Unicorn cappuccino to nitrogen black coffee…new trends have made the hot beverage more than just a remedy keep you sharp.

It’s time to wake up to a new cuppa. Either with magic on your brew like the Unicorn Cappuccino or with luxury like the Gold Cappuccino. Given coffee’s popularity as one of the most loved beverages in the world, its growing demand drives the yearly trends within the segment.

We spotted the ones that give the best kick to your daily cup of Joe. While India remains a tea-loving country, it is already the seventh-largest producer of coffee in the world and if the growing trend is to be believed, India might become one of the world’s largest coffee-producing countries, according to CoffeeBI, an independent consulting firm.

Studies show a 40 per cent increase in the demand for coffee in India in the past decade alone. And with 66 per cent millennials in India choosing coffee as their preferred drink, according to Euromonitor, the beverage industry is working doubly hard to supplement the growth revenue by creating more options.

Hipster-fuelled trends

Take for instance, Matcha Cappuccino. Matcha, an electric green powder made from green tea leaves, has found its way into coffee too.

Besides being rich in antioxidants, it is packed with EGCG, a plant compound that promotes heart and brain health. The matcha in the cappuccino I ordered was from the farmlands of Kyoto, Japan.

Other interesting variants include the drool-worthy and photo-worthy Gold Cappuccino, Silver Cappuccino and the extremely pretty looking Unicorn Cappuccino, all made with edible cake glitter.

Not to mention, non-dairy coffee has become sought after with the growing number of vegans in India.

“To stay ahead of our game, coffee retailers need to prioritise innovation. Every year we go through published reports on coffee consumption as well as popular ingredient trends to see if we can add a bit of magic to your coffee in new ways,” says Dipanshu Narang, COO, Coffee Culture.

Recently, butter found its way into coffee. In this DIY concoction, add one tablespoon of coconut oil and unsalted butter (or ghee) into your coffee. Have it black. It’s a great source of energy and lubrication.

Nitrogen fueled coffee, a silken cold brew charged with nitrogen gas, sans milk or sugar, buzzes with an element of adventure as it is had straight from the tap and forms a froth similar to beer.

“Which is what makes it an evolutionary coffee beverage and contains close to 30 per cent more caffeine per ounce,” informs Narang.

Growth curve

According to The Coffee Board of India, the country’s coffee production in 2018-19 stood at 3,19,500 tonnes.

“Coffee, much like chocolate, is very adaptable. It doesn’t just feature in beverages and desserts but makes for an excellent barbeque rub as well. Base flavours of coffee range from sweet, like vanilla and caramel to savoury, like whole spices and nuts, and citrus, making it a very versatile ingredient,” says Sahil Mehta, coffee aficionado, and food curator at Cafe Tesu.

One of the few things he believes has made coffee popular is bean origin. At Tesu, for instance, they have collaborated with Devi Coffee under the umbrella of Sussegado Coffee India PVT LTD, Goa.

Devi Coffee offers over 30 variants of Indian coffee from coffee-producing regions Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. “Quality of a bean distinguishes good coffee and very good coffee,” he says. So whether it’s coffee in a mocktail, cocktail or a popsicle, what makes or breaks a trend is its origin.

Stamp of a good CUPPA

“Good coffee has a fresh, nutty aroma. If not stored, grown or roasted right, you could get a batch in which the signature aroma will be tainted with a rancid odour.

The best way to tell good coffee and very good coffee is to enjoy them at places that are conscious of where they sourcing from…bean origin is key to a cuppa good coffee,” informs Sahil Mehta.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Food / by Ayesha Singh / Express News Service / October 05th, 2019

Livelihoods of farmers under threat, says organising panel

The Coffee Board of India, in association with Way Win, a farmer producer company in the coffee sector in Wayanad, Wayanad Chamber of Commerce, Wayanad Coffee Growers Association, NABARD and Brahmagiri Development Society, is organising various programmes to mark International Coffee Day on October 1.

Agricultural Production Commissioner Devendra Kumar Singh will inaugurate the event at M.C. Auditorium here at 10 a.m. on the day. M. Karuthamani, Deputy Director, Coffee Board (Extension) Kerala, will preside over the function.

Coffee had never been more popular, but the livelihoods of coffee farmers were under threat, said organising committee chairman M.K. Devassia. Due to an increase in crop yield, causing two consecutive years of surplus in the market, there was currently a global oversupply of coffee, he said. The oversupply was driving down market price of coffee, he added. But the input cost, including labour cost and price of fertilizers, had increased considerably. Hence, the theme of the day was ‘Coffee’s future needs you’, he said.

