For ages a premium shopping destination of things Indian, chic and cool, Fabindia is fast diversifying into a segment that not many have successfully managed to ace. The Fab brand now boasts Cafes. Eight of them at present, with another three set to join the roost in weeks. Fab Cafe is under the Fabindia umbrella, but is a separate company, according to Fab Cafe’s Brand head Rebekah Blank. But, with all except one located in existing Fabindia store premises, synergies being gained are significant.
The clientele for Fabindia and Fab Cafe do not overlap significantly, notes Blank, but the cafes are a natural extension of Fabindia’s brand philosophy of organic, Indian and healthy. Having already successfully integrated home decor and organic food offerings in Fabindia retail outlets, “we asked why don’t we expand on that philosophy”, she says. The result is a menu of Indian food prepared with healthy ingredients and curated by Chef Sunil Chauhan and Blank herself.
First opening shop in March, 2017, Fab Cafes now operate in three locations in Delhi-NCR (Vasant Kunj, Aero City and Sector 29), one in Bengaluru (M G Road), one in Hyderabad (Banjara Hills), one in Mumbai and two in Chennai (Alwarpet and Besant Nagar). Sunday will see the launch of another in Jai Nagar, Bengaluru, while two more in Mumbai and Chandigarh are set to open in January next year.
This aggressive expansion is only set to continue. “We will continue expanding next year, definitely double the number of restaurants, if not triple them,” Blank says.
Fab Cafe could also rejuvenate the Fabindia brand among a younger clientele, who not necessarily go to Fabindia stores for their shopping. “There are a lot of people who come to Fab Cafe who wouldn’t necessarily go to Fabindia. And vise versa. I think that a lot of young people do not shop at Fabindia anymore, but they definitely come to Fab Cafes. The point is to make Fabindia more relevant to more people,” Blank notes. What Fab Cafe provides the parent firm however is a certain youthful verse. Or as Blank puts it: “the trustworthiness of Fabindia, with a more edgy positioning”.