The learning outcomes are as follows:
to expose students to the key trends that can affect the business of food retailing in emerging markets;
to demonstrate the process of structured decision-making process in entrepreneurship;
to provide an orientation about how to develop an employee-focused work culture and how it can add value to your business; and
to acquaint students with different expansion strategies for food retailers in an emerging market – its prospects and problems.
Shivendra Gupta and Akash Sagar founded the tea retail chain Samocha in 2017. Combining the Hindi terms for tea (Chai) and an Indian snack (Samosa), “Samocha” was established as the name of the café. The case study explores Shivendra and his friend’s entrepreneurial journey, the difficulties they encountered, and the steps they took to establish a tea retail chain with a difference. The case focuses on the promoter’s dilemma of which cities to expand, the retail model to adopt and the retail chain’s prospective expansion strategy.
The case study can be used in graduate-level and undergraduate courses on retailing, entrepreneurship, branding and marketing strategy. It can also be used to teach the retail strategy to be adopted for expansion. Students needs to have a basic understanding of food retailing, retail models, location analysis and strategic planning.
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
CSS8: Marketing.
