Why Colombian coffee chain Libertario is betting big on India's café boom

Specialty coffee in India is no longer just about getting a caffeine boost. People are now more interested in the origin of the beans, the skill involved in preparation, and the overall café atmosphere. Libertario, a coffee brand from Colombia, is wagering that this trend is just getting underway. Following the inauguration of its first Indian café in Delhi's Greater Kailash-II in July 2025, the company is set to embark on a carefully managed expansion into key urban centers. Miguel Villaquirán, who leads Libertario's India business, speaks about bringing a family legacy built on coffee farming and hospitality to India, the economics of premium cafés, sourcing beans across continents, and why the brand believes clustering, and not rapid expansion, is the key to winning the Indian market. Edited excerpts.

The Economic Times (ET): Libertario has a long history in Colombia. Tell us about the company’s origins and what inspired you to bring the brand to India.
Miguel Villaquirán (MV): Libertario’s story actually begins much before the cafés. More than 20 years ago, my family started La Palma, a coffee farm in Colombia. We were coffee producers, growing green beans and supplying them to roasters and coffee businesses around the world. That business continues to be one of our strongest verticals today, with exports to over 30 countries.


As buyers started visiting our farms, we realised we needed to host them. That naturally led us into hospitality. We built hotels, welcomed guests and, in the process, understood how much the overall experience mattered. It wasn’t just about serving good coffee, but was about making people feel welcome.

That insight eventually evolved into Libertario around 15 years ago. We felt there was a gap between high-quality coffee and genuine hospitality. Most cafés are built around convenience. You walk in, order within 30 seconds, collect your drink and leave. There is very little storytelling about the coffee, its origin or its flavour profile. There is even less emphasis on hospitality.

We wanted to build cafés where people would actually enjoy spending time. Beautifully designed spaces, approachable service and exceptional coffee are all equally important. Our goal is to make specialty coffee accessible rather than intimidating. We don’t want to be an expensive destination that customers visit once a month. We want to be their everyday café.

India felt like the right market because coffee culture here is reaching an inflection point. Consumers are becoming increasingly curious about quality, provenance and the stories behind what they consume. I also felt there was room for a hospitality-led coffee experience that goes beyond convenience. Our heritage as coffee growers gives authenticity to that story, and customers genuinely connect with it.

ET: You opened your first Indian outlet in July 2025. How did you decide where to locate your first café?
MV: Choosing a location is always a two-step process. First comes the neighbourhood. We analyse the catchment, demographics, population density, existing competition and complementary businesses nearby. That’s what determines whether a particular market is attractive.

The second factor is the space itself. For us, the café is the primary way customers experience the brand, so the physical environment is extremely important. We generally look for spaces between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, although our experience centres and roastery cafés can be much larger.

Once we identify the right neighbourhood, the property has to feel right. Natural light, layout, ambience and the overall character of the space all matter. Hospitality isn’t something you can create only through service; the space itself has to make people feel comfortable enough to stay.

ET: What kind of investment goes into opening a Libertario café, and how quickly do you expect those investments to pay back?
MV: The investment depends on both the size of the café and the customer experience we’re trying to create. Typically, we’re looking at anywhere between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 3 crore per outlet.

Globally, our cafés generally achieve full investment payback in about one-and-a-half years. What’s exciting is that India has exceeded those expectations. Here we are already seeing payback periods closer to 1.2 years, and in some cases even faster.

That tells us there’s a strong demand for premium coffee experiences that remain approachable and reasonably priced. Customers are willing to pay for quality as long as they feel they’re receiving genuine value rather than simply paying a premium. Which is reflected, we do more than 10,000 transactions in GK2 a month.

ET: What are your expansion plans for India? Which cities are you targeting, and what is the thinking behind your rollout strategy?
MV: India is a long-term growth market for us, but we are taking a very deliberate approach to expansion. By the end of 2026, we expect to have four to five cafés fully operational. During 2027, we will begin entering new markets such as Mumbai and Hyderabad while adding another 10 to 15 outlets. Beyond that, from 2028 onwards, we will accelerate into a broader pan-India expansion across major metropolitan cities. Bengaluru is also a market that we're very excited about.

