Dubai: Many young entrepreneurs would have surely thought about the secret behind Starbucks’s successful business recipe.
Rizwan Ahmad and Adnan Yousuf not only thought of it, rather they opened one - Sattar Buksh Cafe.
Situated in Block 4 Clifton in Karachi, the cafe’s brand and logo will probably need no time at all to associate with the original company.
The black, twisted moustache - a symbol of command and power of manhood in this region - replaces the siren with her crown in the original Starbucks logo. Even the name Sattar Buksh sounds similar to that of the global coffee giant.
Sattar Buksh’s online presence is yet to grow into anything significant, with their website claiming it’s under construction. But they’re pretty active on Twitter and Facebook.
The buzz has been going in Karachi for a while now and spreading around the region, not just due to their clear cut replica of brand and logo, but also for their amazing combination of taste of both the worlds as they claim on their website; such as a cup of coffee along with a desi “Paratha” with some Nutella on the side, or simply a karak chai (strong tea).
Visitors have already marked their favourite order: the “besharam – topless burger” with a variety of tea blends.
Shortly after Starbucks discovered their likeness was being used, Sattar Buksh was shot with legal notice with obvious and clear demands of changing the logo.
But the daredevils did not give up and were out on Facebook with the following statement: “We have nothing to do with any foreign franchise nor do we want to categories ourselves as mere coffee experts. We’re ‘Jutts of all trades’ and we cater to everyone!”
And meanwhile the new logo was out.
As an Emirati with a bloodline of businessmen, I could not ignore the courage and spirit of entrepreneurship exhibited by these two men. Despite the fear of property intellectual rights violation, hefty compensational fines and a social label of “imitation,” Ahmad and Yousuf have brought their dreams to reality!
- Hassan Sajwani is an Emirati Banker from Dubai. You can follow him on Twitter at @HSajwanization
