“We are a cafe and a bar, but the idea is to be that third place, to be the place where people feel safe, they feel happy, and they connect with each other,” SOCIAL’s Chief Growth Officer Divya Aggarwal said in a conversation with financialexpress.com.
Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality’s SOCIAL was launched in 2014 as a modern-day ode to India’s original hangout spaces like the Irani cafes and Chai tapris that are found on almost every other street. From a single outlet in Church Street, Bengaluru, to 57 locations across 10 cities, SOCIAL is carving a space for itself in the cafe-bar space with an Indian twist. It has sought to position itself as more than just a café by day and a bar by night; it aims to be that in-between space where people feel both productive and social.
That’s just not it. Every outlet has a specific theme attached to it on the basis of the pincode it’s set in. Each outlet is tailored to its pincode, influencing interiors, events, and in some cases, menu elements. “The pincode really represents how the vibe is, what the design is, what sort of communities are going to come,” she said. This localisation is also a tool for differentiation at a time when many hospitality chains replicate a uniform template for faster scaling.
While the CP outlet in Delhi has a post office theme attached to it, the Hauz Khas outlet (Yes, the one where Tamasha was shot) has a rugged, industrial chic design attached to the interiors.
According to the company, the place is inspired by New York’s Meatpacking District. Bengaluru’s Bellandur SOCIAL is styled like a giant terrarium with a bamboo-tunnel entrance, balcony garden, and rooftop zen space.
Lucknow’s Hazratganj SOCIAL combines haveli-style architecture with modern art and a rooftop view. In Mumbai, Carter Road SOCIAL has a breezy beach-club feel, while Khar SOCIAL features rustic-industrial décor with skate-culture nods.
The brand took shape at a time when internet companies were resurging, hustling was in vogue, and the sharing and gig economies were on the rise. “We realised people needed a space where they could work and also hang out to network socially,” Social’s founder Riyaaz Amlani told Forbes in an interview, adding that this became the brand’s “light-bulb moment.”
The SOCIAL experiment
SOCIAL’s marketing has rarely been about selling coffee, cocktails, or food. Instead, it has marketed itself as a lifestyle brand, the kind that curates experiences rather than just serves meals. The brand’s visual language leans on quirk and relatability, from pop culture-inspired interiors to Instagram-ready menu boards. From moment marketing to Bollywood references, SOCIAL attempts to cash in on Gen Z’s attention through social media platforms.
The “Big Drop” menu revamp, adding 60 new dishes, was previewed to top-tier loyalty members before launch. “When you are somebody who has been there for a long time, you know, it’s important to keep doing something new to give people newer chances and sort of newer reasons to come to an existing brand,” Aggarwal said.
The new menu mixes contemporary wellness trends such as avocado with Indian staples like nihari croissants and butter chicken biryani. The menu is peppered with cleverly crafted names that double as conversation starters.
Picks like PhD in Papad, Prawn on a Podi-Yum, Samosalicious Smash Burger, Paneer Bomba Burger, Bao Chick(en) Wow Wow, and Pop Corn Chicken Momos show the brand’s flair for wordplay, while drinks such as BomBom, Gammosa, and the White Chocolate Matcha Vanilla Latte bring the same tongue-in-cheek creativity to the beverage list, Banarasi Patiala seems to be one of their most famous cocktails.
This blend of experiential marketing and localised storytelling has helped SOCIAL keep its brand perception young and culturally relevant.
Balancing repetition and relevance
Recurring in-house IPs such as Doosra Stadium for cricket screenings or community art workshops have helped keep weekday footfall up.
SOCIAL Tadka brings a Bollywood-style party atmosphere, while Satrangi Mela is the brand’s all-day queer fest held across outlets. Other events held at the outlets include SOCIAL Selects, Jumpstart, the Social Bazaar, and Lights Out @ SOCIAL.
“While there is repetition, there is no sameness,” Aggarwal said. “We still try to break the monotony and do things differently, but cater to the audiences to whom they appeal.”
For now, the company is keeping its focus domestic, positioning SOCIAL as an India-first brand built on Indian public space references. “As of now, our vision is to be an ode to Indian spaces in India,” she said. “The hyperlocal nuances, the Devanagari bit, the hyperlocal bit, the earthiness, that’s something that works well for our brand.”
The numbers
Aggarwal mentioned that the brand has recorded steady 25–30% year-on-year growth over the past two years, aided by format tweaks, menu refreshes, and an emphasis on community-led programming.
“This isn’t just expansion, it’s a thoughtful scale that keeps pace with the evolving energy of India’s urban youth,” she said. The approach, however, is playing out in an increasingly competitive landscape, where sustaining novelty without diluting identity is a challenge.
Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, the parent company of SOCIAL, posted a net loss of Rs 14.02 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 7.21 crore the previous year, according to its consolidated financial statements accessed from Tofler. The company reported Rs 676.78 crore in revenue from operations during the year, up from Rs 571.92 crore in FY23.
Tier-two cities in focus
The expansion strategy is split between adding outlets in existing metros and entering new tier-two markets. Recent launches in Lucknow and Dehradun point to a push into aspirational cities where organised casual dining is still consolidating.
Events have been a useful entry point in such markets. “Even in a place like Dehradun, the awareness is really growing up. Such events are doing extremely well,” Aggarwal said, referring to a Taylor Swift fan meet in the city that drew a strong turnout.
“It’s really about understanding what the crowd is aspiring for that and tailoring your product based on that. But the key DNA remains the same. It is about community. It is about connections. It is about people coming together. It is about belongingness.”