Bars & Pubs Are Mushrooming Faster Than Cafés In India, Say Reports

It won’t really take numbers, charts, and numbers to understand that India has seen a rapid growth of pubs and bars in the past few years. In fact, these pubs and bars have well surpassed coffee shops on the growth charts, according to data aggregated by global market research firm Euromonitor.

According to the data, bars and pubs as a category grew 23.5% against 21.6% in cafes in 2014-16. Additionally, a huge number of liquor-centric establishments like breweries and microbreweries have also shown a steady rise in metros as compared to cafés.

“With socialising becoming an inescapable phenomenon, and pubs, bars and liquor serving lounges providing millennials a place to hang out, there’s propensity to spend their time and money on a low alcoholic beverage, especially when one realises that the menu price of a coffee and beer is the same,” Rahul Singh, founder and chief executive at The Beer Café, told ET. TBC is also one of India’s fastest growing beer café chains.

Image: The Beer Café

But is that really true? Have we as a generation tilted more towards alcohol? And would we rather drink and make merry rather than sit down and chat over a cup of coffee? While the answer to those could well be a debate, it could also be the fact that these alcohol-serving establishments offer more variety (in terms of food) and excitement (in terms of ambience and décor) – for the lack of a better word. Two attributes that sometimes may not have anything to do with alcohol.

“The country’s food service space is triggered with multiple growth drivers such as demographics, lifestyle and urbanizations, and all segments are vying to get the same share of the wallet. As young, working population get accustomed to a global palette, they are willing to pay a higher price for experience,” Singh added.

It should also be noted that all this growth comes their (the bars, pubs, and breweries) way despite a number of hiccups like the liquor ban, which was imposed in several states earlier this year.

But what do you think? Are we drifting away from our cozy coffee shops and stumbling into the first bar that we see? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Economic Times

Feature Image: JustDoc