Cafedirect brews growth plan

Cafedirect brews growth plan

Mr Kokkalis and Mrs Minter show off the goods, which they say will win over customers with their unique attributes. PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP
Mr Kokkalis and Mrs Minter show off the goods, which they say will win over customers with their unique attributes. PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP

Cafedirect, a British premium organic coffee brand, wants to double the size of its business in Thailand over the next five years.

The company sees a huge opportunity to grow its business here because the market is large and premium coffee makes up about 30% of Thailand's instant coffee market, said Olivia Minter, senior national account manager, who visited Thailand last Friday.

Moreover, Thai coffee drinkers are more accepting of imported coffee brands than European customers, and organic consciousness among Thai customer is rising, she said.

"Thailand is our third-largest market in Asia after Singapore and Hong Kong," Mrs Minter said. "Our sales are still small, at only 8 million baht last year, but they keep growing."

The premium coffee market in Thailand is valued at 1.2 billion baht, with a growth rate of 20-30% a year. Nescafe controls a 42% market share in the Thai premium market.

Thailand's overall coffee market is estimated at more than 36 billion baht in total value, of which 20 billion is the instant coffee segment.

Georgios Kokkalis, production manager and quality grader, said that while strong coffee brands are already competing in Thailand, Cafedirect expects to stand out as an alternative because of the uniqueness of the product.

It's the first coffee brand with the Fairtrade Mark in Britain, and 80% of grower organisations are shareholders. The company partners with 38 grower organisations across 12 countries, directly involving about 280,000 growers.

There are close to 10 imported premium coffee brands available in the Thai market, but the company says Cafedirect is the only organic imported premium decaf coffee brand available in Thailand.

Mrs Minter said the company plans to increase its sales in Thailand by sourcing Fairtrade coffee locally, roasting its coffee in Thailand to reduce import tax, launching Thailand-specific products such as 3-in-1 coffee to meet demand, and moving beyond traditional retail customers to food service, hotels and offices.

Last Friday, the company announced a repositioning of its brand image to be modern and reflect its organisational ethics. Cafedirect also added two new premium instant freeze-dried coffee products.

"We expect to grow our sales at a double-digit rate in Thailand or, if possible, double our size here over the next five years," Mrs Minter said.

Cafedirect expanded into Thailand in 2012, with its products available at supermarkets like Central Food Hall Gourmet Market and Villa Market. Renova Foods Co Ltd is Cafedirect's distributor.

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