“Wayanad, a major Robusta coffee growing area in the country, is facing the impact of global warming and climate change,” said Mr. Devassia, adding that it was expected that the crisis could be overcome by increasing production and doubling the income of farmers by value addition under the brand name of ‘Malabar Coffee’.

GI tag
The geological indication (GI) tag for Wayanad Robusta and the State government’s initiation to make the hill district carbon neutral would also help farmers get a better price for the produce, he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Kalpetta, September 28th, 2019

Given the huge role CCD’s V.G. Siddhartha played in India’s coffee ecosystem, there’s uncertainty in the air.

Chikmagalur/Bengaluru:

A memorial service on Tuesday for late V.G. Siddhartha at Mudigere, Karnataka, took a maudlin turn. This was a gathering of coffee growers at the hometown of late Café Coffee Day (CCD) founder, who allegedly ended his life due to financial stress. B.R. Balakrishna, a small planter, was in tears: “Without ‘Anna’, I’m a helpless orphan. I feel like I am better off dead.” He was not an exception; almost all the coffee growers were inconsolable.

Beneath the wailing was the fear that prices and profit from growing coffee could be hit, or that they may not find a buyer like Siddhartha who was also a well-wisher and a mentor. More than the circumstances behind Siddhartha’s death, which has been discussed threadbare, it is what lies ahead that terrifies many—from coffee growers to those working at CCD, a part of Coffee Day Global Ltd.

With Siddhartha vanishing from the scene, coffee growers across the states are anxious about the churn it will bring in to the industry. “The industry will have to go through a period of turmoil until CCD gets a grip on things and it is able to reposition itself as the first company of coffee business in India,” said a veteran grower from neighbouring state Kerala, which accounts for a fifth of India’s coffee production, requesting anonymity.

“But then, whoever heads CCD will have big shoes to fill. To earn the trust of growers like Siddhartha did, to consistently innovate, and, most crucially, to increase the yield and revenue in the business is easier said than done,” he adds.

CCD was one of India’s top 20 leading exporters of coffee, according to the Coffee Board of India’s database. “Nobody can really fill in that space, currently. So everything about what happens ahead will depend on CCD’s survival,” said a Bengaluru-based expert on coffee research, requesting anonymity.

Importance of Siddhartha

Travelling through the coffee growing region of Karnataka—Hassan, Chikmagalur and Kodagu—one is assured of delectable coffee in the middle of nowhere, the aroma from the mug mixed with the air of the hill estates. From the bean to the cup, Siddhartha had his stamp all over the industry and his death is worrying those in the supply side of the business, from growers worried of wholesale prices to exporters concerned how long their dominance in the overseas market will last.

Siddhartha had realized the importance of systems across the value chain, from growing, research, marketing, export and value addition. Most importantly, he drove the expansion of coffee consumption in India, and branded Indian coffee in the international market, said Abhimanyu M.B., a senior member of the state-run Coffee Board of India. “It is a daunting task which can be driven only by those who have shared a dream… I wonder anybody can repeat that performance or take it to the next level.”

Siddhartha also spurred export to the First World by starting overseas consumption market for Indian coffee, partly by starting CCD outlets, and by marketing the finished and value-added products to the importers of coffee. “Today, India exports 30,000 metric tonnes of coffee in all its forms, and to keep up this export volume, the CCD leadership will have to keep up with the spirit of Siddhartha,” added Abhimanyu.

Downstream reforms

At just 59 years, Siddhartha had a great future not only for CCD but for the coffee industry. Over a 100,000 people are employed directly and indirectly in the coffee ecosystem he built. They are all clueless as to who can replace him, and help steward the industry like he did during the last few decades. To understand what their worries are is to essentially know how the coffee industry works and what role the CCD founder played.

“Siddhartha was a visionary for the coffee industry. Right from the plantation, picking up coffee berries, curing them, grading them, marketing them and adding value to them and bring it closer to the lips of millions of coffee lovers not just in India but in six different countries of the world. He was a visionary who saw great things for coffee. From a mere 12,000 tonnes, he took the domestic coffee consumption to 100,000 tonnes per annum,” said K. Jayaram, former president of the Karnataka Coffee Growers Association.

