Cafes push coffee demand by 15%

Chennai: Growing number of organised coffee retail chains have actually helped in popularising coffee as a ‘hep drink’ among youth.

Coffee consumption in the country has registered a 15 per cent increase compared to last year. Even rising popularity of café chains like Cafe Coffee Day, Barista Lavazza and Costa Coffee coupled with gadgetising coffee-making process through specialised coffee makers and ready-to-brew capsules has made coffee-drinking fashionable.

“While these organised retail chains have done a phenomenal job in getting the you-nger generation to taste coffee outside, the challenge is to increase consumption inside homes which can translate into real value for farmers,” said Ramesh Rajah of India Coffee Trust.  It is in this regard that coffee-making gadgets are playing a big role, he added.

Overall coffee consumption in the country is pegged around 1-1.1 lakh tonne. As per Coffee Board estimates, the cafe component will be around 20 per cent, with higher consumption in urban markets taking the organised cafe market in India to up to around Rs 1,100 crore.

However, farmers still see pressure escalating as rising input costs and falling prices make it unviable.