Marley Coffee takes on Europe
Published:Wednesday | August 22, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
Jammin' Java, which trades as Marley Coffee, has added Austria to its distribution markets and continues to expand into new markets, but the company says underperforming crops in Jamaica has forced it to rely increasingly on blended coffee products to serve its markets.
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee has fallen short of production targets, the coffee board has confirmed.
Total coffee production fell from 8,099 tonnes of cherry to 6,600 tonnes at the close of the current crop in July 2012, some of it due to abandoned farms, drought, as well as the berry borer disease.
"There is only a limited amount of supply of 100 per cent Jamaica Blue Mountain, so in regards, to supply we will have to focus on JBM blends to continue growth," said Balram Vaswani, chief executive officer of Marley Coffee Jamaica.
Vaswani describes Jammin' Java, which is a public company based in North America, as a sister operation to Marley Coffee Jamaica, a private operation. Both have shareholders in common and distribute under the Marley Coffee brand name.
The product is described by the company as a sustainably grown, ethically farmed and artisan roasted gourmet coffee.
The Jamaican operation is incorporated as Marley Coffee Estate Limited, according to Companies Office filings.
Marley Coffee trades in Blue Mountain coffee but Jammin' Java also sells other brands and does roasting and packaging, according to Vaswani.
He said the Jamaica blend is a minimum of 30 per cent Blue Mountain and other Caribbean coffees.
The blend is priced "slightly higher than our competitors, as we have spent a lot of time on our packaging, marketing, and the type of beans we use in each of our JBM series, like our Top Rankin which we only use Grade One beans," he said.
Marley's Grade One roasted coffee retails for US$49.99 to US$59.99, "depending on whether it's being sold online versus premium grocery outlets".
AUSTRIA INVASION
Jammin' Java entered Austria two weeks ago through a partnership with the Sharf Group for placement of its organically grown product.
The deal with Sharf follows agreements with MaxiCoffee.com, the online French coffee seller, and Selfridges in London, said Vaswani, adding that the company's entry in the UK market happened three months ago.
There is, he said, the potential for Marley Coffee to grow at a very fast pace throughout Austria.
"Our partners, the Sharf Group, have rolled out a unique experience for their customers — who are traditionally espresso drinkers — to experience our Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee presented using a 'Chemex', where the person can make the perfect cup at his table," Vaswani said.
"Sharf Coffee machines and Sharf Coffee are involved in the production and development of high-quality coffee machines, and are also owners of the Coffeeshop Company — based on a franchise concept — as a corporate brand which is now represented with 227 shops in 22 countries," he said.
He declined to comment on the investment in market expansion but said the company works with the distributor on marketing and promotions. Generally, its marketing expenditure amounts to "a percentage of sales" per distributor.
FUTURE PLANS
"In the next 12 months, the allocations we had normally set aside for Japan will now be going to Canada, US and Europe," he told Wednesday Business, signalling the markets on which the company is focussed.
Marley Coffee next plans to enter Germany, Switzerland and Russia "in the very near future" under its partnership with Sharf Group.
Vaswani notes that even though the recession continues in Europe, there is usually a market for quality products. The Grade One Blue Mountain coffee sales continues to grow monthly, he adds.
Marley Coffee line is primarily packaged in Jamaica, but for some products, for example, k-cups, packaging is outsourced to where the technology is available.
"There are no packaging plants in Jamaica for pods or k-cups. A k-cup or real cup is a capsule that provides one perfect cup of coffee. These are outsourced to the United States and Canada," said Vaswani.
Jammin' Java and Marley Coffee were founded by Rohan Marley, who Vaswani said is the single largest shareholder in both companies.