Starbucks didn’t collaborate with Dolly Chaiwala to celebrate Indian street culture.
They did it because they’re losing ground in India’s café wars.
Let’s talk facts:
→ India’s café market is growing at 12.3% CAGR
→ But most of this growth is coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
→ Homegrown brands like Third Wave Coffee, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, and even Chaayos are aggressively expanding – not with branding stunts, but with deep supply chain playbooks and retail moats
So Starbucks had two options:
1/ Double down on premium, global, urban positioning
2/ Or jump on a viral moment and try to ‘feel Indian’
They chose option 2.
But here’s where the strategy falls apart:
Starbucks built its Indian identity on westernised aspiration. ₹450 coffee. American branding. Quiet jazz. White people in the menu photography.
Now they want to put a viral chaiwala on their profile – hoping virality will fix cultural dissonance?
It doesn’t work like that.
You can’t sell ₹100 banana bread and also pretend to be “massy and local” because your reel views are dropping.
This is a short-term distraction wrapped in influencer optics.
Unless there’s:
→ A real integration of Indian SKUs
→ Expansion into street-format stores
→ Storytelling that reflects long-term commitment to local culture
…this is just a costume change, not a transformation.
Real localisation shows up in formats, menus, and margins – not just on Instagram reels. Most brands get it wrong.
Thoughts?
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