Indian coffee chain Barista Coffee is planning to double its store count to 800 in the five years up to 2028, The Economic Times has reported.

Barista Coffee CEO Rajat Agrawal announced the development after the coffee chain recently opened its 400th outlet.

Agrawal stated that the strategy includes not only increasing the number of stores but also rebalancing the ownership model between company-owned and franchise-run outlets.

Agrawal was quoted by The Economic Times as saying: “As the overall market sizing is maturing and the overall appetite for consumers to eat out is increasing, we plan to double our presence in India in the next four to five years.

“We have pretty much been in a stable state in terms of the way we are growing the network. The idea is not to just grow - rather, the idea is to have a balanced set of growth.”

30% of Barista Coffee's outlets are company-owned, with the remaining 70% operated by franchise partners. The company's future strategy involves adjusting this ratio to 50:50.

The move will provide Barista Coffee with greater control over its operations while still benefiting from the entrepreneurial spirit of its franchisees.

With a strong foothold in north India, where 65% of its outlets are located, Barista Coffee is now looking to expand its presence across the west, east and south.

Geographical diversification is part of the brand's broader expansion strategy to secure a more balanced national footprint.

The brand's current presence spans 120 cities, with 40% of stores in Tier II cities and below while 60% are located in Tier I cities and metropolitan areas.

Agarwal added: “Apart from north India, we plan to have a healthy share of other regions as well in our revenue. In the next two years, there's a definite strategy to look at west India as an opportunity area.

“Cities like Mumbai and Pune and highways originating from these cities will be a focus area for us. We will be betting big on both tier I and tier II cities.”