Easier usage and faster service have come to define the food and beverage market in India today, and to meet this requirement, coffee machine suppliers are constantly on the drive to offer new and innovative products that will deliver both quality and quantity By Archana Sharma
With the cafe and coffee market in India poised to become a Rs one billion industry by 2017, as per the India Coffee Shops & Cafe Market Forecast & Opportunities 2017 report, supplies of vending and beverage machines are increasing their foothold in the India market by offering diverse and innovative products to cater to the various needs of their clients. Originally coffee consumption in India was predominantly restricted to instant and filter coffee especially in the southern parts of the country and vending machines brewing instant coffee dominated this segment. “However with the advent of the Cafe Coffee Day outlets and later Barista, an era of roast and ground coffee and semi automatic and automatic machines capable of brewing Italian coffee was ushered, bringing in a market demand and supply which has been growing ever since,” states Gerson Aranha, CEO, The Coffee Co. The Coffee Co deals in automatic and semi automatic coffee machines as well as brewing equipments, through collaborations with global giants like Schaerer, Gaggia and Hario, etc, with bulk brewers from Coffee Queen producing American style drip coffee, popular among hotels and few automatic espresso machines from Jura. Apart from this it also offers a variety of Indian coffee blends including 100 per cent Arabica blends and gourmet blends like Monsooned Malabar and single origin organic coffee.
Anup Kothiwal
Acknowledging the difficulty in catering manually to the demands of the clients while maintaining quality as well, Anup Kothiwal, director, Irene’s Coffee Company opines, “Due to high footfalls in cafes, hotels, corporate events, wedding functions, etc, it is difficult to cater to the crowd manually and also with the perfection of flavour and right temperature in every cup of coffee, however, the automatic machines can deliver quick coffee making solutions along with the right and desired flavours,” he adds. The Irene’s Coffee Company offers high-end Italian coffee machines in variants of automatic, semi automatic, one touch cappuccino through campanies like Saeco from Milan-Italy. Apart from this it also provides Indian and imported coffee beans from different regions of the world having different blends like the imported coffee beans from Italy from the house of Universal Café based out of Rome. It also offers tea bags under the name of Irene’s in different flavours of green, black and herbal tea.
Market demand
With the entry of multiple global giants, there is an increasing awareness amongst consumers about the different varieties of beverages, and they are becoming specific about their preferences. Keeping the same in mind, The Coffee Co offers automatic coffee machines which can be adjusted to suit different tastes and needs. “Since consumers are becoming more discerning about their preferences, our automatic machines from Schaerer, Gaggia and Jura allows for customisation of individual drinks wherein parameters like coffee strength and type can be adjusted accordingly,” states Aranha. Adding to this, Kothiwal says, “We have completely programmable coffee machines, wherein one can adjust anything right from the temperature to quantity and flavour for constant and easy use. Also, there are advanced user-friendly features like touch screen in high end machines for both hot and cold beverages which are programmed for quick dispensing.”
Gerson Aranha
Presently the food and beverages market is looking more towards easier usage and faster service and therefore a growth has been observed in the popularity of capsule and single serve coffee systems. “ The dispensing time for our products is about 30 seconds for a cappuccino and about 20 for espresso, and being one touch bean to cup machines they are really easy to use,” adds Kothiwal. But since features vary greatly from machine to machine, The Coffee Co offers machines that can offer 50 cups a day as well as 250 cups an hour. “Our automatic machines come with user friendly displays and offer intuitive operations. Semi automatic espresso machines require a higher level of skill as compared to the automatic ones,” mentions Aranha.
Industry trends
The growing popularity of Italian coffee, automatic and semi-automatic machines will play a significant role in the India market. Aranha believes that the demand for consumer interactive beverage machines is on the rise, however the market for manual brewing equipment also has a future. “While automatic espresso machines offer the convenience of simple and fast operations and semi automatic espresso machines allow more control over the various parameters that affect the final cup, the manual brewing equipment allows customers in exploring the different brewing methods and therefore the market for manual brewing equipments like French presses, moka pots, etc may grow as more and more people try to emulate the cafe experience and brew coffee at home.” However, stating the opposite, Kothiwal believes that group machines or manual ones will soon become obsolete, since the future is to deliver fast, with uniform and quality flavours. He also adds that the India market is of growing importance in terms of coffee machines sales and the future potential should not be underestimated since there is a substantial growth every year.
“Good quality brewing equipments and espresso machines for commercial use are generally more expensive and require a substantial investment, but if serviced regularly these machines can provide years of efficient brewing. Bulk brewers producing black coffee can also be procured for under `one lakh and they too are quite durable,” points out Aranha. Talking about the investment factor, Kothiwal believes that with extensive use the cost of automatic machines will have to reduce and with lesser manpower requirement and minimal wastage, the automatic machines provide a much better cost-effective proposition.