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 The Beer Cafe, an alco-beverage retail chain focusing on beer owned by Gurgaon-based BTB Marketing, plans to add 19 more outlets and thus attract one million customersby the end of this fiscal. In an interaction with Deccan Herald, The Beer Cafe founder and CEO Rahul Singh said the chain wants to bring in high value experience as a neighbourhood outlet in the retail hospitality segment by supplying premium beer.

“We are starting our 25th outlet at Indiranagar in Bengaluru on Saturday which will expand our presence to the seventh state and 10th city in the country. We are planning to take our total outlet number to 44 by the end of this fiscal. In Bengaluru, we will add two more soon, and five more by the end of this fiscal,” he said.

The Beer Cafe, which started off its journey in 2013 March, has received funding from US-based private equity funds Mayfield and Granite Hill. The chain, which registered a turnover of Rs 39 crore in FY 2015, is expecting revenues of Rs 100 crore by the current fiscal. Singh said Indian drinking habits are shifting from liquor to beer, though very slowly. “Indian retail beer business is 320 million cases and is valued at $4 billion annually. We are supplying 50 different brand of beers from Indian brew Kingfisher to Spanish brands and Bavarian wheat beer Schneider Weisse through our outlets. We also supply liquor and food items,” he said.

The Beer Cafe generates 65 per cent of its revenue from beer, 25 per cent from food, and the remaining 10 per cent from liquor, he added.

The 44-year-old Singh, who has nearly two decades of experience in fashion, including his stint with Reebok as executive director, said each outlet will have an approximate investment of Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Ethical biz practices

“The Beer Cafe outlets size starts from 1,000 square feet to take up to 2,000 square feet and are positioned as a location where even families feel completely at ease. Neither will we sell high quantity alcohol content beers, nor will we start our outlets adjacent to highways as it against our business model,” he said.

Singh said the company also plans to expand its revenue from merchandise sales. The company already started T-shirt sales this month and will start with gifting items soon. “We have started our own beer brands Witlinger  (brewed in Belgium) and Weisenberg (Germany). This year, we are also planning to launch another brand Praga, which is from Czech Republic.

Besides adding 400 corporates and starting a loyalty programme called BrewMiles, the company is planning to increase volume business by bringing in its own own app. Now 14 per cent of billing is happening via the app.

“The Beer Cafe is scouting to add outlets in important tourist destinations. As part of this, we will start our first outlet in Shimla. We are looking at southern parts of the country like Ooty,” he said.