Coffee chains look to brew conversations, clubs & more

PUNE: You want to go back-packing to Switzerland and have no idea how to go about it? Well, you don’t need to go to a website. Just figure it out from the other backpackers over a cuppa coffee at the nearest coffee chain.

From coffee to desserts to overseas travel, food outlets today are constantly looking for unique marketing techniques to lure customers.

Some are targeting students with discounts, while others are attracting high-end consumers looking for a good ambience to relax. But binding the customer through community-building exercises has hitherto not been tried.

Mocha, the flagship brand of the Rs 18-crore Impressario Entertainment and Hospitality, has brought its marketing mantra of community building to Pune at its recently opened outlet. The brand, along with serving quality coffee and desserts, is also a hub of activity for various clubs such as the back-packers’ club or the bikers’ club.

The club members are introduced to co-ordinators who are expert back-packers or bikers. Subsequently, sessions are conducted, discussing where to go, what to carry and even negotiations on price.

This concept of community building not only ensures loyal clientele, but also gets them involved in the whole exercise, according to Riyaaz Amlani, managing director of Impressario Entertainment. “The company also provides a platform for amateur filmmakers to showcase their talent in the form of short films. The National Film Archives of India (NFAI) regularly screens short films.

We will initiate a dialogue with them in a month’s time to provide a broader platform like Mocha, so that it reaches more people,” adds Mr Amlani. Mocha’s short film club in Mumbai has become so successful that it moved out of the dessert destination to a multiplex.

The company has 11 outlets in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jaipur. Mocha is all set to open another outlet in Pune in the cantonment area in the next three months. Impressario Entertainment is also planning to set up outlets in Dubai, Singapore and Philippines by ’07.