista and Café Coffee Day make sure that the various drinks they offer are almost
Eatables of
Choice
3.5/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 37. – Comparative Rating – Eatables of Choice
Eatables at cafés provide a much more obvious problem. They cannot be stored for very
long, and because of that, supply must be short and frequent, often causing demand-
supply gaps. Barista performed above- average with a 3.5/ 5 rating, and some respondents
complained that a lot of the eatables were often stale or unavailable. Café Coffee Day on
the other hand, did very well. The eatables they offer are almost always available, and
Desserts of
Choice
4/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 38. – Comparative Rating – Desserts Of Choice
The desserts pose the same problem to a café as the eatables, but the demand for them is
usually higher. The desserts are also a large source of revenue, because they’re usually
accompanied by a high profit margin. Barista and Café Coffee Day performed at par,
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Overall
4/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 39. – Comparative Rating – Overall Availability
Overall, both Barista and Café Coffee Day performed very well in this section, with a
rating of 4/ 5 each. This shows that both chains are doing well to make ensure that their
Customers always take into consideration 2 factors while purchasing a product. The price
of the product, and the quality/ quantity value of the product. Having a low- priced, low
value product or a high- priced, high- value product is often difficult to market or sell.
In cafés especially, serving products at the right price in the right quality/ quantity is
extremely important. Customers should feel that their paying the lowest price possible for
the quality and quantity of the product they receive. This rating would reflect on the
relationship between the price of the product, the taste & quality and the serving size.
Since the four basic products cafés offer are priced differently, with different quality and
quantity values, the value for money for each should be rated separately.
Coffee
3.5/ 5 4/ 5
Diagram 40. – Comparative Rating – Value for money-Coffee
The value for money for coffee is probably the most important factor, since customers
visit cafés primarily to drink coffee. Barista received an average 3.5/ 5, which is probably
a result of the lower ratings they received in the Taste & Quality and Prices of Coffee.
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Café Coffee Day on the other hand received a very good 4/ 5 rating, probably as a direct
Other
Drinks
3/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 41. – Comparative Rating – Value for money-Coffee
Customers drink the Other Drinks available at Café Coffee Days as alternatives to coffee,
and since these drinks are usually priced between Rs. 30 – Rs. 40, providing good value
for money is essential. Barista received only an average 3/ 5, while Café Coffee Day
could only do marginally better with a 3.5/ 5 rating. This is reflective of the customer’s
perception of prices and of serving size, because Barista received a higher rating in the
Taste & Quality but Café Coffee Day received a better Price rating. It seems that the
prices and/ or the serving size of the other drinks had an effect on the respondents rating.
Eatables
3/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 42. – Comparative Rating – Value for money - Eatables
While rating the Value for Money of Eatables, respondents gave Barista a 3/ 5 and Café
Coffee Day a 3.5/ 5. This marginal advantage for Café Coffee Day is either due to their
serving size, or their price, because while rating the Taste & Quality both Barista and
Desserts
3.5/ 5 3/ 5
Diagram 43. – Comparative Rating – Value for money - Desserts
Customers generally demand that Desserts provide high value form money. This is
because they’re willing to pay a high price and they expect excellent taste, quality and
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quantity. Presentation also plays a key psychological role here. The Desserts category is
the only one where Café Coffee Day could not do better than Barista. Barista received a
3.5/ 5 and Café Coffee Day received a 3/ 5.Barista had a 1 point advantage when it came
to the Taste & Quality of desserts. This indicates Barista currently dominates that desserts
category.
Overall
3/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 44. – Comparative Rating – Overall Value for money
Café Coffee Day has a marginal edge over Barista, when it comes to Value for Money.
They edged out Barista on 3 parameters out of 4.In the case of coffee, Café Coffee Day
had a Taste & Quality advantage; in the case of Other Drinks and Eatables, Café Coffee
Day had a price advantage; and in the case of Desserts, Barista had a huge Taste &
Quality advantage.
Overall Services
The final part of the survey asked respondents to comparatively rate the 3 main aspects of
a café, i.e. the Products, the People and the Ambience. They were also asked to provide
an Overall Rating judging the performance of Barista and Café Coffee Day.
