Harish Bijoor, senior general manager (marketing), at Consolidated Coffee Ltd (an arm of Tata Tea Ltd), Bangalore, in an interview with The Financial Express, spoke on vital issues facing the domestic coffee marketers and the prospects of the commodity in the liberalised era.

Excerpts from the interview:

On the southward rally of domestic coffee consumption. A major reason for the decline in consumption is that teenagers are opting out of coffee as their choice of drink. Tea and a wide variety of carbonated drinks seem to offer them much more in terms of aspirational comfort. Moreover, coffee is fast becoming a drink of theold.

On the marketing strategy to bring the customers back to the fore.

As the young consumer is opting out of coffee as a drink, a generic campaign for coffee consumption is a basic necessity. The campaign will ensure a revival of interest through the use of a multi-media effort involving television, press, radio and local market-level promotion activities.

Alternate distribution strategies, especially through the means of multi-level-marketing techniques and vending machines for both packed coffees and the liquid brew, already offer coffee as a competing beverage of the mass in India. There is also a need to bring in a variety of new product concepts into the country.

On the areas that should be identified for aggressive coffee retailing.

While the northern and eastern parts of the country are prime areas for the active propagation of soluble coffee varieties, the south and the west are areas where the roast and ground coffee segment can be promoted to good advantage, both in terms of volume andvalue possibilities. The huge population base and the extremely low per capita consumption of fluids provide an opportunity for growth for a large number of players in the industry. The vast rural markets in the country, numbering 5,57,149 village markets with a population base below 10,000 people each, offer a major opportunity to penetrate. While coffee consumption in south India is put at 240 gms per capita, the rest of the country drinks a mere 3.4 gms, signifying that coffee usage in that area is only one cup per person a year.

On the change in taste and preference of the new millennium coffee drinker in the country.

The new millennium coffee drinker is going to be a seeker of comfort and convenience. Soluble coffee may or may not be the answer, as the search is on for the authentic taste of roast and ground coffee. Apart from offerings like coffee-bags, it would be prudent to promote coffee percolator and filter device aggressively for a large portion of the Indian market, which are stillhalf-unaware and half-willing to try these devices. This would mean putting money upfront in the short term to reap benefits later on in the years to come.

On whether price is a factor causing decline in coffee consumption.The Indian consumer is crying hoarse about coffee price. A lack of attention by all marketers alike to promote the category with vigour is making coffee a fuddy-duddy drink for the old. In India, a cup of coffee costs half the price of a 300ml bottle of a carbonated soft drink beverage. The carbonated drink is branded vigorously and promoted with mega bucks. The consumer does not complain when he or she forks out the price demanded. When it comes to coffee, however, any excuse is enough to opt out altogether or consume less of the beverage.