Brew beginnings!

As the winter looms, hot beverages in the morning take on a new meaning to consumers; the choice of brands and offerings is wider than ever, so it is essential to be up to speed on where the coffee industry will take us next, writes Doug Whelan

Brand Central

Read More: Coffee

17 September 2018

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It goes without saying that Irish consumers are bona fide connoisseurs of coffee. In fact, whether it is in the home, instore or on-the-move, there is a level of expectation that means anything less than the best will see customers vote with their feet. For that reason, it’s essential to provide the best offerings, and brands have stepped up to the plate in a big way to provide that offering, either as a takeaway offering or take-home brand.

Meanwhile, a renewed focus on sustainability and the environment taking place across the entire industry has also reached into the coffee segment, with recycling, composting and more waste reduction measures taking the forefront of retailers and manufacturers’ initiatives.

Brands are currently focusing on both of these elements in order to provide quality where it counts and conscientiousness where it matters.

Coffee capsule connoisseur

Formed in 2015, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) is the biggest and fastest growing coffee business in Irish retail*. With coffee capsule offerings such as Tassimo and L’Or Aluminium Capsules, it is at the forefront of all the coffee capsule growth in Ireland.

In 2015, the coffee category was worth less than €95m. However, just three short years on, the category is now worth €105m approximately, with the extra €10m growth coming solely from the ‘coffee capsule’ sub-category. It has now surpassed the tea category in size and has become one of the most personalised categories in FMCG.

A few years ago, Irish kitchen countertops may have had a kettle, a toaster and tucked away in the cupboard, a jar of coffee. Now, 20%** of all Irish households have a coffee machine on their kitchen counter and these machines are the single source of this recent €10m growth of ‘coffee capsules’. The explosion in coffee machine sales is fuelling the single biggest hot beverage opportunity for Irish retailers; selling ‘coffee capsules’ to fill these machines.

Brands like Nespresso and Tassimo are leading this growth charge.

L’Or Capsules, which launched in May 2017 represent the first aluminium capsule available in supermarkets that fit the Nespresso coffee machine and the brand has quickly been established as the biggest*** Nespresso compatible capsules sold in supermarkets.

The exciting news for retailers is that more and more innovative NPD keeps coming to these segments. L’Or 20pk capsules and Kenco 10pk Capsules (Aluminium) were both launched in July 2018. There has also been exciting product extensions to the Tassimo range such as the Tassimo Baileys Latte Macchiato and the upcoming launch of the Tassimo Baileys Hot Chocolate variant which will continue to fulfil consumer demand for “coffee shop quality” at home.

Equally, retailers have supported the €10m of growth in the last few years by expanding the Tassimo range from two SKUs to 15 today, with brands like Costa, Kenco, L’Or, Cadburys chocolate and Baileys. They have also supported the L’Or Aluminium Capsules from launch with five SKUs in May 2018 to now having ten SKUs in Ireland.

The coffee capsules market remains the number one opportunity. It is fully expected that coffee machine sales will continue to grow until at least one in every two households have a machine on their countertop.

JDE has been to the forefront of innovation and this includes the Tassimo Coffee Machine which has Intellibrew technology, whereby the machine automatically scans the barcode on each capsule to obtain the information it needs to prepare anybody’s favourite drink: the amount of water, the brewing time, plus the optimum temperature all at the touch ofone button. Tassimo is leading the way with 30.6% growth in machine sales this year to date.

*(Source: Kantar Worldpanel, MAT July 2018)

**(Source: GFK MAT July 2018)

***(Source: Allegra Coffee Report, Ireland 2017)

Bewley’s 100% compostable and 100% recyclable coffee cups will allow consumers to reduce their own impact on the environment while still enjoying those essential hot beverages

Eco-future

As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Bewley’s is aiming to make it easier than ever for customers to be environmentally friendly, with a new range of 100% recyclable and 100% compostable cups. Since 2007, Bewley’s has been taking steps to become more sustainable across the business, and this is the latest action intended to help customers reduce their own impact on the environment.

Bewley’s research has shown coffee drinkers are actively looking for ways to use more sustainable products. According to this research, 65% of coffee drinkers state that the environmental issue is important enough that theyand include a compostable lid. They are manufactured in Ireland and can be disposed of in the brown bin found in most homes and many businesses, and are then fully broken down once taken to industrial composting.

Key Waste, Thornton’s and Panda waste management companies in Ireland have committed to recycling both versions of the cups.

