Brewing business over a cup of coffee
Brewing business over a cup of coffee

The restaurant industry in the country has gone beyond the boundaries, with new concepts coming and capturing the Indian foodies trail.  Business cafes are one such space, which has brought a creative trend into the segment with cafe chains like Starbucks, Coffee Cafe Day and restaurant cafe like Social Offline turning into a socialising place rather than a normal cafe.

And as today people are no more choosing cafes for just socialising themselves but instead to go to a place where they can interact and intermingle with people from different fields, social cafes and casual cafes are the way forward for these brands.

Hooking Consumers Socially

As cafes are turning into a meeting-cum-socialising place, these chains came up with idea of introducing something new that would bring them a good business attracting those who come for a meet at such places.

Social Offline is the brainchild of Riyaaz Amlani, MD and CEO, Impresario Entertainment and President of the National Restaurant Association of India. The concept was born out of the necessity, where one can enjoy the life of both working and socialising at a time. Social Offline is currently present in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru with turnout form a good number of creative people who like to enjoy the life while working.

Meanwhile, Cafe Coffee Day, the India born cafe chain which was started out of the need way back in 1999 to give a place to the young Indian s where they can come and meet, spend some time together and take an experience out of the cafe.

‘The Sqauare’ cafe by CCD introduced ‘The Huddle Room’ which has around 6-9 seater meeting room created for those looking for inspiration - be it at a corporate meeting or a low-key get together. 

“Yes, it is true that many a meetings happen at the comfort of a CCD over freshly brewed coffee and eats. We have a good number of cafes inside and around corporate premises. When you say meeting rooms you must mean the ‘Huddle Room’ concept that we have introduced across the Square format outlets,” shares Bidisha Nagaraj, Group President Marketing, Coffee Day.

The Differentiated Offerings

People have always used cafes as a very social business. Earlier, they were using it for meetings, but now, they are using it to sit, write a letter, type their thoughts out and make presentations for clients. This shows that how people are interacting in cafes.

The USP of such cafe is mainly to create a place, which could act as an entertainment cum-working hub, where people can enjoy their work without the any boredom.

“People today do not need any office environment to work as technology is everywhere. There is certainly a growth on your own level. We are in cafe business for 14 years and they are all social now,” says Amlani.

Social Cafes V/S Business Cafes

According to Amlani, a normal cafe has 100 covers on a day and on 100 covers, a restaurateur is able to do at least four rotations. From morning to night, one person sits for one hour. You have empty seats, so why not utilise these seats for working people in cafes.

The Social Offline workspace can accommodate up to 50 people, though it might get a tight fit in the work area if all 50 do show up at the same time. However, the battle is for customers watch not his wallet.

At the same time, The Square focuses on theatre of coffee with single origin coffees from across the world, boutique brewing systems and caters to the well-informed, well-travelled and discerning tastes of coffee connoisseurs. As of December 31, 2014, CCD operates seven outlets of The Square (of which one is franchised) across Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. The beverage offerings at The Square brand outlets include specialty coffees, international and local single origin blend coffees while the food offerings include fine dining options from multiple international cuisines accompanied with baked goods that complement the beverages.

CCD

THE SQUARE

People Accommodate inside ‘THE HUDDLE ROOM’- 6-9

Services Offered- Speciality Coffee, Wifi, Fine Dining options, Baked Goods, Beverages, Projector

No. of ‘The SQUARE (As of Dec 2014)

Seven

Places- Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai

IMPRESARIO ENTERTAINMENT

SOCIAL OFFLINE

Over 50

Service Offered- 3D Printer, Printer, WiFi, Internet, Locker and Address of the cafe to use on Visiting Cards

5 cafes

Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru

Thus, we can say that India is going beyond working from early morning to late night hours. Today, there are many co-working hubs of different shades that emerging entrepreneurs and startups are choosing to work, instead paying high rental cost which is increasing day by day.

In the days to come, we can see all major cities including places like Pune, Chennai, Goa and Ahmedabad bludgeoning with such cafes.

 
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