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HFB develops methodology to make ready-to-use filter coffee decoctions
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Wednesday, 22 October, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d Hindustan Food and Beverages (HFB), which has positioned itself to develop a process methodology to manufacture ready-to-use filter coffee decoctions, would embark on tapping the retail sector across major metropolitan cities in India.
It hopes to garner its revenues and instant recognition from the retail shelves, as Indian households are looking for a quick and simple process to prepare and consume their daily cuppa.
For over the last five years, the company has driving a large part of its sales of ready-to-use filter coffee decoctions, offering them to such institutions as industry canteens and the hotel, restaurant and catering (HORECA) segment.
The booming Indian middle-class comprises a set of people who have no time on their hands. With double-income families on the rise, consumers are today looking for qualitative products which are convenient to use.
“Coffee consumption in India is also set to grow, and we aim to tap its tremendous potential,” Harold Pereira, partner, HFB, said, adding that tapping the retail segment was the company’s immediate goal.
“Once we have successfully tapped the urban crowd, we will look to penetrate the Tier-II and III city markets. We are confident that the decoction, with its convenience and quality, would succeed in every market we launch it in,” he added.
The decoction is currently our only product. After innumerable blends that we tested with our customer focus groups and professional coffee-tasters, we have finalised two blends,” Pereira said.
“One is a traditional South Indian filter coffee blend, 80 per cent of which is coffee and the remainder is chicory. The other is a pure coffee blend (i.e. 100 per cent coffee),” he added.
The initial developmental work on the decoction was done with the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore. However, the process for its commercial manufacturing was developed at HFB’s developmental facility in Mysore.
The company has a big advantage - it is armed with decades of experience as coffee planters. All the green coffee processed at the plant comes from company-owned plantations.
This backward integration has benefited HFB because it garners the assurance of pricing, quality and availability of supplies, and the efficiencies gained from coordinating the production of supplies with their consumption.
“The Indian coffee market currently comprises instant powder, fresh beans and freshly-ground powder. No player currently offers a decoction. You could say that we are creating a new segment in the coffee industry with this product,” said Pereira.
While the product is yet to be exported, the company is confident on the promising opportunities, and is looking at rapid expansion plans in the future into the international arena.
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