Before Siddhartha started Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Co. Ltd in Chikamagalur, he had deeply studied the prospects, problems and scope of coffee cultivation. He developed his own nursery with high yielding varieties such as Kaveri and Chandragiri, which he distributed freely to all planters in three districts. His advisory was to plant them in high density, a revolution of sorts.

The Coffee Board advisory was to plant 1,752 plants per acre, but research done by Siddhartha showed that the plot could accommodate as much as 2,000 plants, which together with new plants could result in a yield increase of at least 20%. Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan were the direct beneficiaries of this research. “This experiment had paid big dividends to the industry, especially to the planters. This was also replicated in smaller coffee growing areas in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Overall, the total area under coffee cultivation soon reached 425,000 hectares in South India,” said Thirtha Mallesh, president of the association.

Lakshman Gowda, a grower in Mudigere, showed a patch of Kaveri and Chandragiri varieties, and said: “Though Siddhartha and his family had thousands of acres of coffee plantation, he did not keep his knowledge for himself. He freely disseminated it among all the planters not only in Karnataka but also in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and at a time when other coffee growing nations like Brazil, Columbia and Vietnam expressed doubts about India’s capacity to increase cultivation.”

Forward trading

Many experts Mint spoke to seemed anxiously waiting for how the untimely death of Siddhartha would impact domestic market prices. Not so long ago, Indian coffee growers were burdened with dependency on the New York and London pricing mechanisms for exports and the Coffee Board for the domestic pricing. A pressure group of private growers led by Siddhartha broke this in the 1990s, and from then on, Indian coffee has developed its own price determination mechanism, with over 110,000 metric tonnes of coffee dependent on the pricing decided by CCD.

Coffee growers in Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan remember that this small region was first to introduce what is known as forward trading in coffee as early as 1996. The association annals point out that Amalgamated Bean Coffee had launched the scheme for growers by benchmarking the daily rates of Arabica parchment variety with the New York and London markets.

In addition, Amalgamated Bean Coffee used to reserve a sizable quantity of coffee beans under the forward trading norms which benefitted all planters supplying raw beans to Amalgamated Bean Coffee . “As a result, there emerged a self-regulating mechanism for coffee pricing and stocking fully under the control of the growers,” said a senior coffee marketing officer of the Coffee Board, requesting anonymity.

“This was done on fine forward trading norms. Siddhartha had so much liquidity in trading coffee domestically that the growers could bet their stocks under forward trading with Siddhartha. No trading house except CCD was able to match,” said Nanjappa, who is a coffee activist of Kodagu. The growers benefitted out of this arrangement, he added.

“We growers could gain at least 15-20% annual profits due to forward trading. A grower having even a smallholding of 2-5 acres could make a handsome profit. With Siddhartha gone, the growers are now left at the mercy of other trading firms that are more profit-motivated for themselves than that of the growers.”

Siddhartha hardly made any profit out of these reforms, according to experts, and in fact, when Coffee Day Global Ltd (formerly Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Co. Ltd) was floated he even went under financial stress. But this heralded the foray into value addition in the coffee business.

When the first CCD outlet was opened in Bengaluru in 1996, it was a shock to the coffee lovers of Bengaluru, known for its filter coffee culture. “It was hard to trust any coffee that came out of an espresso machine. We thought who would sit over a cup of coffee for hours, that too paying at least five times more than the filter coffee available at neighbouring Ranganatha Cafe?” reminiscences Srikanth Rao, a coffee aficionado, who is a top executive in a multinational company in the city.

CCD made sure that it captured the coffee consumer market in Bengaluru first, which according to the CCD research unit was a top coffee consumers in the country, second only to Chennai. Then, Bengaluru had become well known for its pubs. But Siddhartha bet on the young crowd spending quality time at a cafe, and his signature statement “a lot could happen over coffee” paid off. This is when the IT crowd, college goers, and company executives started frequenting CCD outlets all over Bengaluru and using CCD outlets as their makeshift offices, conference rooms and client meeting places.

In conclusion

CCD looms larger than life over the industry. That’s why there’s fear in the air. “Their growth created a good base and gave some kind of stability for domestic prices. That is the reason why you can find their prices quoted every day in the local newspapers. So if they go down in a spectacular way, the domestic market will also suffer. Some 40,000 employees would also be involved. It has become one of those sectors where growth happened very quickly and suddenly a vacuum has been created,” said the Bengaluru-based expert on coffee research quoted earlier.

