BAKERY REVIEW
Café Noir on Expansion Drive VRO Hospitality is on an expansion drive with its iconic and popular French café brand Café Noir across the country. The Bengaluru headquartered group, which owns around 10 popular fine-dining brands and cloud kitchens, is on a mission to open 15 new outlets of Café Noir and venture into new markets like Kochi, Chennai, and Kolkata and create its first international imprint in Dubai. With the expansion, VRO Hospitality will be increasing the number of Café Noir outlets to 21. Synonymous with French cuisine in Bengaluru, Café Noir’s first outlet came up in the city’s posh shopping destination UB City more than a decade ago. Café Noir currently boasts five outlets in Bengaluru and one in Mumbai, which was opened late last year. Out of the 15 planned n ew o u t l ets , Ko c h i w i l l have one, Chennai four, Kolkata four, and Bengaluru will have seven new outlets. Café Noir will also be VRO’s first venture outside India and it will be coming up at Jumeriah in Dubai. Overall, VRO Hospitality is planning to take 30,000 sqft on rent for Café Noir’s expansion across different markets in India and 10,000 sqft in Dubai. Dawn Thomas Sharath Rice Commenting on the expansion plan, Dawn Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder, VRO Hospitality, said: “This year we are embarking on an exciting journey to take our iconic French café brand Café Noir to new markets, including an international destination. This is in line with our ambition of making VRO Hospitality a pan-India brand. Last year as a group we ventured out of Bengaluru for the first time by launching Café Noir in Mumbai in October 2021. Since then, the response has been fabulous. It has become a favorite spot for guests seeking a wholesome French cuisine and a relaxed dining experience. We would be extending our footprints in Kochi, Chennai, and Kolkata and in Dubai as we aggressively chase growth and profitability.” An excited Sharath Rice, Director & Co-Founder, VRO Hospitality, said: “The expansion of Café Noir will allow us to offer a diverse set of food connoisseurs some of the best in French cuisines. Café Noir has already set a benchmark in the dining experience, and we will continue to do so in the new markets where we would be setting up our outlets.” Originally started by Frenchman Thierry Jasserand a decade ago in Bengaluru, Café Noir became legendary for its bakes, coffees & breakfast. However, in 2020, Thierry decided to return home, which is also when VRO Hospitality took over this quaint coffee place. The cafe also has a new culinary director, Daniel Koshy, who comes with nearly three decades of experience, and is a magician in terms of baking.
Amazon Fresh Announces Mango Fiesta To welcome the arrival of the summer favourite ‘mangoes’ in India, Amazon Fresh announced Mango Fiesta with great deals every weekend and will be live until end of May 2022. Customers can choose from a wide range of carbide free, safely ripened, and high-quality fresh mangoes including Safeda, Banganpally, Badami, Sindhura, Thotapuri, Alphonso, and many more. Amazon Fresh will also offer varieties of regional favourites such as Karnataka Alphonso, Kalapad and Raspuri for customers in Bengaluru and Gulabkhas and Perculman for customers in Kolkata. Customers can also enjoy authentic mangoes like Ratnagiri Alphonso, Devghad Alphonso, Organic Alphonso and premium Kesar sourced directly from Amazon’s Collection Center in Ratnagiri.
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Apr-May ’22
