While the essence of coffee is lost amongst major players in the industry, a group of coffee lovers are taking their adulation for the beverage to a larger audience, nudging them to wake up and smell what real coffee is.
In this quest, they are also bringing forth the significant role India plays as a major player in the production of good coffee.
According to industry reports, coffee shops and cafés market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11 per cent during the period 2016-2021.
This high growth is primarily on account of the growing coffee culture among the young population, especially the millennials, rising disposable income among other factors.
“This coupled with the implementation of various government plans to develop smart cities, etc., is projected to drive growth in Indian market for coffee shops / cafés over next many years,” shares Aharnish Mishra, co-founder of Bizibean, which got involved in the B-to-B R&G (Roast and Ground) coffee segment from 2004. They were naturally inclined to foray into the retail segment.
“This was a natural extension to our roasting business. We thought the market is ready for a brand that epitomises gourmet coffee and offers its patron speciality coffee both in bean form as well as RTD form,” he says.
While there has been a growth in the coffee market, it is still in its infancy as compared to the global market.
“People are only just beginning to learn the basics and are willing to experiment with different coffees and brewing equipments,” says Krittivas Dalmia, Co-Founder, Kaffa Cerrado, adding, “There is a very small percentage of the market willing to experiment. So there’s a long way to go before we can become a mature coffee market.”
Desi cuppa
The Indian fresh R&G coffee market for domestic consumption is a very small one and is geographically concentrated in the southern part of the country.
Mishra believes that there is no mainstream coffee variety and due to the cost factor, cheaper Robusta blended with a little Arabicas and Chicory is the de facto coffee blend consumed at home.
“The Indian coffees that are internationally popular but find little takers in the domestic market are Monsoon Malabar AA, Mysore Nugget Extra Bold, Plantation AA and Robust Kapi Royale,” he adds.
However, according to Dalmia, there are a lot of plantations that have started selling under their own branding or as a single plantation. “These are all unique because of the different practices and procedures they follow in processing and harvesting the coffee. The beauty of the third wave is that it’s all unique,” says Dalmia.
Brewing hot in India
“Traditionally this role of educating and growing the market is taken up by the bigger players like CCD/ Starbucks in conjunction with the government bodies like Coffee Board of India,” says Mishra, adding, “Sadly, in India this hasn’t happened with the result that the smaller and newer player have to expend energy and resources to nurture the market.
"At BiziBean, we assume the role of missionaries and spread the story of the coffee bean by bean! We have taken the kiosk format route with value pricing strategy to make the experience of having or buying coffee a very pleasurable one.
"All our counter staff is well versed with the intricacies of coffee and performs the role of guides to our patrons.”
On the other hand, Dalmia works with the farmers in bringing out their story and flavour in the way they roast. “The more we’re able to educate our consumers on that, the more they’re willing to try.
So it’s a lot of work in educating the consumer by everyone in the coffee chain right from the farmer to the roaster to the barista and coffee shop,” he states.
The competition is usually in terms of cafes or instant coffee space. There isn’t much completion when we talk about home coffee, feels Ajai Thandi, Co-founder of Sleepy Owl.
“Rooted in the spirit of Make in India, their vision was to rethink the in-home coffee experience while wanting their patrons to have the best quality coffee as conveniently as possible and consume it its best; using the best quality coffee sourced directly from Indian farmers.”