

Beyond the brew: Third Wave, Barista, Starbucks bet on desserts, diners new experiences to lift margins
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: India’s café chains are moving beyond traditional coffee-led formats and experimenting with dessert-focused concepts, hybrid cafés and experience-led stores to drive higher engagement and spending.Last week, Westbridge Capital-backed Third Wave Coffee launched “Third Rush” at four of its outlets in Bengaluru, branding and positioning desserts as a standalone experience aimed at enhancing late-evening socializing.“We see desserts evolving into a strategic lever that supports higher engagement and ticket size,” Rajat Luthra, chief executive officer (CEO) of Third Wave Coffee, told Mint.Barista Coffee recently started diner-style outlets that offer a more expansive set of meal items like burgers and pastas and hybrid cafés that serve coffee and food items, while Tata Starbucks already has desserts as part of its food menu and is expanding a mix of neighbourhood stores and more immersive Reserve formats.These formats are becoming more specialized. Dessert-led menus and artisanal bakery tie-ups are helping chains move beyond beverages into full-stack consumption.
Under the Third Rush brand, varieties of tres-leches cakes, mousses, ice-creams, gelato and pastries are on offer.Premium formats such as Reserve cafés from Starbucks emphasize coffee origin stories, brewing techniques and curated menus, while hybrid outlets are designed to function across breakfast, work and evening social occasions.Newer entrants are widening the definition of a café even further. Abhijeet Anand, founder of Nexus Venture Partners-backed Abcoffee, pointed to a strategy that extends beyond physical stores into events, fitness communities and weddings.“We engage consumers across multiple touchpoints
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