Coffee chain earmarks Sh2bn for new shops

 Grano Coffee has revealed plans to invest more than $1 million (Sh2.2 billion) in seven restaurants in the city by 2019.

The firm, which launched its presence in the country two years ago, plans to increase its franchises on the back of satisfactory growth and impressive returns on investments.

Beginning March, this year, the company says it will launch two stores in the city centre and Masaki in Dar es Salaam. The expansion is based on favourable business trends and increasing customer demand, Grano CEO Menmet Erzurumlugil said.

“We are finalising contracts and official permits to set up five more cafés. We are happy to invest in the country because more people are embracing coffee drinking. Going by this trend we project a level of growth that will see us owning seven outlets next year,” Mr Erzurumlugil told The Citizen recently.

However, despite the impressive customer response and business growth, the coffee makers have been facing a major challenge in getting high quality materials from suppliers, consistently, according to the CEO.

“To ensure a consistency in taste and retain customers, we need to maintain a high quality of supplies. This can only happen if the suppliers fulfill their obligations with regards to standards.

“It is very difficult to find the same quality everyday… sometimes customers question whether we changed the taste of our products. Also, cheese is very difficult to find in the local market…and, as you know, people love to drink coffee with something to bite such as cake or bread.” he said.

“Apart from earning profits investing here creates employment for Tanzanians and helps to eradicate poverty,” he said.

. In the seven stores that we plan to launch in the near future, for instance, more than 50 people land jobs,” he said.

Grano Coffee Restaurant manager Bertin Ngindu says most customers who come to their shop are local people, a testimony that the community is quickly embracing the culture of drinking coffee.

“Like other business we facing a challenge of some of customers may come at shop and order just a bottle of water and using the internet access for almost three hours but we are working on it to finds ways without disturbing them because our policy is customer first,” said the manager.

Grano, which is popular with the urban community for its Sh16,000 pizza and Sh8000 cappuccino, is one of the increasing number of cafés that dot Dar es Salaam city. Others include K. Tea Shop, Mokka City, Chaiwala Café, Café Aroma, Woodberry Café, Karambezi Café and News Café, among others.