The Hindu Business Line : Coffee Board opts for new identity

THE Coffee Board has unveiled a new brand identity package for the industry under the umbrella brand of "Coffees of India" — colourful logos in the Madhubani style of art depicting Indian coffee as typically shade-grown and handpicked.

The board has assigned a particular logo for each of the 13 coffee growing areas depicting an animal, bird or flower unique to the place. The board has also taken the merchandising route to popularise the logos through T-shirts, posters, post cards, stamps, and bookmarks.

The new logo was formally launched by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, at an exporters' award function of the board.

The logo strategy is a part of the board's attempt to fight the current bearish trend in the market by building a brand image for Indian coffee. With Vietnam's entry into the field and Brazil's devaluation of its real, India is no longer a low cost producer, said Mr Ramesh Rajah, President of the Exporters Association, said.

The Indian International Coffee Festival, held for the first time this year, was also a part of the same strategy.

Even though exports for the year 2001-02 have dipped in terms of volumes, value and unit realisation over the previous year, the exercise to "raise the profile of Indian coffee in the global market" has paid off, said Ms Lakshmi Venkatachalam, Chairperson, Coffee Board. "There has been a perceptible change in the image of Indian coffee," she said.

Also, volumes of speciality coffee exported from India have jumped from 4,197 tonnes in 99-00 to 7,541 tonnes in 01-02, said Mr Nitin Gokarn, Secretary, Coffee Board. Speciality coffee is characterised by high quality, consistency, some branding and in the long run a premium on prices.

Besides, India has been chosen to be "portrait country" in the Speciality Coffee Association of Amercia's event in Boston in April 2003, and "producer country" in an event in Costa Rica in October 2003, he added.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
Comment on this article to BLFeedback@thehindu.co.in

Stories in this Section
A scene at anthurium garden

Focus on quality exports, mango growers told

Plea to lift port curbs on rubber imports

Rubber picks up

Sugar trade split on buffer stock allocation

Gold poised higher

Rabi oilseeds crop seen down

Coffee Board opts for new identity

Poultry exporters may have to wait for freight sops

ICE pepper futures may turn cold on lack of online facility

Pepper slips on ample supply, weak demand

`Kissan Samman Week' begins today

India follows Argentina — Exports food, nurtures hunger

Panel moots more freedom for co-ops