Indian market offers opportunity of innovation for Nescafe: Nestle official

India is one of the fastest growing markets for Nescafe and offers a "huge opportunity" for innovation and premiumisation, according to a senior Nestle official.

Nescafe is a coffee brand owned by leading Swiss food company Nestle.

Nestle's Head of Coffee Strategic Business Unit Philipp Navratil, who is on an India visit, said the company is encouraged by the new coffee culture brewing in India with the opening of new coffee shops.

"India is one of the fastest growing markets for Nescafe and offers a huge opportunity for penetration-led growth, both through in-home and out-of-home consumption," he said in a statement issued by the company on Tuesday.

According to him, Nescafe has already reached a household penetration of 46 million in India, which is a substantial number.

He also said there is a "huge opportunity" to bring Nescafe to the world, making it more affordable to consumers.

"We believe Nescafe is perfectly positioned to introduce the world to coffee -- we are more accessible in terms of price per cup. It is also high quality. We also produce all types and different types of coffee, which is important because consumption is getting more sophisticated," Navratil said.

As cafe culture is evolving, consumers are now keen to know the source of the coffee and how is it brewed.

"India also offers a huge opportunity in terms of innovation and premiumisation," he said.

While India is still a market dominated by tea for refreshments, Nestle coffee at attractive price points of Rs 2 and 10 is quite popular among non-metro and semi-urban areas.

Nestle sells coffee in India and sourcing is done locally from Indian farmers, Navratil said.

In 2012, the Nescaf plan was launched in India and over the last 10 years, Nestle India has partnered with 3,500 coffee farmers from three states of the country to source coffee.

Globally, 4.5 billion people drink less than 20 cups of coffee.