The $13-billion Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Company believes that despite entering the Indian market late, it is still primed for success. The world?s largest coffee chain that entered India last October with its first outlet in Mumbai after studying the market for six years, is now slowly rolling out its expansion plans.

?Time is right for us to be successful with the coffee segment growing at 20% every year,? John Culver, Starbucks Coffee president, China and Asia Pacific, told FE. The company is competing with many established local and international coffee chains, with the largest being Caf? Coffee Day that has more than 2,000 outlets.

With the inauguration of its first outlet in New Delhi last week, Starbucks has seven outlets in the country now. ?We will open outlets at all the places our customers want us to show up,? Culver said. He said the firm is open to establishing outlets from 200 sqft retail space to 4,000 sqft outlets. ?It is the exact opposite of the trend seen in the West.?

According to Culver, unlike in the West, where 70% of the customers visit the store between 6-11 am, preferring a coffee on the go, the Asia-Pacific region sees business happening after 11 am. ?We always respect local cultures and tastes. Even with these unique differences, it will finally boil down to the Starbucks experience,? he said.

There is a lot of pent-up demand here, Culver said, adding that the coffee chain will be able to sustain it by providing quality and great service. ?We are not taking it for granted,? he added. ?We plan to grow our business over the long term. Our focus is on how we build our business the right way in India.?

Culver cited the example of Japan. ?We entered the Japan market 16 years ago and have more than 1,000 outlets there now. Together with the right partner, we will be able to navigate the Indian opportunity,? he said. The coffee chain, which has around 17,500 stores worldwide, is running the Indian retail stores in partnership with Tata Global Beverages, called Tata Starbucks.

The company?s seriousness can be gauged from the fact that the 2012 annual report has a dash of India with its first outlet in Mumbai finding a mention on the first page. Starbucks expects India to be among the top five markets over the long term. Currently the US, Canada, UK, Japan and China are the top five markets. Probably with things not moving as fast as imagined Culver declined to give a timeframe. During the formation of the joint venture, it was announced that they will open 50 stores by the end of 2012 with an investment of R400 crore.

With growth slowing in many Western countries, the firm is looking at the emerging economies for growth. Chief executive of Starbucks Howard Schultz, during the inauguration of the first store, had mentioned that Asia Pacific, China and India will be the core markets for the company in future. Starbucks expects China to be the second biggest market by 2014. In China, too, the coffee chain has a local partner.

?Our aim is to source 3% of the top quality Arabica coffee from across the world, Culver told FE. The company has been sourcing coffee from the country for some time now.

Last week, it officially inaugurated a 375-tonne roasting and packaging plant in Kushalnagar in Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka. The plant by Tata Coffee has incorporated special needs and checks that Starbucks wanted for producing the ?high-quality coffee? it serves at its outlets.

The new roasting unit has high precision testing equipment and the process for making the beans recipe a secret.

The plant, which has been operational since last October, has been supplying coffee beans to the Starbucks outlets in India. The firm expects the plant to gradually supply to select overseas markets in future.