Spokespersons for Bühler told FoodNavigator-Asia that there is a growing demand for coffee production in India that is yet to be fully tapped into.
They added: “The coffee market in India, especially in the South of India, is booming with many small and medium-sized coffee producing companies. These companies are growing fast and we would accompany and support them in their growth with our coffee processing solutions.”
The current coffee consumption pattern in India is significantly lower than other countries, indicating growth potential Bühler said.
India’s per capita consumption of coffee is 85g compared to 4.5kg in France, 4.6kg in Japan and 6kg in America, according to Bühler.
“The coffee market in India is showing a steady growth as coffee becomes a preferred beverage of an increasing proportion of the vast Indian population,” spokespersons added.
All-in-one coffee centre
The new facility, near Bangalore, is a centre that encompasses all aspects of coffee production.
It has roasting and grinding equipment as well as cup tasting and laboratory facilities to analyse the coffee products.
The core unit of the lab is a RoastMaster20 coffee roaster with pneumatic feeding, destining and discharging and the capacity to roast 70kg of green coffee per hour.
“It is clearly an advantage for Bühler to have research and development facilities, an application centre, engineering and manufacturing facilities, as well as sales and customer support all in one place,” spokespersons said.
Bühler said it forms an ideal set-up for manufacturer trials and research and development and marks part of the company’s move to become ‘closer’ to its Indian customers.
Spokespersons said: “Before investing in new process equipment, many customers want to run trials on our equipment and evaluate the end coffee quality. With the new application centre, we are in a position to support our Indian customers in this respect.”
“We offer innovative coffee processing solutions for all type of customers from small to large. But with the coffee application in Bangalore, we currently target small to medium-sized companies,” they added.