India Has Potential to Be Among Top 5 Markets for Costa: CEO

Chain's Global Head Philippe Schaillee Notes That Gen Z Views Specialty Coffee as Having a Kind of Badge Value

- Sharleen D'Souza

The Indian market, currently among the top 10 for coffee chain Costa Coffee, has the potential to climb into the top five in the next five years, according to its global chief executive officer, Philippe Schaillee.

"We believe that with our current growth rates, we can get India into the top five. That's an aspiration we're going to pursue," Schaillee said at a media round table.

He explained that India was among the top 20 coffee markets globally and was seeing double-digit growth—growth he expects to accelerate as Indian consumers increase their overall beverage consumption. "The Indian consumer is starting to shift from tea to coffee, and is increasingly moving towards premium coffee," he added.