MUMBAI – Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited (HRPL), a Master Franchisee for west & south India operations of McDonald’s Restaurants and a wholly owned subsidiary of Westlife Development Limited, officially announced on October 9 the launch of the first McCafe in-restaurant at its McDonald’s Restaurant at SOBO Central, Mumbai.
In embracing the coffee culture that is fast gaining acceptance in India, McCafe aims to reach out to as many Indians as the best place to enjoy a range of premium specialty coffee including cappuccino, latte, iced mocha and frappe.
With a strong coffee foundation, HRPL (McDonald’s West & South India) recognized an unmet need, for existing and new customers, in the rapidly growing Indian specialty coffee segment.
In addition to extending its McCafe product portfolio, the restaurant re-imaging initiative gave the company a unique opportunity to create a defined space for McCafe in-restaurant, creating a brand within a brand at the point-of-sale.
The concept of McCafe operating inside the existing McDonald’s restaurants opens the door to more Indians to a premium coffee experience.
The launch of McCafe brand will be a major step in the beverage growth strategy and building on the strong brewed coffee success.
The expansion of the McCafe brand and its product offering is part of the company’s goal to elevate its coffee portfolio and to become India’s favourite destination for great food and beverages.
“We see huge potential within the Indian marketplace. Customers have a strong taste for coffee in India, the specialty segment is growing, and we really believe we’ve found a great place for us to be able to offer quality espresso coffees that will appeal to coffee connoisseurs and those that are new to the growing marketplace.
We see an opportunity to continue expanding our beverage platform and efforts to gain a greater share of the very sizeable India beverage market”, says Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Development Ltd.
“The McCafe brand launch will be an acceleration for our business and the biggest initiative we have undertaken since we revolutionalized the way people eat breakfast on-the-go with the introduction of the Breakfast over 3 years ago. We believe McCafe will drive our beverage and food business to unparalleled heights and solidify McDonald’s as an indisputable leader in the Indian quick-service restaurant area, added Amit Jatia.”
McCafe is an integral part of how McDonald’s India (west & south operations” is transforming and elevating the brand and customer experience.
“Our goal is to fuel stronger customer connections and to be the place Indians think of first when they’re hungry or thirsty”, added Amit Jatia.
McDonald’s India plans to launch 100-150 more Mc Cafes in the next 3-5 years across key trading areas in metro cities of west & south India.
