MUMBAI – Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has announced it will make its first foray into India, hoping to sate the local palate of the country’s billion-plus customer mob with such offerings as Paneer Tikka Slurpees, Biryani Big Gulps and Murg Makhani Chicken Rollers.
7-Eleven, which operates nearly 70,000 stores globally, expects to quickly monopolize India’s convenience store industry by buying out the popular and low-priced mom-and-pop stores that currently serve as the retail backbone of the country. It said it would change the slogans on the stores from “Helping Fight Abject Poverty” to its own “Stuff Your Face For Less” in hopes of winning market share of India’s 300 million millennial-age consumers.
“Through our locally customized offerings, 7-Eleven is targeting a new generation of bread-winning Indian consumers that we hope will open the doors to such taste-teasers as Aloo Gobi Mini Tacos, Garam Masala Big Bites, and Diablo Gulab Jamun Tenders,” said 7-Eleven South Asia Food and Beverage Director Arjun Patel.
“Our Slurpee selection will offer an unprecedented take on Indian flavors, starting with our classic Paneer Tikka Slurpee but also including the tantalizing Frost Butter Chicken Slurpee and the fusion Samosa Chaat Slurpee,” Patel said.
“Unfortunately, Coke Slurpees will not be available for purchase, as we could not reach a licensing deal on using their popular ‘O Tyrant! Feed me Coca-Cola’ slogan that had seen such extraordinary success in Pakistan.”
Hitesh Singh, a longtime customer of Jitendra’s Corner Grocer in Mumbai, which is slated to become a 7-Eleven in April, said he was wary of the coming takeover but would probably try at least some of the 7-Eleven offerings, despite their prohibitive cost.
“I must say the thought of digging into a Rogan Josh Taquito and washing it down with a Jal-Jeera Big Gulp or two has my taste buds Santali-dancing in anticipation,” Singh said, referring to the trip-hop inflected Rajasthani dance wave currently sweeping India. “But as the saying goes in India, ‘7-Eleven tastes, Malai Kofta wages.'”
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