Black coffee becoming more colourful

Expanding product range, a growing number of brands, coffee types ”beyond espresso” gaining ground and more knowledgeable consumers – coffee distributors say they hardly feel the recession! In the past 3-4 years coffee consumption in Hungary moved toward higher quality products. However, Judit Mikó, marketing manager at Sara Lee Hungary Zrt.’s Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems Division is of the opinion that the crisis holds back the improvement of domestic coffee culture, for instance people drink their coffee at home and not in cafés. Andrea Szabó, Tchibo’s marketing director emphasizes the increase in whole bean coffee sales, which did not entail an increased product selection. In shaping consumer demand, bar and café owners play a significant role, creating a market for quality products. Sensing more coffee-savvy expectations from coffee drinkers, Sara Lee Hungary Zrt. introduced Piazza d’Oro Forza, a comfortable and elegant brand for those restaurateurs who wish to meet very high consumer demands. Tchibo uses cash&carry stores to reach the HoReCa sector, focusing on espresso specialties, with hopes of Nespresso also improving in quality this year, emphasizes marketing manager Gabriella Csvórics. She sees a positive trend in the domestic expansion of large international café brands, representing mainly the American type of coffee consumption. Staff at McDonald’s cafés participate in barista trainings organised by Sara Lee. Nespresso welcomes the quality improvement in fast food chain coffees and uses a similar approach, launching their long-term AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program. Although espresso and cappuccino remain strong, more and more people drink a Latte Macchiato or a Caffé Latte. Coffee drinks with milk show an upward trend – says Judit Mikó. Andrea Szabó shares this opinion, telling that in Tchibo stores they also sell coffee specialties; they even developed and sell a special coffee machine with an aroma capsule system, called Caffissimo, by which specialties can easily be made. Convenience products like POD are another trend of development, this type of packaging is perfect for places with a relatively lower level of coffee consumption. According to Judit Mikó, these are worth using in coffee categories which are less well-known in Hungary, for instance Sara Lee’s decaffeinated coffee is one of these. At the end of February Nespresso launched its CitiZ coffee machine line of 3 units. They also increased the number of available capsules from 12 to 16. Last year they also introduced new HoReCa products . Douwe Egberts Cafitesse is a solution for hotels, event organisers and offices. Using this system, a quality espresso can be made in 4 seconds, at the press of a button. It is a completely closed system offering a clean working environment.