With the intent of working directly with farmers and creating an impact on the ground level, SLAY Coffee today announced a strategic collaboration with one of the coffee FPO, Arehalli Biccod Farmer Producer Organisation. As a young 3-year old brand, SLAY already has a significant share of the total coffee consumed in the domestic market as on date. The collaboration will enable more than 300 farmers to directly supply their coffee produce to the brand and enhance the quality of their produce through technology, training and quality control support.
Based in Arehalli, Sakleshpur, Karnataka, Arehalli Biccod Farmer Producer Organisation consists of more than 300 farmers and with a cumulative coffee yield of 3000 MT of coffee every year.
Speaking on the collaboration, Chaitanya Chitta, Co-Founder, SLAY Coffee said, “This is a truly momentous occasion for us as a brand as this FPO collaboration gives us the ability to directly work with the farmers and coffee growers. As a brand, we benefit from access to some of the best coffees that the region produces which will further elevate the end experience for our customers. More importantly, it also gives an opportunity to us as a brand to create a positive impact within the farmer ecosystem through a variety of initiatives and investments.”
Under the collaboration, SLAY Coffee will work closely with the farmer members of the FPO to help improve both the quality of their produce and the yield by bringing the latest technologies and know-how. It will ensure farmers get their due by paying a significant premium compared to the market prices for their yield. This is achieved by SLAY Coffee working directly with the farmers and eliminating the additional procurement layers in between. The coffee start-up will recognise and showcase farmers that enable a great cup of coffee for the customers. SLAY Coffee will also set up a state-of-the-art coffee lab with a focus on testing, training and quality control.
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SLAY sources premium coffee beans directly from farms in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Its Signature blend is made with 100 per cent Arabica beans while its proprietary blend SLAY-X is a celebration of Indian Robusta beans. The blend has the highest caffeine content among Indian coffees. All SLAY Coffee blends are roasted in small batches and the coffee is ground fresh upon order and handcrafted by skilled Baristas. The brand recently launched its first experience centre in Koramangala, Bengaluru.
Quick brief about Indian coffee
India is the 7th largest producer of coffee in the world and the 5th largest exporter with a total production of 3.5 lakh metric tonnes.
Out of this coffee produced, 3.1 lakh metric tonnes was exported and only 12 per cent was consumed in the domestic market. SLAY Coffee has a one per cent share of the total coffee consumed in the domestic market as of now.
There are close to four lakh coffee growers/farmers out of which 99 per cent are small growers/farmers.
The coffee-growing areas are largely concentrated primarily in the regions of Chikmagalur, Madikeri, Saklehspur in Karnataka and certain areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