One of the reasons Siddhartha, who was always on the lookout for unusual types of coffee, loved Mangaluru was because it serviced the coffee planters of Kodagu, Chikamagalur and Hassan by offering garbling, curing and drying facilities. In particular, “Monsooned Coffee” discovered by Siddhartha was from Mangaluru. When raw coffee beans were stored in depots during the monsoons, the coffee used to get a particular aroma due to the moisture—these were not to be roasted but boiled to make green coffee. That’s why in his home territory, he will be remembered for his role in developing the coffee ecosystem.

M. Raghuram is a journalist based in Mangaluru.

source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Explore / by M. Raghuram and Nidheesh M.K. / August 06th, 2019

Baba’s Beans is not shy to experiment with coffee, and this is what makes them stand out.

The passion for a well-brewed cuppa started back in 2013 when friends-from-college, Sadhvi Ashwani and Mrinal Sharma, now 29, took a trip to Coorg. But the journey onward, to opening a coffee bar wasn’t obvious. The duo, one a philosophy major and the other a commerce graduate, had a nose for coffee and kept at it. They visited the homes of farmers kind enough to educate them about the crop; they collaborated with chefs, pairing coffees with menus; they even did a course at the Coffee Board of India.

The duo’s latest venture, at ALOFT in Aerocity, Baba’s Beans is here to break every pre-existing notion of coffee: the brew isn’t exclusive to those who know their mocha from a macchiato; it doesn’t have to be in a mug, a shot cup, or a tumbler. And most importantly, coffee isn’t just fuel that minimises sleep and maximises productivity.

The name, Baba’s Beans, is a hat-tip to Baba Budan, the 17th century Sufi saint from the subcontinent who smuggled in the bean from Mocha, in Yemen to Chikmaglur, in Karnataka in 1616 AD; they talk about how coffee really drove the Enlightenment; and about how the Tontine Coffeehouse was the birthplace of the New York Stock Exchange.

The vibe: Enter ALOFT, and they’re to the immediate left. It’s one of those open nooks, like stores in an airport, which dilutes Baba Bean’s personality a little bit. Their older outlet at The Ambassador Hotel sees a distinctly older crowd. They’re expecting a younger audience here.

Do try: Everything on their lab menu. The Berry Brew is a lightly sweet and fresh cold brew, with an infusion of four berries, coffee being the most prominent, with undertones of strawberry, blueberry, and blackcurrant. It’s a healthier version of the coffee-tonic. The Coconut Capuccino beings in a gentle nuttiness to the cup, a welcome change from the sugary hazelnut syrups of big coffee chains. The Blackbird is bound to be a hit this winter, served in a brandy snifter, this espresso-based drink is infused with ginger, clove, lemon, honey, and mint. Is there anything that coffee can’t do?

Skip: Their regular menu, if you’re tired of looking up the difference between a doppio, ristretto, and lungo. The staff will help, but you can find this anywhere else in the multitude of coffee places that’ve sprung up in the last handful of years, all also made from the same handful of estates of Kerala and Karnataka.

Go with: With a book, or work for long hours. Meet a friend or two in transit at the IGI airport. Not for big groups.

Space bar: 600 sq ft approximately; 20 covers

How much: ₹1,000 for two

Reach: A 10-minute walk from the Delhi Aerocity metro station on the Airport Line on Delhi Metro.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food – Review / by Vangmayi Parakala / July 31st, 2019

Coffee Board has adopted blockchain in an attempt to provide an edge to growers and coffee from India

How much do coffee growers make from a cup coffee that costs $4 on streets of New York or London?” asks Srivatsa Krishna, Chairman and CEO, Coffee Board of India. Based on street shopping experience, I say 50 cents. He asks me to take another guess. Figuring that it could be lower, I come up with 35 cents. Srivatsa says, “All that they make is 4-5 cents on a $4 cup of coffee.” That’s just 1 per cent of the price charged in New York for the world’s only shade-grown, hand-picked coffee and sun-dried beans, which fall under the mild category.

India, which began commercial coffee production in the 18th century, has 3,50,000 farmers who grow around 3,19,000 metric tonnes (in 2018/19) over 4,50,000 hectares. Despite it being among the top 10 coffee growing countries – over 80 per cent of the crop is exported – returns to farmers are minuscule. Growers have all along struggled to make extra bucks out of the coffee value chain.

According to the Coffee Board, cultivable coffee land in India, which was around 92,000 hectares in the 1950s, had grown to around 4,00,000 hectares in 2010. Since then, there has been little addition. Currently, coffee is cultivated by small growers (under 10 hectares). While cultivable area has stagnated, productivity has grown 10 times. “Our productivity was 100 kilograms per hectare in 1950. Today, we are at around 1,000 kilograms per hectare,” says Srivatsa.

