Luxury Indian coffee in high demand

David Howells

08/12/2011 13:26:45

Export markets for premium Indian tea and coffee are soaring, reports suggest.

As more consumers around the world find the effects of the downturn wane, premium products have begun to see a rise in favour - with people opting for better quality goods. The most recent consumable to witness this trend is Indian coffee, with premium beans driving growth more rapidly than any other.

Figures revealed by market research category IMRB has found that more consumers are looking for premium beans to put in their coffee machine than ever; growing in both reach and volume in the period of January - October 2011.

The results are also true of tea; registering an 11 per cent growth in the premium sector compared to just four per cent for regular.

Speaking to indiatimes.com of the results, group business director at IMRB, Manoj Menon, explained: “The volumes in the premium segment are going up in both tea and coffee as consumers are not restraining from upgrading despite the talk of the slowdown.

“Coffee is growing very well as the in-home consumption reach has now gone up to 16 per cent with a healthy growth rate of seven per cent.”

The rising demand for luxury coffee brands has also seen shares in such firms rise, with Business Today reporting that coffee firms are amongst the top ten of the BSE 500 companies that have returned between 60 - 150 per cent over the period between January - October 2011.

This growth, it is claimed, has made these companies “immune” to global markets; keeping them buoyant in times of both boom and bust.