"Starbucks is about the human connection": Sushant Dash

Sushant Dash, senior director, marketing and category, Tata Starbucks, was part of the team that brought Starbucks to India in October 2012, through a 50:50 association with Tata Global Beverages. Today, the brand has eight outlets across Mumbai and Delhi.

Interestingly, Dash, the brand custodian of Starbucks coffee in India, has ten years of experience managing Tata Tea. afaqs! met him over a cappuccino at Starbucks' Lower Parel outlet, one of five in Mumbai.

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Two specific insights came up during our pre-launch research: Unlike many western markets, India is not a dominant coffee market. Here, people don't go to a coffee shop for their 'daily beverage' or 'daily dose of caffeine'. In the US, people often wake up in the morning and feel the need to have their cup of coffee – a beverage that'll get them going for the day. In India, the beverage that serves that purpose is tea and it's consumed at home.

In India, coffee shops are an alternative to other food and beverage outlets. And while we do see some 'takeaway coffee' cases, majority cases are about in-store consumption. That's because in India, unlike the West, the primary reason to visit a coffee shop is not the beverage itself. Rather, it's to sit down and spend time with friends or to take a break from work. It's more recreational. This is why we don't have a kiosk format in India and instead, have spacious outlets with ample seating.

The other insight is that food is much more critical in India than in many other markets. Along with their beverages people tend to order food here a lot more than people do in the West.

You're right when you say a consumer comes in for the first time out of curiosity. Sure, a brand can create that hype but repeat visits will depend on their satisfaction.

Over time, 'The Starbucks Experience' -- which is about product (quality), partners (Tata) and place (ambience) -- will help us differentiate and build loyalty. At Starbucks, it's about the human connection. The order is customised as per your specifications. These are small things that make the consumer happy.

It's both. The market and the category are still growing. It's not like we have a huge café culture here in India. So, in that sense, with Starbucks coming in and with other players being active, we're obviously creating and growing the category and making it more vibrant, along with the others. This is good for all of us. And according to us, the market is large enough for all of us to exist.

We did not look at competition benchmarking as our pricing strategy. The guiding principle was about what we are offering and what we believe consumers' acceptance of the price point would be in terms of the value they see for it. The general approach has been to give consumers a value proposition and see what they are willing to pay for it. Everything has an assigned value, including our relaxing ambience.

We had to take a call as to what value the consumer will attribute to the entire 'Starbucks Experience'. Polarised views and comparisons will always be there but as far as digital feedback goes, we have more satisfied consumers than unhappy ones. Interestingly, through Twitter and Facebook, a lot of people from places like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi and Coimbatore are asking for Starbucks to be brought to their cities.

There's no conflict. Research does have its place but you cannot rely on research alone. You need to have a balance between research and your own understanding of the market. I think that's what he was talking about. And I agree with him.