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Renewed interest from new coffee brands to boost their presence in India is helping the well-known popular brands to solidify their market position and expand the range of offerings in the country, according to Italy’s popular coffee brand Lavazza.
With the per capita consumption of coffee still at a very nascent stage, at an annual around 90 gm, according to the latest Coffee Board data, which is many times lower than 11.8 kg in Finland, the branded coffee market is poised to witness tremendous growth. Present in 100 countries, Italy’s Lavazza is gearing up to pick a major pie of this opportunity.
Its managing director for India, West Asia and Africa operations, Silvio Zaccareo, said branded coffee consumption in India was still in its early stages and the entry of new players was helping grow the reputation of established international brands in the country.
“We are seeing an extremely good growth in branded coffee consumption in India. It is on the cusp of a coffee revolution in the coming years,” said Zaccareo. According to him, Indian coffee market will grow at an annual 9 per cent in the next three years.
While the sales in the south dominate the overall India volumes, with filter and instant coffee being the most preferred, pure expresso coffee sales have also been picking up in the metros, he said.
After Lavazza’s exit from the coffee shop business in India by selling its Barista brand to Carnation Hospitality, Zaccareo says the brand was concentrating more on customising global offerings to the Indian taste to stay ahead of the competition.
"Today, we are the most preferred brand in five-star hotels and among the top five preferred in corporate offices. As we consolidate our position, we will also increase our presence in retail segment among others," he said.
Lavazza is also considering making fresh investments in its sole Indian coffee blend facility located in Sri City industrial park in Andhra Pradesh. Without quantifying the level of investment, he said, "We may make fresh investment in the plant next year".
It had so far invested euro 20 million in the Sri City plant, which is the only facility for it outside Italy. Lavazza procures Arabica and Robusta coffee from India as part of its global procurement.