What's important, however, is that we do not believe in scattering single cafés across multiple cities. Over the years, operating across several countries has taught us that a cluster strategy works far better than isolated expansion.

Instead of opening one café each in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, we would rather build a strong presence within one market first. For example, in Delhi NCR we would like to have multiple cafés across neighbourhoods such as GK, Gurgaon, Chanakyapuri or MG Road. That helps us build much stronger customer recall while also creating significant operational efficiencies.

A cluster allows us to operate from a central warehouse, work with a common set of vendors, optimise inventory and strengthen our delivery ecosystem through platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto. It also enables us to maintain more consistent quality and service standards across locations.

Just as importantly, it builds brand familiarity. One café creates awareness among a small pocket of customers. Several cafés within the same city create a brand that people recognise and actively seek out. Once we have established that ecosystem in Delhi NCR, we will replicate the same model in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities.

We have tried the alternative approach before, opening isolated cafés in different cities, and found that it doesn't build the same level of customer loyalty or operational efficiency. Clustering gives us both economies of scale and a much stronger brand presence, which is exactly how we want to grow in India.

ET: Your family has deep roots in coffee cultivation. How does that influence your sourcing strategy in India?
MV: Coffee is at the heart of everything we do. Because we started as growers, we understand the product from the plantation itself. That gives us a significant advantage.

One thing we’re particularly proud of is our coffee programme. Across every country where we operate, which includes Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and India, you will find the same signature coffee profiles. For example, you will see names like Paz or Libre regardless of which country you are visiting.

Those are not tied to a particular bean or country of origin. They are flavour profiles. Paz is characterised by smooth caramel and milk chocolate notes, while Libre has more vibrant cherry and dark chocolate characteristics.

Every harvest is different. We may use Indian beans one year and Colombian or Mexican beans another, but our in-house coffee specialists carefully select coffees that match each flavour profile. That allows us to maintain consistency while constantly exploring new origins.

Today, roughly 70 per cent of the coffee we serve in India comes from Indian estates, primarily in Tamil Nadu, while the remaining 30 per cent comes from Colombia. That balance will continue evolving as we introduce coffees from other producing countries, including Ethiopia and Mexico, through limited releases.

ET: How do you maintain consistency when sourcing coffee from different countries every year?
MV: We have a dedicated coffee buying team based in Colombia that travels to producing regions every year. They will taste dozens of coffees during each buying cycle before selecting the ones that best match our established flavour profiles.

It is a very rigorous process. The team may taste 50 or 60 different coffees before deciding that a particular lot fits the characteristics of, say, our Paz profile. Then they assess whether there is enough volume available to support commercial production.

That expertise is something many companies don’t have in-house. Because we control the selection process ourselves, we’re able to ensure consistency while still showcasing different origins and harvests.

Coffee is an agricultural product, so every crop is unique. Our job is to translate that diversity into a consistent experience for customers.

ET: Climate change has become a major concern for the global coffee industry. How is it affecting your business?
MV: Climate change is unquestionably one of the biggest challenges facing coffee producers today because coffee is entirely dependent on natural growing conditions.

The biggest impact isn’t necessarily on flavour but on crop health and productivity. When coffee plants are stressed because of changing weather patterns, rainfall or temperature fluctuations, yields decline. A plantation that produced 100 kilograms one year may produce only 60 kilograms the next.

That reduction affects the entire supply chain by limiting availability and pushing up green coffee prices.

As a company, we are trying to contribute wherever we can. Three per cent of all our coffee sales goes directly towards supporting coffee farmers and funding regenerative agriculture initiatives. We believe sustainability has to become part of the business model rather than simply a marketing initiative.

Ultimately, if farmers aren’t able to grow healthy coffee sustainably, the entire industry is at risk.