V.G. Siddhartha was a coffee evangelist, who made coffee an aspirational drink for the Indian youth. The soft-spoken, unassuming and media shy entrepreneur had a very clear vision about Indian coffee.
Even when the Indian and global coffee industry was going through a crisis in the beginning of this century, he saw opportunity for coffee in the country and kept on laying a firm foundation for the growth of the coffee business.
At that stage, he was the only sane voice focusing on what needs to be done to rescue the Indian coffee industry when everyone was overtaken by the crisis.
Support to small growers
Being one of the largest coffee growers in the country, he always advocated support to be extended to the small growers. He was always in the forefront of supporting any activity to promote coffee.
He was very upbeat about the India story. Based on his faith in it, he invested in all verticals of the coffee value chain and pursued the expansion of the coffee business.
I remember when we wanted Cafe Coffee Day to support the India International Coffee Festival 2009 (IICF). While readily agreeing to be the principal sponsor, he only wanted that a one-day event be added exclusively for the small growers of Chikkamagaluru. There he would make the arrangements and wanted us to bring the star international speakers to this extended event. He organised a memorable session at Chikkamagaluru where more than 1,000 small coffee growers participated. But for this, most of them would not have had a chance to be part of IICF and interact with experts.
Similarly, his participation and presentation at the World Coffee Conference at Guatemala in February 2010 was also equally memorable. During most parts of the presentation, he highlighted the opportunities in India as a fast-growing economy before linking it with the bright future for coffee.
Domestic consumption
He firmly believed that increasing the domestic consumption of coffee was absolutely necessary to make the economy of the coffee growers sustainable. He pursued this belief in expanding the coffee business in a manner and scale not seen before.
He not only could dream big for the coffee industry, but also pursued his dreams with passion. His abiding faith in the coffee story linked to the India story inspired many coffee planters who also moved up the value chain. He was a role model to several coffee planters and their children, who became coffee entrepreneurs themselves.
He single-handedly made coffee an aspirational beverage for the youth in the country. By opening Coffee Day outlets in several countries, he made sure that Indian coffee earned recognition in the minds of coffee consumers. Otherwise, our bulk exports would have ended up making Indian coffee lose its identity by the time it reached the consumers.
He was an atypical entrepreneur. He simultaneously established institutes for the training of rural youth and the disabled in the coffee hinterland, and also offered employment to most of them in his expanding coffee business.
He became a household name in the coffee growing Malnad region of Karnataka. Siddhartha endeared himself to all those who he came in contact with. He will be missed by the Indian coffee industry.
(As told to Mini Tejaswi)
(The writer is a former IAS officer and former chairman of the Coffee Board)
