Cafe Coffee Day Brews Up A Fresh Flavour

To retain its separate identity as pioneers of the cafe concept in the wake of competition from the Tata-backed Barista as well as Qwiky's, Cafe Coffee Day -- part of the Rs 250 crore coffee conglomerate , Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd -- has undertaken a rejuvenation process, through a new look and logo.

"The change of logo is the beginning of a process here at Cafe Coffee Day. The spin-offs of this process will be seen in the brand communication and the interior design as well" Sudipta Mukherjee, head-marketing, Cafe Coffee Day, said.

Unlike Barista whose clientele is mostly the sober, more mature over thirties, Cafe Coffee Day attracts mostly college students and young professionals, he said. An in-house research had revealed that 88 per cent of Coffee Day customers belonged to the 15-29 years age group, contrary to the age-old belief that coffee houses were " the bastions of the intellectual". They are now the urban youngster's favourite "hangouts", Sudipta said.

 

Significantly, the font used for Cafe in the new logo is of the slurry family -- the font looks as though the letters have congealed out of a liquid giving the impression that the word is still forming itself and evolving into something new and better constantly. "This is the character of Cafe Coffee Day customers and this is what the brand too wants to adopt", Sudipta said.

The first cafe with the "new look" interiors and logo to project a more youthful and contemporary ambience was opened here today at the MPM Mall. It is the fifth Cafe Coffee Day in Hyderabad and 25th in the country. "We want to cross the 200-mark by March 2004", says Amalgamated Holding Ltd Director, Surendra Kanchetti, who adds that Cafe Coffee Day also plans to out up 3,000 coffee vending machines the country over.

"Amalgamated group's most unique aspect is that it grows the coffee it serves in its cafes. It also invests in coffee research and contributes 15 per cent of India's total coffee exports. The group is poised to operate 200 cafes, 400 coffee retail stores, 3,000 coffee vending machines and post a turnover of Rs 650 crore by March 2004", Surendra said.