The government-run Coffee Board has gone the e-commerce route to promote pure Indian coffees. Recently, the Board began marketing about six variants of pure coffees under the India Coffee and Coffees of India brands, including GI-tagged coffees from Coorg & Chikkamagaluru, on the e-commerce platform Amazon.
It is also planning to launch these products on platforms such as Flipkart and Meesho. According to Coffee Board officials, the main goal of this latest initiative is to popularise pure coffees across the country and increase visibility so that farmers' share of consumer spend increases.
"We want to carve out a niche for pure coffees, which is why we've gotten into processing and packing and have placed these products on Amazon while discussions with Flipkart and other platforms are ongoing," said NN Narendra, Director of Finance, Coffee Board.
"Our goal is to promote, not to profit," he explained. The Board, primarily responsible for developing the country's coffee sector, has kept the margins as low as possible to cover operational costs.
The Board, which has a roasting and grinding facility at its Bengaluru headquarters, is shipping out pure coffees based on orders received. The Coffee Board's Quality Division tests the quality of these premium coffees. The Coffee of India Brand also has FSSAI certification.
The Board will obtain GI-tagged coffee from growers in the respective regions while ensuring quality. While the GI-registered Coorg Arabica Coffee and GI-registered Chikkamagaluru Arabica Coffee are currently available through e-commerce platforms, the Board anticipates that other GI-registered coffees from Araku Valley and other locations will be available soon.
Coffee is a major commodity in India's agri-export basket. Approximately two-thirds of the nearly 3.5 lakh tonnes of coffee grown in the country is exported, with the remainder consumed in the domestic market.
