Barista may turn around this financial year

Barista Coffee Company will be profitable by the end of the financial year, according to Brotin Banerjee, head""marketing, strategy and corporate communications.

He said the company would be breaking even shortly, and should be making profits this year.

The company will be investing Rs 150-200 crore over three-four years to spruce up existing stores and adding new ones. Banerjee said fresh investments were being made since the company changed hands recently with Sterling group acquiring Turner Morisson's stake in Barista.

Banerjee said Barista would be adding 70 outlets in the current financial year, both in India and overseas. At present, Barista has 120 outlets. In the international market, Barista has a presence in Dubai and Sri Lanka and plans are on enter South Asia and the Middle East.

However, not all new outlets would conform to the espresso bar formats as the company plans to take its outlets to malls, universities and even airports.

Banerjee said Barista footfalls had increased by 20 per cent over the last six months on a same store basis primarily owing to the introduction of attractive products at reasonable prices, aggressive promotions and an enhanced service delivery.

The company was revamping its food menu. Banerjee said, "Food consumption at Barista has gone up drastically and we would like to cash on it. Today it accounts for nearly 35 per cent of the overall sales, which is indeed a large amount."

The focus of Barista would, however, remain on beverages and the attention to food business would not be at the cost of beverages.