Shashank Jha, Founder, Coffee N U

The increasing popularity of the coffee culture in India has made inroads as a successful business proposition, with a number of entrepreneurs to start a café. In an interview, Shashank Jha, Founder, Coffee N U shares the future plans and USP of his café chains.

Ramanjit Kaur (RK): Brief us on the inception of Coffee N U.  

Shashank Jha (SJ): We were working on the idea of OOVAA, our premier gaming zone and found that coffee is the right mix with it for our target groups. We launched our first Coffee N U outlet in 2008 after extensive research and development and now Coffee N U is an established brand eyeing 100 cafés by the end of 2010.

RK: In what ways is Coffee N U different from other cafés. What is its USP?

SJ: As the preference for coffee among Indians has risen, so, we have created a special blend of coffee which has been awarded the ‘Golden Blend’ at Atlanta in April’09. We have also developed many drinks focussing on the likings of Indians, who like their coffee to be on the sweeter side. Thus, we have things to offer to both the hardcore coffee drinker and the casual visitor.

Apart from this, we have many value additions like free Wi-fi and library services. Furthermore, we are announcing many innovative activities from the next month, like we are starting a programme called ‘Connect with Coffee, know your brew’.  Every Sunday two hours will be dedicated to the visitors at all our cafes to bring them closer to coffee, explain about the art and science of coffee and brewing. We are launching a series of health coffee drinks and herbal teas also.

RK: How many outlets do you have presently? What are your future target locations for expansion?

SJ: We have six operational outlets with 12 more in the pipeline of which nine would be franchised outlets. Our target is to be a store chain of 50 outlets within the next six months and expect 60 per cent of the outlets to be franchisee-owned. We are expanding pan-India and our major targets are Tier II and III cities.

RK: Could you shed some light on the kind of games and cuisine at your various outlets?

SJ: At Coffee N U, we have around 43 varieties of coffee drinks, 16 types of teas including herbal and organic teas and around 15 iced coolers. At our lounge and pub format, we offer around 15 flavours of Hookahs. We prepare fresh food (like burgers, sandwiches, rolls and pizzas) at our cafe unlike the normal practice of outsourcing the food and reheating it before serving to the guests. At OOVAA, we have membership schemes which upgrades automatically as you play more hours.

RK: What kind of training and support a franchisee would get when partnering with you?

SJ: Our franchising module allows the franchisee to own the store and the rest is handled by our team. The franchisee is given the induction about the company and brief working knowledge about the store. The store is 100 per cent managed by our team.

RK: Have you faced any challenges while establishing your business? If yes, what were they?

SJ: Initially, the biggest challenge that we faced was to operate the cafés at multiple cities. It takes a lot of time and effort by the top management. But with all the systems in place, we are running our cafés successfully and expanding our network quite rapidly. Our franchisee does not need to face any challenge as our stores are operated by us and we have all the expertise and experience to make them run profitably.

RK: What kind of background is necessary for securing the franchisee of your company? What are the eligibility criteria of selecting the franchisees?

SJ: The first criterion is the location that the franchisee has. The location is selected by our team looking at many factors like the youth population or the floating youth population in that particular area. The neighbourhood plays an important role, so if it is located near any educational institutions, IT companies or malls, then it is an added advantage for both the franchisor and the franchisee. The second criterion is the availability of capital to be invested. With these two, we can create a very strong franchisee and a very profitable venture as the store is managed by the company and thus the standards of the brand remain intact.