With the advent of this year’s International Coffee Day, Tata Starbucks is celebrating “Starbucks at 100” along with a line-up of week-long activities called Brewtober. Bringing to life the coffee heritage and inspiration through this initiative, the company is offering coffee lovers with a unique way of celebrating coffee, starting with various immersive coffee experiences to the big day of “Starbucks 100” — a day when the organisation shares coffee love with its customers by offering all its short/tall handcrafted beverages for Rs 100.

Veetika Deoras, who recently came on board as the CMO — marketing, category and digital at TATA Starbucks, is a seasoned Tata Administrative Services Officer with 16 years of experience in the Tata Group. At Starbucks, she oversees all related facets of the joint venture in India that focus on capturing relevant growth opportunities and ensure keeping customers at the heart of everything and delivering the authentic Starbucks Experience in India. Excerpts:

Q Share some customer experiences with Brewtober and also with the recently debuted Pumpkin spice latte?

Starbucks has a 47 year legacy of coffee sourcing, roasting and processing. To bring to life this coffee heritage and inspiration, Tata Starbucks has launched Starbucks Brewtober, which is a week-long celebration of our coffee and our customers which offers heavenly experiences and special promotions across all our stores in India.

The celebration is offering customers with authentic in-store experiences rooted in high-quality Arabica coffee. Our Starbucks stores will feature various international coffee blends, handpicked from seven different parts of the coffee belt, and offer to our customers coffee-forward experiences like Farm to Cup — an immersive coffee tasting exposure that brings forth the company’s commitment to ethically sourced coffee and supporting farmer communities across the globe and Starbucks Coffee Experience Bar — a master class into the art, craft and science behind different cups of coffee.

Through Starbucks Brewtober, we are both honoured and excited to share our love and passion for coffee with the customers. We look forward to welcoming them to our stores.

Pumpkin Spice Latte is an iconic beverage that is loved by customers all over the world and we are always delighted to bring this global seasonal classic beverage to our customers in India. Our partners have handcrafted the beverage to perfection. Featuring Starbucks espresso at the core and unique ingredient combinations, the beverage is a novel sensorial experience.

Q What are the various factors that the organisation keeps in mind every time a new promotion like Brewtober or a product is launched?

At Starbucks, innovation is always brewing. We take great pride in partnering with customers in their journey of coffee exploration. With our innovative products and experiences like Brewtober, we want to deliver our coffee passion and the highest quality coffeehouse experience to all our customers. We at Starbucks are focussed on innovating customer experiences, based on their feedback. We listen actively to our customers and work towards exceeding their expectations. For us every moment is one of connection and recognition.

Q What strategy does the company follow to attract customers? Is Brewtober aimed at increasing footfalls?

India is one of the most exciting markets in the world, with very diverse and dynamic customers. Since opening our first store in Mumbai in 2012, the way they have embraced the Starbucks experience humbles us, and makes us very optimistic for the long-term.  We carry forth a rich legacy of coffee. Starbucks Brewtober, a week-long celebration of coffee, is a coming together of the spirit and legacy of the company where our customers can experience superlative coffee, warm partners and inviting stores. Brewtober is a reflection of the coffee heritage of Starbucks, as well as the coffee passion of our store partners and customers.

Q What is the future of the Tata Starbucks association in India? How has your association been with the company?    

We are proud to be partnering with Tata, an organisation which shares our values, as we seek to build a socially responsible company that is creating rewarding careers for our partners and delivering a positive impact in the communities we serve.

Q What is the secret of the company’s sustainability?

Starbucks is known for the iconic third place experience, which is a composite of great coffee, warm partners and superior store ambience. It is passionate about delivering the highest quality coffeehouse experience to customers. The world-class service of our partners and their passion and commitment is what, I believe, truly sets us apart. Customers come for coffee, stay for the inviting warmth and return for the very human connection.