?Barista to open 500 outlets through franchisee within next five years

Barista Coffee, an international coffee operator, has planned to open outlets in Maldives, the Middle East and Europe in the coming months, all in all 500 outlets by the end of five year.

Sanjay Chhabra, Chairman of Rollatainers, the parent company of Carnation Hospitality, said, "We aim to be 500 stores in the next five years, primarily through a franchisee route."

Currently Barista has 190 stores spread across the nation, it is planning to target mainly the smaller cities like Chandigarh, Jalandhar and Pune, where it can open the most outlets.

The size of the organised café market is projected to grow to Rs 151 billion by 2020 from Rs 67 billion in 2014, according to a March 2015 report by Technopak Advisors Pvt.

New Delhi-based Rollatainers has signed up a franchisee partner in the Maldives, where it plans to open four stores in the next six months.