Honest options

In June of this year, Frank and Honest launched its new product range, allowing customers to bring their favourite coffee home as well as enjoying it on-the-go. With uncompromising quality, Frank and Honest 100% Arabica blend of Brazilian and Colombian coffee is now available as Whole Beans, Ground Coffee and Capsules; as a result, coffee fans can go their own route of ground coffee or whole beans (RRP €4.99) or coffee capsules (RRP €3.50).

To build on an already successful launch, Frank and Honest Ground Coffee went on to win a Great Taste Award at this year’s The Great Taste Awards.

The new product range is exclusively available at SuperValu and Centra stores in over 560 locations nationwide. Consumers can find out the handiest place for them to get some Frank and Honest goodness at www.frankandhonest.ie, where there are a host of coffee-making tips to be found also. Frank and Honest Coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified.

You can follow the Frank and Honest story on www.facebook.com/frankandhonest or www.instagram.com/frankandhonestcoffee/.

Can-do coffee

Nescafé Azera Nitro has taken the pre-made coffee concept and added a little extra sparkle, with fascinating results

The latest offering from Nescafé Azera is Nitro; super-smooth, nitrogen-infused coffee in a can. Available in Americano or Latte, Nescafé Azera Nitro combines premium coffee with a touch of nitrogen, for a silky and refreshing brew this summer.

Nitro heralds the next level in coffee experience, combining a unique appearance and taste, along with a memorable sound. Crack open a can and release a rush of nitrogen for a Nitro on-the-go. Or, for ridiculously good-looking coffee, pour into a glass and witness the ‘cascade effect’, whereby nitrogen bubbles flow through rich coffee creating a velvety foam that slowly unfolds to a beautiful crema. The nitrogen infusion creates a rich, creamy-tasting, velvety texture; one sip confirms it tastes as good as it looks.

For simple, good-looking style and substance, try Nitro Americano, a smooth coffee that glides over the taste buds, or for creamy-tasting comfort, try Nitro Latte, the milky alternative with a silky texture.

Nescafé Azera Nitro blends the latest trends with years of expertise to create an innovative and Instagram-worthy coffee. Nitro Americano and Latte are available nationwide in all major retailers (RRP €2.99). Have a great day the Nitro way!

The Urban Sips coffee brand is fair trade coffee originating in Nicaragua, Columbia and Ethiopia, and is exclusive to Barry Group stores

Urban hip

Like all good business ideas, the story of Urban Sips began with an obsession to brew up a seriously good barista style coffee, with an exceptional aroma and flavour that would be unique to the Barry Group.

Urban Sips is a barista style coffee conveniently available from machines in select Costcutter stores nationwide. The beans used are Grade 1 Arabica beansfrom Nicaragua, Columbia and Ethiopia.

These beans combined, produce a blend with an excellent overall body, pronounced aromas and a clean velvety texture. As part of their CSR, the Nicaraguan bean supports the Flores del Café (Women’s Fund Project).

It’s a fair-trade coffee and is produced exclusively by women and helps them get legal titles for their land. These titles enable women to get access to credit and loans to support their families.

Along with this pledge to support the Flores del Café (Women’s Fund Project), from day one the Barry Group has ensured that the cups are compostable and the lids recyclable. This reinforces the pledge to act as responsible retailers, reducing the growing amount of waste produced.

After witnessing the astounding interest and steady growth of the Urban Sips brand, the Barry Group has decided to expand Urban Sips and aims to have it in 50 stores by the end of this year.

This objective is in response to the growing demand of consumers looking for a high quality coffee that is easily accessible.

Oat and proud!

They say it’s good to try new things. Like wearing more hats or having a go at the high diving board! Or if those seem a bit much, three new dairy free recipes by Innocent are worth a try.

There’s Innocent Hazelnut, made with just four ingredients – roasted hazelnuts, spring water, rice and a touch of sea salt, which is perfect for a hot chocolate. Innocent Oat, made with oats, spring water and sea salt; try it in tea or give it a crack in your coffee. Finally there’s Innocent Almond, made from only three simple ingredients: roasted almonds, spring water and a touch of sea salt. There’s no stabilisers, no gums, and no funny business, and because they are plant based, they are naturally cholesterol and lactose free.

Innocent firmly believes that when it comes to dairy-free drinks, nature knows best. You “oat” to yourself to stock them. The range is currently in the chilled aisle of Dunnes Stores, plus selected Tesco, Eurospar, Fresh and Donnybrook Fair stores. To find out more about innocent’s new dairy-free range, send a mail to howaya@innocentdrinks.ie or call the banana phone on 01-664-4100.

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Read More: Coffee