It is important to understand how customers view the 3 main aspects as a whole, because
it highlights a cafés performance in a certain area. The results of the Overall Rating are
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also important because it indicates overall, how a customer rates both the café of his
Products
4/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 45. – Comparative Rating – Overall Services - Products
The overall ratings of products available at these two cafés are indicative of not only the
Taste & Quality, but also the type, quantity, variety, presentation and packaging of these
products. Barista earned a very good rating of 4/ 5, with a marginal advantage over Café
Coffee Day’s 3.5/ 5. This indicates that although Café Coffee Day got better ratings of
Taste & Quality, Barista managed a better overall rating. One common comment made
by most of the sample was, that Barista needs to improve its product variety, while Café
People
4/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 46. – Comparative Rating – Overall Services – People
People are often called the most important part of a service sector organization. In the
case of cafés, the people actually working at the café who directly interact with the
customer influence the customer’s perception of the café and the service they provide. It
is therefore important, especially in national retail café chains that employ over 1,000
employees, that their staff is properly trained and well behaved. Taking all that into
consideration, Barista has done a very good job with its staff, earning an excellent 4/ 5
rating from respondents. Café Coffee Day however was not up to the mark, and received
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Ambience
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 47. – Comparative Rating – Overall Services – Ambience
When respondents were asked to rate individual parameters of Ambience, they gave
Barista an especially high rating while Café Coffee Day could only manage an average
rating. It’s the same case when it comes to rating the overall Ambience. Barista has a
huge lead of 1 whole rating point, and Café Coffee Day needs to work really hard to
catch up to Barista.
Overall
Rating
4.5/ 5 3.5/ 5
Diagram 48. – Comparative Rating – Overall Services Rating
The overall verdict is in. Barista got a near- perfect average overall rating of 4.5/ 5, while
Café Coffee Day was lagging a whole point behind. This in spite of the fact that 50% of
the respondents chose Café Coffee Day as their café of choice. This shows that both
Barista and Café Coffee Day have the potential for larger growth. Barista, because even
though they are 1 whole point ahead of Café Coffee Day, it does not reflect in their
market share. And Café Coffee Day, despite getting only an average rating commands a
lot of market share, so if they utilize their unused potential, and catch up in key result
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Section 5: CONCLUSION
5.1 Areas of Excellence
Both cafés have certain areas where they have been consistently performing well. These
are essentially the strengths of the brand, and Barista & Café Coffee Day need to
capitalize on these strengths to increase their market share and brand loyalty. The main
areas of excellence, based on the Case Studies & Market Survey, have been identified as
follows:
Barista
Barista has a strong and clear brand image. Their customers can easily identify
and relate to the Barista brand. This helps increase and maintain brand loyalty.
According to the survey, Barista received an excellent rating for the service and
Another significant area of excellence is the kind of ambience and décor Barista
cafés have. Respondents to the survey, including whose who chose Café Coffee
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Day as their choice of café, gave Barista a near perfect rating for their Ambience
& Décor.
4. Strong base for expansion & growth: Barista have worked hard on heir brand
image and human resources, and have a strong base for future expansion and
Café Coffee Day got a high rating in the market survey, for the Taste & Quality of
their products. If they work on this aspect, there is huge potential for them to
attract customers, just based on the taste and quality of products. This is also
helped by the fact that they grow their own coffee beans, and this provides an
important base for future expansion and growth. Café Coffee Day even won the
Café Coffee Day is projected as an “affordable” brand. This strategy has worked
extremely well so far, and Café Coffee Day got a high rating, both for their prices
The Café Coffee Day brand is, and always has been, extremely youth- oriented. In
a country where over 40% of the population is under the age of 20, there is huge
potential for Café Coffee Day to become one of the country’s largest youth
brands. The untapped market share and potential for growth is enormous.
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5.2 Areas Needing Improvement
Both Barista and Café Coffee Day have under performed or not lived up to
potential in certain areas. The areas are weaknesses, which need to be improved
upon, as that both can eliminate any disadvantage that may have, and improve
customer satisfaction. The mail areas needing improvement, based on the Case
Barista
According to the market survey, other than their Dessert, Barista got only an
average rating for the taste & quality of their products. Considering their
strong brand image of being the coffee- lover’s traditional café, they have not
Customer perceptions of Barista’s prices and value for money are quite
negative. Even though the prices of Barista and Café Coffee Day are almost
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On a smaller note, Barista’s self- service delivery process received almost
The Café Coffee Day brand, although clearly a youth- oriented brand, lacks
the power and strength expected to maintain brand loyalty. The brand doesn’t
project a clear image to customers about what Café Coffee Day is all about.
expansion.