However, higher production has not been of much help to farmers, and that’s what the Coffee Board is hoping to address by using blockchain technology. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology which allows members to record transactions in a decentralised data log maintained on a network of computers rather than a physical ledger or a single database. The aim is the reduce the middlemen in the value chain. Ethiopia and France already do this.

Sahadev Balakrishna, former Chairman of the Karnataka Planters Association, says in a commodity business like coffee, trading margins are low, 1-1.5 per cent for exporters and curers. The bulk of the profit goes to roasters and retailers. “If a grower sells to a curer or roaster, the price realisation is much better.” There are a number of middlemen clogging the coffee value chain in India. The number of middlemen could be three-six people depending on whether the coffee is for domestic consumption or for export. A blockchain marketplace could disrupt this.

On the Same Platform

The Coffee Board asked Bengaluru-based Eka Software, which offers commodity software, to develop a blockchain software. This is being tested as an app. The pilot, as of now, has 22 participants, which includes buyers, coffee roasters and growers. The stakeholders in the coffee ecosystem – which includes coffee farmers, traders, coffee curers, exporters, roasters, importers and retailers – have to register. Growers can offer any quantity and quality at their expected price for sale. The buyers can either agree to buy at the said price or make alternative offers. Once both parties agree on a price, the transaction is completed.

Blockchain provides a real-time secure framework for sharing ledgers and transactions, a digital ID that follows a physical product, smart contracts, and also the source of record accessible to all parties, making the platform transparent.

Nishan R. Gurjer, a sixth generation coffee grower and exporter who opted to be a part of the experiment, says the entire coffee industry is seeing a shift. “The coffee world is moving away from the traditional middlemen. Right from the origin to the attributes of coffee beans, from taste profile to carbon footprint, blockchain provides key information that consumers are seeking,” he adds. The grower provides this information and it is certified by the Coffee Board.

More importantly, growers have a bigger say in the price they get. “With the grower getting less than 10 per cent of the value, blockchain addresses the issue of transparency and gives better bargaining power for good coffee,” adds Gurjer. Though the blockchain platform is at a nascent stage, Gurjer says he is seeing more enquiries than before, and the democratic pricing gives him more comfort.

Second, the technology also provides agility and scalability. Even though the platform currently does not have an in-app payment option, it is likely to be integrated shortly.

Manav Garg, CEO and Founder of Eka Software, says the building applications on blockchain have been simplified: one can define the fields where data has to be captured, and set rules regarding who can create a record and who can modify. “You can deploy the contract quickly. The whole infrastructure is fairly distributed and there are miners who check them to verify legitimacy,” says Garg. Agility also comes from the fact that multiple versions of the contract can be deployed and changed to stay in step with evolving contract regulations. “For example the current coffee marketplace has gone through several modifications since the work began. When we started discussions, the model envisaged was a bid-ask system like in any stock exchange. Later, we became grower centric so that buyers don’t bring down the price. Later, buyers also wanted better control, so the model was tweaked to enable them to start contracts. On blockchain, it was fairly easy for us to modify and migrate through these multiple models,” Garg adds.

For growers, the platform provides democratic pricing. He can quote a price and negotiate discreetly with the buyer, with other growers not knowing the final price of the coffee, hence offering a better chance of higher price realisation for specialty coffee.

Premium Efforts

The government, too, is taking some steps to support the coffee market. In a bid to increase value and traceability, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade recently awarded five new geographical indication (GI) tags – Coorg Arabica, Chikmaglur Arabica and Bababudangiris Arabica from Karnataka, Wayanad Robusta from Kerala and Araku Valley Arabica from Andhra Pradesh.

The franchise of the Coffee Board’s quick service restaurant India Coffee House has been given to two private players – Cafe Coffee Day and Afoozo group – for a facelift. India will also host the prestigious World Coffee Conference, the first ever in Asia, in September 2020.

International coffee prices have declined since 2017, mostly due to over-supply, says the International Coffee Organisation. There is a surplus of 4.16 million bags from 2017. It expects production at 168.05 million bags for 2018/19 compared to 165.54 million bags in 2017/18, and consumption at around 164.99 million bags. So, a surplus of 3.06 million bags is expected, making it a straight second year of surplus.

