Godiva plans to open 2,000 cafés in a quest to become the Starbucks of chocolate — here’s what it’s like to visit

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

• Godiva wants to become the Starbucks of chocolate. It recently announced plans to open 2,000 cafes over the next six years.
• I recently visited the first-ever Godiva Café in New York to see what it was like.
• While Godiva’s café concept has novelty appeal, it has a lot of room for improvement.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Godiva has big plans to grow beyond its chocolate gift shops. 

It announced in April its intentions to open thousands of sit-down cafés around the world, offering gourmet coffee drinks, pastries, and confections. Some will be transformed from existing store locations, while others will be standalone stores. The cafés will still sell premade and custom chocolate gift boxes, but they will focus on new signature menu items including Belgian waffles and a new creation called the "croiffle," a hybrid between a croissant and a waffle.

Godiva opened a café in Midtown Manhattan in April, the first of 2,000 cafés it plans to open over the next six years. Spearheaded by a former Starbucks executive, this ambitious growth plan relies on the viability of Godiva’s cafe product, which we decided to investigate on Monday. Here’s what it was like:

The Godiva café has a sleek storefront in a Midtown Manhattan office building. There are a lot of signs, which feels like branding overkill — but at least you know you’re in the right place.

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

The seating area is brightly lit and welcoming, with plenty of power outlets. Its design invites customers to spend more time in the café. There is also a large wall of chocolate gift boxes in classic Godiva fashion.

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

The counter looks like a chocolatier version of a Starbucks counter.

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Irene Jiang)