Retail launch brews for certified-organic Zolito coffee

Coffee Beanery yesterday announced plans to penetrate the local retail market for organic coffee.

Managing director Akkaphan Leevutinun said the company's Zolito certified-organic coffee, to be sold both in fresh-coffee-cup and filter-bag packages, would be launched by the end of the year. The products will be available in supermarkets and convenience stores.

He said the move was in line with the company's strategy to create a niche market that has less competition than that for mainstream coffees.

He added that Coffee Beanery had launched Zolito in foreign markets at the beginning of the year.

"We are currently considering the local prices of our Zolito organic-coffee products, which will be one and a half to two times higher than normal instant fresh-coffee products," he said.

Zolito coffee has been accredited by an international certification body, whose local branch is Bioagricert (Thailand), with regard to its fresh coffee beans, which have been produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

The products do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents or chemical food additives, he said.

Zolito organic coffee beans have been planted at Doi Luang in Chiang Rai province under local contract-farming agreements.

Coffee Beanery has been the pioneer in Thailand's coffee industry for three generations. Almost 60 years ago, the company began the business by roasting and selling beans to local coffee houses, and later started exporting Thai green coffee beans to Europe, North America and Asia.

"We initially launched Zolito certified organic-coffee beans in 250-gram packages locally in 2006 to tap mainly food service and general clients. We claim to be the first player in Thailand penetrating the certified organic-coffee segment," Akkaphan said.

With the launch of the product in both fresh-coffee-cup and filter-bag packages, the company will be able to penetrate the local retail market fully, he said.

"We expect to increase the sales contribution of our certified organic-coffee business from currently less than 10 per cent to 20 per cent within the next two to three years."

Coffee Beanery has researched and developed a number of coffees and related products. It currently has four coffee brands: Zolito, Sovente, Taramaya and Eagle Coffee.

"In addition to Zolito, which will focus on the mass retail market, we have launched Sovente to focus on the catering business. Taramaya, meanwhile, will be focused as a premium brand mainly for export markets," Akkaphan said.

The company recently launched its latest brand, Eagle Coffee, which is a Thai traditional-style mixed coffee. The brand will allow individual investors to own coffee kiosks under a franchise system, without any extra payment for loyalty and franchise fees.

About 50 Eagle Coffee kiosks will be opened by the end of this year.

Akkaphan said the company also wanted to increase the contribution of its export business, which currently accounts for about 20 per cent of overall sales. Zolito will be the company's flagship brand for penetrating overseas markets.

Zolito coffee is already sold in many markets, including Norway, Australia, Taiwan, mainland China and Israel.

"We want to increase the ratio of exports to 50 per cent within the next three to five years. We will also expand our exports to new potential markets such the Middle East," he said.