With low prices for coffee expected to continue, Indian coffee growers now stand at the cusp of technology adoption and creation of a brand identity as India readies to serve a fresh brew to the world.

@rukminirao
source: http://www.businesstoday.in / Business Today / Home> Business Today> The Hub> Story / by Rukmini Rao, New Delhi / print edition August 11th, 2019 – online edition 25th July 2019

Here is all you need to know about VG Siddhartha, the founder and owner of Indian coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day. VG Siddhartha has been missing since Monday morning.

The sudden disappearance of the owner and founder of the popular coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day, VG Siddhartha has sparked mass speculation.

Siddhartha, who is the son-in-law of former Karnataka CM SM Krishna, got off his car near the Netravati River off Mangaluru on Monday evening and has been missing ever since.

Dakshina Kannada Police has launched a frantic search to look for the prominent Karnataka-based businessman.

BUT WHO IS VG SIDDHARTHA?

Born in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, VG Siddhartha comes from a family that has been in the business of coffee plantation for around 140 years.

He is credited with creating India’s largest coffee empire. He is also married to the daughter of former Karnataka CM SM Krishna.

Earning a masters from the Mangalore University, VG Siddhartha dabbled in the stock market in his early career. He joined JM Financial Limited in 1983-1984 in Mumbai as a management trainee/intern in Portfolio Management and securities trading on the Indian Stock Market under Vice-Chairman Mahendra Kampani. He was just 24 years then.

After two years with JM Financial Limited, VG Siddhartha returned to Bangalore. His father gave him money to start a business of his choice. VG Siddhartha bought a stock market card for Rs 30,000, along with a company called Sivan Securities, which was renamed in 2000 as Way2wealth Securities Ltd. Its venture capital division came to be known as Global Technology Ventures (GTV).

By 1985, he was a full-time proprietary investor in the stock market and owner of 10,000 acres of coffee farms. He says, When coffee trading was liberalised in the ’90s, I doubled the money I had invested in the plantations within a year.

CAFFEINATED DREAMS

Thus, was born the Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd (ABCTCL) in 1993, a company focused on coffee exports. While his plantations produced 3,000 tonnes of coffee, ABCTCL would trade 20,000 tonnes. In two years, the company became the second-largest exporter from India.

The coffee bug had bitten VG Siddhartha.

In 1996, the first CCD store opened on Bangalore’s crowded Brigade Road, where coffee and an hour of Internet surfing cost Rs 100. The coffee chain’s first launch came at a time when Bangalore was on the cusp of a transformation from a pensioners’ paradise to an IT and lifestyle haven.

In doing this, VG Siddhartha and his team went against the better judgement of his MBA friends. The cafe was a runaway success.

While Coffee Day was taking its time in expansion, other rival chains came along and took the concept national. In its new strategy, CCD would open its store right next to its rival.

CCD is India’s largest coffee chain and is owned by Coffee Day Global which is a subsidiary of Coffee Day Enterprises.

Today, CCD has around 1,700 cafes, around 48,000 vending machines, 532 kiosks and 403 ground coffee selling outlets.

A Money Control report puts the annual turnover of the Coffee Day Enterprises at Rs 4,264 crore.

VG Siddhartha owns 12,000 acres (4047 ha) of coffee plantations. A 2015 Forbes list pegged his net worth at $1.2 billion (Rs 8200 crore).

It was reported recently that Coca-Cola was in early talks with CCD to acquire a substantial stake in India’s largest coffee chain. CCD was eyeing a valuation of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore from Coca-Cola for the stake sale.

Besides CCD, VG Siddhartha has founded a hospitality chain which runs a seven-star resort Serai and Cicada.

Currently, he also holds board seats in GTV, Mindtree, Liqwid Krystal, Way2Wealth and Ittiam. Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro had recently purchased around 20 per cent stake of VG Siddhartha and Cafe Coffee Day in tech company Mindtree through block deal for about Rs 3,210 crore.

VG Siddhartha was awarded the Entrepreneur of the year’ for 2002-03 by the Economic Times, for crafting a successful pan-Indian brand from a commodity business.

CAUGHT IN CONTROVERSY

VG Siddhartha was accused of tax evasion in 2017. Income tax raids were conducted at over 20 locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Chikmagalur by senior officers of Income Tax Department of Karnataka and Goa regions.

The Income Tax Department raids on Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) retail chain found Rs 650 crore concealed income from the documents seized.

source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> News> Business / by India Today Web Desk, New Delhi / July 30th, 2019