CCD's K Ramakrishnan brewing fresh formulations to stay relevant in market

MUMBAI: As marketing chief of a coffee joint synonymous as a youth hangout, K Ramakrishnan of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) has never had a day off.


Started off as a premium provider of broadband internet over a cup of coffee, CCD has evolved over the past two decades, ditched roadband, expanded its beverage list beyond coffee, overhauled its food menu and is now in the process of re-inventing its easily recognized bright-purple-and-red identity.

Simultaneously, Ramakrishnan is expanding CCD's formats to include lounges and squares (for consumers who want something hip, yet muted) and creating sub-divisions for everything from highways to hospitals.

CCD is letting the young, hyper-networked cafe goer decide where the brand goes and what it does next. With some 2.7 million Facebook fans (65% of whom visit and interact with the firm on the social networking site), CCD has a ready audience to act as food taster, decor critic and pastry chef.

So Ramakrishnan, who previously marketed everything from two-wheelers to pressure cookers and personal computers, hangs out where his consumers do, besides CCD outlets, to connect with them.

To expand its food menu, CCD's Facebook fans were happy to help. For instance, they wanted smaller snacky offerings (like cheese toast) and new options (like smoked chicken); when it got critical feedback on a store's upholstery, the marketing team pulled out all stops to fix it overnight; and when it wanted to expand its dessert selection it devised dessert shots, a suggestion from the fans.

"Social networking is not a campaign, it is a commitment," says Ramakrishnan. "If you don't want to hear bad news, don't be on social media."

As global brands such as Starbucks and Dunkin Doughnuts look to crash CCD's party, Ramakrishan, a chemical engineer and MBA, has been constantly been brewing fresh formulations to keep the brand relevant.

Initially positioned only as a high street cafe, he has been pushing CCD far and wide across urban India, tweaking formats to dot highways and has even signed up with Apollo and Fortis hospitals to give caregivers a place for a quiet coffee.

"The arrival of international competition and consolidation are realities of an industry that you cannot escape," says Ramakrishnan. "We clearly wish to navigate by our consumers rather than competition."

Despite an economy downturn of significant proportions, cafes such as CCD seem to have escaped even as consumers have snapped their wallets shut on other purchases. "When I joined CCD, we had around 800 outlets. Today we have 1,350 outlets," says Ramakrishnan.

However, he can already see the competition in the rear view mirror as the likes of Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme, Di Bella and Coffee Republic add some 500 new cafes in India in the next three years. CCD, which plans to have 2,000 cafes by end of 2014, is a market leader.