Neatly laid-out counters catering to exotic products — from high-end cheese to bread, wine to coffee, fruits, vegetables and seafood — greet consumers as they walk into the latest 9,000-sq ft Artisan Pantry store near Juhu Garden in Mumbai. A Good Food Cafe, a Nut Bar and Spice Souk as well as an Exclusive Chef’s Table also draw attention on entry.
Positioned as a luxury grocery shopping destination on the lines of the Harrods Food Hall in London, Artisan Pantry, launched by the Kolkata-based RP Sanjiv Goenka Group under its Nature’s Basket chain of stores, is banking on a small but growing group of wealthy Indians who are willing to splurge on high-end food products and live cooking sessions.
Three stores have been opened so far in two cities – two in Mumbai and one in Kolkata – with plans to launch three to four more in FY25 by targeting affluent pockets in metropolitan cities.
Nature’s Basket, on the other hand, has 32 stores across the country, with an average size of around 2,000-2,500 sq ft. In contrast, Artisan Pantry stores are between 8,000 -12,500 sq ft in terms of size.
“The Indian consumption story is unfolding,” says Shashwat Goenka, chairman, Spencer’s Retail, which is the parent company of Nature’s Basket.
“There is an aspirational, upwardly-mobile set of consumers who want global products. Artisan Pantry caters to that space. Meanwhile, Nature’s Basket is into gourmet and premium food retail and Spencer’s Retail is aimed at the value shopper,” he says.
The plan with Artisan Pantry, explains Goenka, is to present a wide and deep assortment of artisanal and exotic products, which are high-margin and appeal to the tastes of the jet-set club of shoppers. The company is aiming to break even within three months of launch with Artisan Pantry stores, on the back of its diverse sourcing as well as growing band of luxe shoppers.
At the same time, the retailer is also keeping a close watch on costs, spending around Rs 3-4 crore to set up an Artisan Pantry store, double of the Rs 1-2 crore spent on setting up a Nature Basket’s outlet, according to retail industry sources.
Locations are being identified carefully to ensure that there are consistent footfalls and that stores can break even in the second month of operation. Experts say that the launch of an ultra-premium extension of Nature’s Basket is intended to also help the subsidiary cut its losses and turn profitable quickly.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2023, Nature’s Basket reported a 6.6% year-on-year growth in revenue to Rs 226 crore, turning positive at the operating level at Rs 13 crore, versus an operating loss of Rs 2 crore reported in the year-ago period. Net loss narrowed to Rs 35 crore for the nine-month period, versus Rs 44 crore net loss reported last year. The subsidiary still has a debt of Rs 100 crore on its books, which it is looking to bring down by improving profitability.
“The concept of luxury food retailing is beginning to take off in India,” says Harminder Sahni, founder and MD at Gurugram-based consultancy Wazir Advisors. “Consumers want to upgrade and experience these new formats as wealth grows,” he says.
A 2023 wealth report by Credit Suisse-UBS, released in August, notes that India has defied the global trend of declining wealth visible over the last few years across markets. The wealth per adult on an average in India has grown at an annual rate of 8.7% since 2000, reaching $16,500 by the end of 2022. There was a 2.8% increase in wealth per adult compared to the previous year, while total household wealth grew by 4.6%, the report says.