Currently almost one in five of Nespresso’s global coffees contain Indian coffee
New Delhi: Nespresso, Swiss multinational Nestle SA’s arm which opened its first boutique here on Thursday, will increase sourcing of premium coffee from India, according to its CEO Philipp Navratil.
Currently almost one in five of Nespresso’s global coffees contain Indian coffee, said the company, which is in the field of high-quality portioned coffee through its coffee capsules and machines brew business.
The company sees a “massive opportunity” in India with the growth in coffee and cafe culture here and “lot of potential” to expand its network of boutique stores, where it will demonstrate Nespresso’s iconic range of coffees and machines.
“So we are here for the long term, we are now open, and we will stay here forever. India is a coffee shop country, and we live in India,” Navratil told PTI.
Nespresso, through its distributor Thakral Innovations, on Thursday opened its first boutique and has plans to open more in the coming years, he said without projecting any number.
Nespresso and Nestle India have entered into a distribution arrangement with Thakral Innovations. It will be the official distribution partner in India and will cover the full range of Nespresso coffee products across B2B channels.
Headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nespresso is sourcing high-quality green coffee from India since 2011 and collaborates directly with around 2,000 coffee farmers from Karnataka in the country.
“We had an Indian single-origin, master-origin capsule that we would sell everywhere, but not in India. And so now bringing that back to India now is basically closing the circle from farm to cup, now also for Indian consumers,” he said.
Navratil further said Nespresso will increase sourcing from India for its global coffee capsules and machines brew business.
“Our business is set to grow significantly, not just in sales but also in the quantity of coffee we source from India. As the demand for Indian coffee continues to rise, we are committed to supporting our farmers and expanding the entire value chain.
“This growth will be reflected both in the supply side, where we increase sourcing, and on the sales side as we meet the larger demand,” Navratil added.
Currently Nespresso’s 10 capsules (6g x 10) sell at Rs 950 and pack of 50 capsules at Rs 4,750. These are directly imported from its Swiss factory.
However, talking about the tariffs on imports, he said that the company will take a call on pricing once the free trade agreement signed between EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and India gets implemented.
Switzerland is a member of EFTA.
The company see a “massive opportunity” in India, where the coffee market and cafe culture are growing.
“It is a market, if you compare per capita consumption in India, it’s very low if you compare it to countries like the US or Europe. There are many factors that lower the consumption because this is a tea market, and so the idea is to really convince more and more today tea drinkers that coffee is a great opportunity,” he said.
