Cafe Coffee Day
Threat of a “me too” perception: a case of Café Coffee Day
Richa Agrawal, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, India*
Café Coffee Day (CCD), India’s largest organised retail café chain, had done a great job of creating a distinct brand identity and communicating it successfully to its TG. In a three-pronged approach adopted by the company, CCD had revamped its logo, altered the look ‘n’ feel of its cafés and created a unique brand positioning to win customers over time. CCD in its new “avatar” was targeted at the young or the young at heart and was promoted as an every day hang-out that was essentially about good coffee and affordable fun. The case provides a vivid narration of the journey of CCD since its inception in 1996 and illustrates all significant events therein. Besides this, the case describes the beginnings of café culture in India, the changing café consumption habits of urban Indians, and the spread of café culture beyond the metros and into the tier I, II and III cities. All major recent events in the Indian café industry, such as the growth of new café chains in the country, the entry of multinational companies in the market, changing consumer tastes and preferences, and changing market dynamics etc. are also showcased. Finally, the problem of competing brands offering an increasingly similar café experience and the threat of a “me too” perception are highlighted. Readers are required to assess the impact of all recent events on the specialist coffee chains and suggest alternative strategies to help ensure distinctiveness and growth for CCD in future. Keywords Café chain, Café market in India, Café Coffee day, ABCTCL, Brand positioning, Building distinct brand identity, Specialist coffee chain
Introduction Siddharth, Chairman of Coffee Day, and the man behind Café Coffee Day, a successful coffee café chain in India, was deep in thought. Should he dismiss the comments as mere musings over a cup of coffee or was there really a reason for
Richa Agrawal, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, India*
Café Coffee Day (CCD), India’s largest organised retail café chain, had done a great job of creating a distinct brand identity and communicating it successfully to its TG. In a three-pronged approach adopted by the company, CCD had revamped its logo, altered the look ‘n’ feel of its cafés and created a unique brand positioning to win customers over time. CCD in its new “avatar” was targeted at the young or the young at heart and was promoted as an every day hang-out that was essentially about good coffee and affordable fun. The case provides a vivid narration of the journey of CCD since its inception in 1996 and illustrates all significant events therein. Besides this, the case describes the beginnings of café culture in India, the changing café consumption habits of urban Indians, and the spread of café culture beyond the metros and into the tier I, II and III cities. All major recent events in the Indian café industry, such as the growth of new café chains in the country, the entry of multinational companies in the market, changing consumer tastes and preferences, and changing market dynamics etc. are also showcased. Finally, the problem of competing brands offering an increasingly similar café experience and the threat of a “me too” perception are highlighted. Readers are required to assess the impact of all recent events on the specialist coffee chains and suggest alternative strategies to help ensure distinctiveness and growth for CCD in future. Keywords Café chain, Café market in India, Café Coffee day, ABCTCL, Brand positioning, Building distinct brand identity, Specialist coffee chain
Introduction Siddharth, Chairman of Coffee Day, and the man behind Café Coffee Day, a successful coffee café chain in India, was deep in thought. Should he dismiss the comments as mere musings over a cup of coffee or was there really a reason for
References: The Marketing Review, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 3 Appendix 1 Customer profile and related information 40 266 The Marketing Review, 2009, Vol Source: Official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, store checks, trade interviews, Euromonitor International (2008) estimates Table 2 Cafés/bars by subsector: % units/outlets growth 2002-2007 2007 398,737.8 9,641.5 389,096.4 6,497.5 6,176.9 320.6 392,240.4 3,464.6 388,775.8 Source: Official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, store checks, trade interviews, Euromonitor International (2008) estimates 268 The Marketing Review, 2009, Vol 2007 28.3 15.0 10.5 4.5 2.9 2.5 2.2 1.3 0.7 32.2 100.0 Source: Trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, Euromonitor International (2008) estimates