Coca-Cola HBC Hungary has become one of the TOP 3 companies in the domestic premium coffee market in less than three years

Coca-Cola HBC Hungary increased its coffee sales by 57 percent last year, and its coffee sales revenue increased by 50 percent. Great performance of the company is undoubtedly partly due to the launch of the Caffè Vergnano brand in the Hungarian market. Coca-Cola HBC has become one of the TOP 3 companies in the Hungarian coffee market in both the HoReCa sector and the premium coffee retail market in just a few years, said László Békefi General Manager on Thursday at a joint press conference with Carolina Vergnano, CEO of Casa del Caffè Vergnano.

Coca-Cola HBC Group acquired a 30% stake in the family-owned Casa del Caffè Vergnano two years ago, in October 2021, and the Hungarian subsidiary was one of the first within the 29-member counting Group that started the exclusive distribution of Caffè Vergnano premium Italian coffee products. Over the past two years, the company has worked to promote the exceptional Italian espresso coffee culture to the Hungarian consumers and to educate its hospitality customers on how to make premium quality coffee drinks.

Premium coffee products of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary are currently available in more than 2,400 retail stores and at more than 2,200 hospitality outlets across the country. The number of restaurants and cafés selling Caffè Vergnano coffee exceeds 300, while the brand's coffee specialties are currently available in 200 retail outlets.

The premium coffee market, which accounts for 9% of the total retail market, is dominated by bean and capsule products. In this segment, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary increased its coffee sales by 57 percent last year, and its coffee sales revenue grew by 50 percent, partly due to the launch of Caffè Vergnano.

At the press event, László Békefi, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, pointed out that "downward buying" due to price increases can also be observed in the coffee market, but the premium segments (beans and capsules), where the company is present with its products, are less affected: despite the price increase, consumption has not fallen significantly.  For consumers of the premium coffee segment, factors such as quality, origin, coffee experience and sustainability continue to have a strong retention power. In the longer term, he expects that premiumization will continue to be a strong driver of the category and that consumers will continue to be willing to choose premium quality products, so the demand for the highest quality bean and capsule coffees will not decrease.

The total Hungarian coffee market is worth nearly HUF 200 billion, and according to the latest data from Nielsen, a total of 17.8 thousand tons of beans, ground, instant and capsule coffee were sold in the retail coffee market over the previous year, worth approximately HUF 86.3 billion. This means that coffee sales revenue on the market increased by 18 percent on a yearly basis, while the amount of coffee sold decreased by 10 percent. Of all coffee segments, only capsule coffee sales volume increased during the period under review.

As for consumption habits on the Hungarian market, 54% of Hungarians drink at least one cup of coffee a day, 66% of consumers stick to their favorite brand, and the most important aspects are taste, quality and price of coffee, according to Nielsen data from this summer. Ground coffee continues to be the most popular product on the domestic market, with distributors selling around 7.8 thousand tons over the period under review, 11 percent less than a year earlier. Sales volume of beans coffee has also decreased, but by a considerably smaller amount, by 3 percent to 3.7 thousand tons - while sales of Nespresso compatible capsule coffee did not decrease but has risen by 4 percent to 525 tons.

With the launch of the Caffè Vergnano brand, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary was able to expand its portfolio with premium coffees in order to offer the right product for each consumption occasion that arises, regardless of the time of the day, in line with its business strategy as a total beverage company. Caffè Vergnano and Costa Coffee products have together enabled Coca-Cola HBC Hungary to serve a wider range of consumer preferences and segments, and contributed greatly for the company to become one of the TOP 3 agents in the Hungarian premium coffee market.