The coffee industry in Karnataka credits V.G. Siddhartha for elevating a common man’s drink like coffee to the status of a lifestyle beverage not only in upmarket urban areas but even along highways cutting through countryside.
His company’s retail outlets serve to refresh the coffee aficionados looking for a meet up in the cities as well as the travel-weary passengers on the highways.
“Coffee is not just filter coffee now. Mr. Siddhartha gave an international flavour to coffee through value additions. He also expanded the market for coffee,” said Vishwanath, Organising Secretary, Karnataka Growers’ Federation.
Mr. Siddhartha is also seen as an ambassador of Indian coffee across the globe. “If anybody talks about Indian coffee anywhere across the world, what comes to their mind is Café Coffee Day,” Mr. Vishwanath said adding that nobody had promoted Indian coffee across the globe like Mr. Siddhartha did.
Apart from his sheer brilliance and innovation as an entrepreneur, Mr. Siddhartha has ensured stability in the coffee market, according to growers. “If there is a strong buyer, the prices will never crash. And Mr. Sidhartha, despite being in all verticals of the coffee business, always ensured that a grower gets the best of whatever the market can give,” Mr. Vishwanath said.
Mr. Siddhartha was present in the market not just as a retailer, but also as a grower himself as procurer of coffee.
“He was one of the major players, who had a say in the price of coffee in the domestic market. The price quoted by Café Coffee Day was considered to be the benchmark price for all curers purchasing coffee,” he said. All the coffee curers would align themselves on the price quoted by his company.
Mr. Vishwanath said Mr. Siddhartha’s practices were a learning model to everybody in the business. “For many youngsters, he was a source of inspiration and a role model. It is because of him that there is so much awareness about coffee,” he said while adding his absence will be sorely felt in the market.
