Reliance brings UK’s Pret A Manger to India to take on Starbucks – Times of India

New Delhi: Reliance Brands (RBL) ready to compete with Tata starbucks British sandwich and coffee chain bringing to India a manger pret,
RBL, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, is planning to launch and build a Pret A Manger restaurant chain in India with a long-term master franchise agreement. The outline of the deal was not disclosed.
With the consolidation of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), once the largest cafe chain in India, Tata Starbucks, a similar joint venture between Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Group and Seattle-headquartered Starbucks, as the strongest contender in the space with 272 emerged from. Outlets in 28 cities.
While Pret A Manger is primarily regarded as a food-based brand globally, Darshan Mehta, MD, Reliance Brands, told TOI that the chain has an entire beverage game, including coffee.
“Unlike other cafe chains, where food items have to be microwaved, this brand will have a hot section where fresh food will be served fresh,” Mehta said. “Anyone can use the restaurant for meet-and-greets, work or even just to get coffee on the go.”
A key area of ​​focus for the Reliance-led brand will be airports, where Tata Starbucks currently dominates. “The number of domestic passengers is going to increase rapidly,” Mehta said.
RBL will open food chains across the country starting from major cities and travel hubs. Pret a Manger, which first opened in London in 1986, is owned by the billionaire Riemann family of Germany, which in 2018 raised the chain from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors to challenge Nestlé’s dominance in the coffee business. achieved.
The brand embarked on a global expansion spree last year, aiming to double the size of its business in five years. Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou, during an interaction with TOI, said that in the markets the brand enters, 20% of the menu is kept local while the rest follows global trends.
Pret A Manger currently has 550 stores globally in nine markets including the UK, US, Europe and Asia, offering organic coffee, sandwiches, salads and wraps.