Starbucks to Expand Presence in Tea-Adoring India with 2 New Stores Weekly

Starbucks aims to expand to 1,000 stores in India by 2028, with plans to open a new location every three days over the next four years. This expansion is in response to the increasing demand for coffee in the rapidly growing Indian economy. In order to meet this goal, the company will prioritize opening coffee shops in smaller cities and will also increase its workforce in the country to 8,600, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

Starbucks has been operating in India for over 11 years, with 390 stores in the country as part of a 50% joint venture with Tata Consumer Products. The first Starbucks location in India opened in Mumbai, featuring local furniture and imagery of the metropolis. In addition to their standard offerings, Starbucks also serves "Indian-inspired" beverages such as South Indian filter coffee and masala chai, a sweetened milky tea blended with spices.

Many Indians still start their day with a hot cup of chai, but there is a growing preference for coffee, leading to the expansion of local and international coffee chains throughout the country. According to Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, India is now one of the company's fastest-growing markets globally, as he mentioned during his visit to the country this week.

With its expanding middle class, the South Asian nation is emerging as a significant market for Western companies, particularly as China faces economic challenges, such as reduced consumer demand. Still, despite China's slowdown, it remains Starbucks' largest and most rapidly growing international market, with plans to increase its current 6,500 stores to 9,000 by 2025.

Starbucks made a historic investment last year, with over $200 million poured into a new campus in the eastern part of China. When it opened in September, the company announced it was the largest investment it had ever made for a coffee manufacturing and distribution center outside the United States.