According to the market survey, Café Coffee Day’s staff received only an
average rating for their behavior and service. Café Coffee Day needs to work
The Ambience & Décor of Café Coffee Day outlets received a below- average
rating from respondents of the market survey. A lot of respondents did not like
the fact that Café Coffee Day outlets and literature served as prime space for a
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lot of advertising and promotions. They felt as if the café’s had been hijacked
Barista
• Barista has an extremely strong brand image, but they need to work hard on
improving their customer perception of being and expensive brand. Barista and
Café Coffee Day have almost identical pricing, but Barista is still perceived as the
• That’s why my first recommendation for Barista is, to carry out a promotion
campaign to ensure that their target market is well aware of their current low
prices. This would help change customer perception and turn Barista into an
affordable brand.
• Another backlash of having such a strong traditional café brand image is that
customers have very high expectations of the taste & quality of products. Barista
needs to work hard at this aspect, especially for coffee and eatables products.
• My second recommendation is for Barista to look at its coffee beans suppliers and
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o This is especially important considering the international expansion
Barista is undertaking. Barista should also look at the Taj, their national
suppliers for eatables and desserts, and either improve the taste & quality
café attendant delivers the coffee to the table. This may seem insignificant,
• Café Coffee Day has done extremely well so far to project itself as an
affordable youth- oriented brand. But there are still certain areas where
• With regard to the physical evidence associated with the brand, Café
Coffee Day needs to do a lot of work if they hope to catch up with Barista.
• Café Coffee Day would do better to provide promotional space for its
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• Customers are not happy with the behavior and service of the staff, and
Annexure
Primary Questionnaire 1:
General:
a. Finance
b. Logistics
c. Human Resources
Parameters:
A) Corporate Profile:
2. What is the size of the parent company, and how is its performance?
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a. Finance
b. Human Resources
2. How many outlets have been opened, in how many cities and over how much
time?
3. What is the rate of growth in terms of outlets per city and per year?
a. Finance
b. Human Resources
C) Marketing Mix:
1. Product:
i. Coffee
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i. Convenience
ii. Presentation
2. Pricing:
3. Process:
4. Positioning:
i. Products
• Product Mix
• Variety
• Packaging
ii. Prices
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• Employee profile
5. Promotions
6. Distribution:
locally?
c. What are the locations for your outlets? How and why do you pick
these locations?
d. What are the average inventory/ stock levels for your products?
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e. What sort of inventory/ stock distribution takes place?
D) Human Resources:
1. Employee profile:
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a. Do you have a special policy for code of conduct of your
employees?
i. Mannerisms
ii. Behavior
iii. Attitude
often is it regulated?
6. Promotion policy:
a. What are the promotion opportunities for employees who are a part
of Barista?
outside?
7. Performance appraisal:
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PLEASE TELL US THE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF
Name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Questionnaire 2:
Market Survey
Name:
Age:
Profession:
Sex:
Others
Q2) How often do you visit a Coffee Shop?
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75-125 Rupees Over 125 Rupees
Q6) What is the single most important factor for you to choose a Coffee Shop?
Q7) Please rate the following, according to your personal choice, for both Barista and
Other Drinks
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Eatables
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Desserts
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your comments:
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2) Prices: (1=Cheap and 5=Expensive)
Coffee
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Other Drinks
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Eatables
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Desserts
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your Comments:
3) Delivery of products: *(1=very slow and 5= quick) **(1=inconvenient and 5=very convenient)
Order Time*
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Delivery Time*
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Order Process**
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Delivery Process**
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your comments:
Behavior
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Manners
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1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Helpfulness
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Service
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your Comments:
Your comments:
6) Availability: (How often are the following products available) (1=Rarely and 5=Always)
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The desserts of your choice
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your Comments:
Coffee
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Other Drinks
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Eatables
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Desserts
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Your comments:
Products
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
People
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Ambience
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Overall Rating
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
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Your Comments:
10) What don’t you like about the other Coffee Shop?
Name _____________________________________________________
Age (yrs): (10 - 14) Sex: M/F
(15 – 18)
(19 – 25)
(25 & above)
House Hold income level: (12000 – 15000) pm
(15000 – 25000) pm
(25000 – above) pm
Occupation_________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________
1. Aaker, David,” Building Strong Brands” ,The Free Press, Printed in the United
States Of America, Year 1996.
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2. Aaker, David,” Strategic Brand Management” ,Prentice Hall, Printed in the
United States Of America, Year 1989.
6. Toshowe, Stanley, The Marketing Review – Café Retail, The India chapter,
Volume86,Number 336 ,Jan’2005,page-36.
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