After a slight delay of two months, the Coffee Board of India has been reconstituted in a reshuffle that occurs once every three years.

Many new faces have been added into the group that will oversee all aspects of coffee production from the world’s fifth biggest provider.

The board is set to consist of more than fifty people a notice from The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated in a notice to local press that was released earlier on in the week. The changes in personnel will be in effect until January 2016.

The divisions of the board are to be revised, with the addition of many specialist representatives to work with certain sectors of the nation’s coffee industry. These include;

Large growers – to ensure that the needs and interests of major farms and coffee growing regions are overseen, to protect and invest in future production.

Traders – to focus upon current, topical events such as financial trends, climate change and other variable aspects of business.

Labour – to maintain a strong and skilled workforce in the field, ensuring that labourers’ interests are maintained in line with the increased competition from technological industries. To continue to offer a fair and reasonable working wage.

Consumer – to keep an eye on finances and to try and direct the growers, providers and businesses into receiving the best price for their produce.

Instant coffee – a much small area of concern, but to look after the interest of manufacturers in the Indian instant coffee market.

The Coffee Board of India appear to have meticulously planned it’s structure for the coming years and with coffee gradually becoming an influential commodity in the southern area of the country, the time spent pouring over the structure should, hopefully, pay dividends.

The Coffee Board of India is an autonomous body, functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The Board serves as a friend, philosopher and a guide to the entire coffee industry in the nation. Set up under an Act of the Parliament in 1942, the Board focuses on research, development, extension, quality, progress, market information, and the domestic and external promotion of the coffees produced and grown in India.

source: http://www.worldcoffeepress.com / World Coffee Press / Home / by Steve / Thursday – January 16th, 2014

New Delhi :

The 5th India International Coffee Festival, the flagship event of the coffee sector, will be held in Bangalore from January 21-25.

The event is being organised by the India Coffee Trust and promoted by the state-run Coffee Board of the Union Commerce Ministry. About 1,000 delegates and 10,000 visitors are expected to participate.

“We have two additions to the event: there will be ’Launchpad’ for launching new blends, products, services and technologies. The other would be coffee themed quiz,” Coffee Board Chairman Jawaid Akhtar told reporters here.

For the first time, the Board will give away the ‘Barista Championship’ awards for best roaster, curer, exhibitor and for latte art, he added.

With the ‘Changing Face of Coffee’ as theme of the festival, the event would comprise of conference and exhibition on the coffee sector.

The conference aims to capture the changes taking place in the coffee sector and will discuss current trends related to production as well as take a close look at the prevailing market scenario.

It will focus on issues such as health aspects of coffee, innovative and alternate channels of coffee delivery to consumer among others.

There will be workshops on processing, brewing, roasting, espresso making, cooking with coffee, art on silk and coffee entrepreneurship.

A trip to Coorg, called ‘Coffee Trail to Coorg,’ will be conducted at the end of the festival.

The first three editions of the festival were held in Bangalore, the traditional coffee capital of the country, whereas the fourth edition was organised in Delhi.

Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the major coffee producing states in the country.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home / by PTI / New Delhi – January 09th, 2014

Coffee Board of India will organise the National Barista Championship from January 16 to 18 in the city to identify technically skilled and best Baristas in the profession.

According to a release from the Coffee Board of India, the competition will focus on promoting professional excellence in coffee value chain, strengthen and encourage skill development and also promote the Café Culture in India. The event is being conducted also because there are many café chains coming up in the city and this is becoming another profession option for youngsters. The event will be hosted at Mantri Square, Sampige Road, Malleswaram.

The final round of the championship will be held on January 24, during the India International Coffee Festival 2014 at Hotel Lalit Ashok here. The event will be conducted as per the rules and regulations of World Barista Championship.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / Bangalore, DHNS – January 14th, 2014

Avani Saglani Davda, the CEO at Tata Starbucks Ltd since September 2012, has played a key role in the development of the joint venture between Tata group and Starbucks Corp, which runs the world’s largest coffee chain.

The company recently entered South India by opening a coffee outlet in Bangalore. In an interview with Business Line, Davda shares the joint venture’s plans for the India market. Edited excerpts:

Now that you have entered South India, how many stores are you planning in this region?

In addition to the flagship store at Koramangala (Bangalore), Tata Starbucks will open two more stores by the end of this year in Bengaluru. It is an important city entry that demonstrates our long-term commitment to expand across India and we will continue to work thoughtfully to build a strong foundation and open stores quickly.

The South is primarily a coffee drinking market. Can we expect any specific flavour for both food and beverages here?

We are committed to delivering a locally relevant Starbucks experience to our customers; one that reflects the Starbucks brand as well as India’s rich culinary heritage. Our store here in Bangalore will introduce a strong mix of international favourites as well as specially designed food offerings to reflect local flavours. Additionally, our store offers a broad beverage portfolio to include a wide range of Starbucks signature espresso-based beverages and Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

We will introduce the India Estates blend to consumers in Bengaluru. This blend is Tata Starbucks’ special country-specific coffee, developed thoughtfully with Tata Coffee for the Indian market and reflects the high quality Arabica coffee available in India. Created to celebrate our first anniversary in the country in October 2013, this coffee captures the essence and rich heritage of the Indian coffee history. Additionally, with our entry in the Indian market, we launched the Indian Espresso Roast which is sourced locally through the coffee sourcing and roasting agreement between Starbucks and Tata Coffee.

What will be the price range of the food and coffee at the India stores?

We strive to price our products competitively based upon the assessment of how we can provide high-quality products and an uncompromised experience.

We understand how important it is to our customers that they receive a high quality experience at an appropriate value, and we believe that our approach to value holistically balances the experience we provide customers with our need to effectively run our business.

You had a target of 50 stores in 2012. Are you revising this number?

Since our foray into the Indian market in October 2012, we have launched 30 stores across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Pune.

We are overwhelmed by the way in which our customers have embraced us. With a little over one year of being in operation in the country, I can assure you that our business in India continues to exceed our expectations.

We work to balance the need to run the business effectively while ensuring that we deliver the highest-quality Starbucks experience to our customers.

It’s not only about running several stores across the geography, but to nurture each store to provide the experience and deliver the brand promise to customers – every day.

What kind of investment you have planned for 2014 in India? When do you plan to break even?

We are committed to India for the long-term and the JV will invest long term in the development of our partners (employees), coffee growing communities and the neighbourhoods we serve. Our business in India continues to exceed our expectations and we remain focused on a long-term, disciplined growth in this dynamic market to establish a strong presence here, delivering an elevated coffeehouse experience to our customers in India.

What has been the experience so far? Are you revising your footprints here?

Our journey over the last year has been very gratifying and the venture has attracted acclaim from Indian consumers. This journey has only just begun and we will continue to work to exceed the expectations of our customers.

We are confident in our ability to build and grow the Starbucks brand in India, and continue to remain excited about the opportunities India presents for our business.

anil.u@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by Anil Urs and K. Giriprakash anil.u@thehindu.co.in / November 27th, 2013