PROFILE Buencafé
Making the impossible possible SENSORIA BY BUENCAFÉ REINVENTS THE EXPERIENCE OF ENJOYING COFFEE AT HOME AS DEMAND FOR PREMIUM SOLUBLE COFFEE SOLUTIONS CONTINUES TO RISE. Buencafé’s sales reached US$160 million by the end of 2020.
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he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people drink coffee. Not only are they making it themselves at home, but they also expect it to match the quality cafés offer. While these trends have influenced all or most coffee product categories, instant or soluble coffee remains one of the simplest and most common ways people can make themselves coffee in their own kitchen. According to soluble coffee producer Buencafé, the premiumisation of and demand for instant coffee has only gone up since the start of the pandemic. “Our freeze-dried soluble coffee is not only high in quality, but also extremely versatile. Throughout 2020, we have observed a growing interest in premium soluble coffee and coffee concentrates, as both standalone products and ingredients in the premium food and beverage market. This includes concentrates used in RTD beverages, syrups, and more,” says Andrés
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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2021
Cruz, Research & Development Director at Buencafé. “Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global coffee supply chain, during the first half of 2020, we experienced the best growth in our history.” Buencafé’s sales reached US$160 million by the end of the year, a 10 per cent increase versus 2019. Cruz says this is largely thanks to Buencafé immediately implementing safety measures following the onset of the pandemic, meaning the factory never had to cease operations. “We quickly recognised that coffee consumption never really decreased during the pandemic – it just changed. We adapted to satisfy a new, emerging demand for home coffee consumption,” he adds. “Within our 10 per cent increase in sales, we saw particular spikes in private label B2B products for both wholesale and retail – our coffee concentrate sales, for example, grew by 70 per cent. This is because consumers are increasingly seeking quality, convenience, and sustainability in their coffee. Our innovation ticks all three of those boxes.” In 2019, the soluble coffee plant rolled out Sensoria by Buencafé, a suite of innovative multi-stage technologies and processes, such as early aroma recovery and dynamic extraction, allowed Buencafé to expand its portfolio and enhance the quality of each offering. “By using these techniques, we seek to preserve the coffee’s attributes throughout all stages of the process and deliver them, intact, to the end consumer,” Cruz says. “This means adhering to rigorous quality standards from farm to cup, using 100 per cent Colombian
