How to Open a Cafe in Delhi? [A Complete Guide]

People in India love to eat good food. They spend a lot on eating good food in the cafes and restaurants. Especially, the people of Delhi are connoisseurs of food. They are avid food lovers. So, if you are thinking about how to start a business in Delhi, opening a café can be a rewarding idea. Opening a café is one of the lucrative new business ideas that have high-profit potential. The youth prefer to go to cafes with their friends and spend a gala time there enjoying their favourite snacks and drinks. Also, the food industry is least affected by the recession.

So, if you want to know how to open a café in Delhi, you can follow the enumerated steps:

1. Business Research

The primary step to start any business is to undertake comprehensive business research. If you are thinking about how to start a café in Delhi, the first step would be to study the existing cafes in different locations. You should also research to know about your competition so that you can strategise to stay ahead of your rivals.

2. Estimation of Costs

The next step is to assess the costs involved in opening a new café. You need to evaluate the financial viability of your café business. The most important aspect of how to open a café is a thorough analysis of the costs involved in the café business. A café business would require the following major costs to be incurred:

1. Cost of Food and Drinks:The food cost includes the cost involved in preparing the beverages, snacks, and food offered in your café. The raw materials used to prepare the food should be around 30% of the price on the menu. You should also know about the suppliers of the raw materials.

2. Cost of Manpower: For opening a café, you need to hire skilled manpower. The chefs, kitchen staff, management staff, and serving staff need to be hired for starting a café in Delhi.

3. Overhead Costs: These costs include other costs like the rent of the space. The rent would vary according to the location. It would be different in Connaught Place and different in Chandni Chowk. You should take care that the rent of your premises should not exceed 10% of your revenues.

4. Cost of Interiors: Another important consideration in how to start a café is deciding on the interiors and the theme of the café. As the younger generation, mostly college-going students, prefers to go to cafes, your theme should be such that attracts the youth.

5. Kitchen Equipment: You need to buy the required kitchen appliances, equipment, and cutlery for your café. You should opt for good quality equipment as it pays you in the long run

6. License Cost: To open a café in Delhi, you need to obtain a license from the concerning authorities.

7. Marketing Costs: Marketing plays a crucial role in making all the small business ideas successful. You need to market your newly opened cafe extensively to garner huge footfalls.

3. Arranging Finance

Once you have evaluated all the costs, the next step is to arrange for the necessary funds to start a café in Delhi. The initial capital required to start a café business in Delhi is around 10 to 12 lacs. You can use your funds to start a café business or you can also take a loan to fulfil your dream of opening a café. Alternatively, you can also take the help of angel investors to provide the required funds. You should keep a complete record of all the financial transactions of your business since the inception. You can take the help of apps like OkCredit, which facilitates the task of recording financial transactions digitally. This way, you do not miss any transaction and maintain a systematic record of all the expenses, incomes, and ledgers.

4. Location of your café

If you are thinking about how to open a café in Delhi, you need to decide the location of your café. Location plays a key role in the success of your café business. As the target clientele is college-going students and the young generation, it would be great if you get premises in the area where there are colleges around. You should choose a premise that has ample parking space.  You should also assess the extent of competition and strategise accordingly. You should finalise the lease agreement with favourable terms.

5. Licenses and Permits

For opening a café in Delhi, you need to obtain a trade license from Delhi Municipal Corporation. If you are in the food industry, you are also required to get a license from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India {FSSAI}. You also need to obtain a fire license, GST registration, etc.

6. Equipment

The café business requires some basic equipment like coffee-making machines, mixers, freezers, refrigerators, ovens, blenders, etc. As the café offers beverages and snacks to the customers, these types of equipment serve the purpose.

7. Deciding the menu

It is immensely important to decide on a menu that satiates the hunger and thirst of the customers. It should be a perfect blend of appetisers and beverages. In the beginning, you should not have an elaborate menu. You should innovate and offer something new for the customers. For example, you can offer bubble coffee which is a new concept in Delhi.

8. Hiring Human Resources

It is important to hire dedicated staff that strives hard to make your newly opened venture a success. You should appoint staff that is courteous and renders outstanding customer service. You should hire talented and experienced chefs and sincere management staff to raise your business to heights. You should motivate your staff to perform better and reward their phenomenal performance with perks and incentives. These days several employee management apps like OkStaff etc. are available that can be used to monitor and evaluate the performance of employees.

9. Marketing

Last but not the least, effective marketing is very essential to make your café business a huge success. You can use the digital platform for promoting your cafe business. Digital marketing channels offer huge potential to enhance the visibility of your café and expand your business.

If you are looking for some profitable Delhi business ideas, opening a café is a progressive and scalable business idea that requires less capital and offers high-profit potential. Delhi is a place which is known for good food so foraying into the café business is a great idea. Delhi is famous for its good quality of food all over the country. Café culture is growing at a rapid pace and you can also use this opportunity to start your business and open your café in Delhi.

Also Read:

1) How to Start a Small Delivery Business?
2) How to Set up a Fruit Wholesale Business?
3) How to Become a Distributor in India?
4) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. How much capital is required to open a new café in Delhi?

Ans. You can open a new café in Delhi with around 10 to 12 lacs of rupees. The amount will vary depending upon the location and the scale of the business.

Q. What are the major costs involved in starting a new café in Delhi?

Ans. The major costs of starting a new café include the labour cost, equipment cost, rent of the premises, license and registration costs, and marketing costs.

Q. Is it profitable to start a new café in Delhi?

Ans. Yes, it is very profitable to start a new café in Delhi. It offers a profit margin of around 50 to 60%  at the beginning which will increase gradually in the long run.

Q. How can I arrange the necessary finances for my café business?

Ans. You can use your own money or take help from your family members and friends. You can also borrow money from the bank or find an angel investor for your café business.

Q. How can I make my café different from the others?

Ans. You can use different strategies to make your café different from the rest like you can innovate and add some unique beverages and snacks to your menu, you can design your café differently using your imagination and creativity, you can keep interesting names of food items in your menu, etc.