June 5, 2021
Tata Consumer products Ltd (TCPL) has launched a premium roasted and ground coffee under the Sonnets brand aiming urban and increasingly discerning coffee drinkers in India.
This is TCPL’s first venture into the direct-to-consumer market and it will let the company tap a increasing number of buyers shopping online, especially during the pandemic when most are cooped indoors and unable to visit cafes and coffee shops.
Sonnets will be exclusively sold online, for now.
Puneet Das, president, packaged beverages, India and South Asia, TCPL said that they have been focusing on growing our business especially in beverages, that is, tea and coffee. As part of the focus on the coffee portfolio—which in India is largely instant filter coffee—the idea was how we keep introduce innovations. Sonnets is a step in that direction, targeted at a more discerning consumer looking for freshly ground roasted coffee delivered to their doorstep.
Sonnets are obtained from Tata Coffee’s plantations in South India. India’s in-home coffee market mainly includes of instant coffee and filter coffee powder from companies such as Nestlé India, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and TCPL.
The launch of Sonnets will pit TCPL against new-age coffee brands such as Dope Coffee Roasters, Blue Tokai and Araku who specialize in selling premium roasted and ground coffee. These brands have found favour among coffee connoisseurs in India.
The premium coffee market is pegged at ₹70 crore to ₹100 crore a year. The market is undergoing an evolution in terms of coffee drinking. The launch of the new brand will allow TCPL to grow its portfolio as it tries to grab a bigger share of India’s packaged foods and beverages market, he added.
Last year, TCPL said it will acquire PepsiCo’s stake in NourishCo Beverages Ltd—a joint venture between the two firms.