KARACHI, Dec 16: The franchise partner of Café Coffee Day, an Indian coffee chain, plans to open two more outlets in the upcountry in the next three to four months after opening its first outlet in Karachi’s posh area of the Defence Housing Authority.

Amin Hashwani of the Hashwani Group, the franchise partner, told Dawn on Saturday that he planned to open 30-50 outlets in the next three to five years.

CCD is part of an amalgamated Bean Trading Company. Currently, it has 364 cafes in India and has now two outlets, one in Vienna and the other one in Karachi. It has over 400 outlets internationally.

However, he did not disclose as to how much investment is being made in opening one café in posh areas. He said that local staff had been given jobs and they were trained in Dubai. An in-house training is also being provided to the staffers.

“One outlet opens job avenues for 15-16 people,” he added. The outlet can accommodate 100 customers with an upbeat and cosy ambience and the café offers innovative coffee, sandwiches and deserts at reasonable prices, he said, adding that items offered at the café is a combination of both imported and locally procured ingredients.

A number of world renowned food chains have invested in Pakistan in the last few years. While coffee is fast becoming the beverage of choice among the upwardly mobile segment of the population, cafes have become the favourite hangout place for the young, he said.