STiR coffee and tea magazine

26 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2020 (October / November) Moreno Faina, director of Illycaffè's University of Coffee. Roasted coffee beans, ready to find their way into Illy's blend. Credit: Illycaffè S.p.A. Credit: Illycaffè S.p.A. enue in 2019. But the company's main earner (79% in 2019) is private label manufac- turing. "As a private label producer, we seize new opportunities, like, for example, in the case of 'Consuelo,' a brand that we exclusively developed for Amazon, and which we now successfully sell all over Europe," explained Cioffi. The strategy helped Coind gain a solid foothold in 20 countries with its private label manufacturing business. Meanwhile, Illycaffè is following a very different path to success. The company not only markets just one single blend worldwide but it also exclusively uses arabica beans for its creation, with no robusta proportion whatsoever. And, as we have already ex- plored at the beginning of this article, this approach actually only reinforces the notion that a "typical Italian coffee blend" as such doesn't exist in the generic sense. Histori- cally speaking, Italy's coffee culture originated in the main ports of Genoa, Naples, and Trieste, where coffee bean shipments arrived. "The composition of coffee blends was dependent on the… availability of coffee lots in port warehouses, as well as the relative freshness of the product itself," said Faina. Illy, which not coincidentally is headquartered in Trieste, today purchases arabica from 60 coffee-growing regions in 20 countries, which then are transformed into the iconic 100% arabica Illy blend. Faina divulged that this blend incorporates nine care- fully selected arabica components. The blend recipe is dynamic and variable, being constantly adjusted according to the organoleptic characteristics of the various coffee batches used "to always obtain the same familiar Illy taste." With the aim of enhancing particular aromatic components, this perpetually fine-tuned blend is marketed world- wide under three roasting profiles: Classico, Intenso, and Forte (see table). Illy's single-blend, three-profile strategy has panned out beautifully for the com- pany, of course. Together with its competitor Lavazza, it is perhaps the internationally best known Italian coffee brand. From Alaska to Zanzibar, Argentina to Zimbabwe, Illy has become a fixture in the HORECA sector as well as in countless offices and private households. While Faria declined to disclose concrete figures, he stated that, "Every day more than 8 million cups [of Illy coffee] are consumed in over 140 coun- tries in the finest cafés, restaurants, hotels, and in offices and homes." Looking outward As far as future business development and expansion are concerned, looking outward by focusing on global markets certainly is the only sensible avenue for large companies like Illy and Coind. With an estimated 800 roasteries in a country roughly the size of the U.S. state of Arizona, domestic competition within Italy is tense. "For us, the key point in the next few years certainly is going to be pushing international sales," said Coind's Cioffi. "Last year, our exports have grown by more than 50%. And within the next three years we are aiming at doubling our export volume once again," he elaborated, also pointing out that Coind has invested €20 million in the past three years, primarily on single-serve capsule technology." It is clear that each company must find its own strategy to remain competitive; and for us that is private label manufacturing." Illy's Faina likewise confirmed that "competition among roasting companies in Italy is obviously very high." But he also insisted that this was foremost driven by the sheer density of "single roasteries in a provincial, regional, interregional, and national context." De-facto competition was, thus, not only created among companies that followed a similar geographical strategy, but also their marketing choices targeting the HORECA, commercial office, as well as home use sectors. Yet very few roasters com- manded complete presence in all geographical areas and market sectors. Price was another strong factor in the strategic choices that competing coffee roasters make, as well as the level of services and benefits they extend especially in the HORECA the- ater. "But the subject is extremely complex and would warrant an adequate in-depth study," Faina concluded. Not that Illy has too much to worry about, though. With Faina describing Illy as "the world's most global coffee brand," it is quite apparent that the company has long ago spread far beyond its home country. Although Faina readily revealed that Italy still remains the company's most important national market, Illy products enjoy an extraordinarily widespread representation in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and, further down the road, the United States and Canada. And although Italians continue consuming gigantic amounts of coffee every single day of the year, a quick glance Barista serving a cup of Coind's "Caffè Carracci."

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