From April 21 to 25, the WorldFood Connect community held a thematic week “Tea, Coffee and Cocoa”, during which two expert webinars were held on the situation in the coffee and tea markets, as well as on the development of the bean-to-bar chocolate segment in Russia.

At the first webinar, Ramaz Chanturia, CEO of the main Russian association of tea and coffee producers "Roschaikofe", spoke about the features of the current state of the coffee and tea industry.

Coffee

Coffee culture continues to gain popularity in Russia. In 2024, the volume of the coffee market grew slightly, but by 1.1% and reached 195,000 tons. Despite high uncertainty and extremely high prices, there was no noticeable reduction in the range of coffee in retail last year, as market participants, fearing even greater price increases, actively imported raw materials.

Compared to the 1990s, when Russians mainly consumed instant coffee, today the roasted/ground coffee segment prevails, and all the dynamics of market growth are associated with the growth of this type of coffee. According to the results of 2024, the volume of roasted coffee products increased by 7.5%, and the volume of instant coffee decreased by 6%. The decline in the instant coffee segment in favor of roasted/ground coffee is explained by a decrease in the promotional activity of large instant coffee operators in chains and the growing popularity of online coffee purchases. If the retail channel mainly sells instant coffee (70.2% of total sales), then in general, roasted coffee sales prevail in the market (56%), primarily due to e-commerce and the HoReCa segment.

As for imports, the volume of green coffee imports has gone up again, reaching a record high of 234,000 tons. At the same time, Ramaz Chanturia emphasized that almost all the coffee we see on store shelves is produced in Russia, which allows us to reduce the cost somewhat. Coffee is supplied to Russia from more than 40 countries, but the main supplier countries are still Vietnam and Brazil, which regained its leadership in 2024. In addition, China and Ethiopia increased their supplies. In physical volume, Arabica accounts for 44% of all green coffee imports, and Robusta, which is used mainly for the production of instant coffee, accounts for 56%.

But imports of ready-to-roasted coffee continued to decline, and in 2024 decreased by 9% to 25,000 tons. Slightly less than 50% of supplies from abroad are coffee from Italy, 15% each from the Netherlands and Germany. Supplies of some brands that officially left the Russian market continue, but due to the increased risk of counterfeiting, their sales volumes are not growing. It is expected that the tightening of import procedures will continue this year, which means that imports of ready-to-roasted coffee will continue to decline.

tea coffee

In 2024, tea imports increased by 8% to 129,000 tonnes by weight. However, import volumes are still far from the 2011 peak of 188,200 tonnes. Over the past ten years, pure tea import volumes have been declining as consumers increasingly choose tea with additives or tea drinks.

The share of black tea in supplies is relatively stable and amounts to 90%. Supplies of unpackaged tea have grown slightly and account for almost 94%. The average indicative price of tea has decreased by 3% and amounted to $2.97 per kg last year. Just as in the case of coffee, producers are purchasing more raw materials so that there are no gaps in supplies, and all the products that we see in stores are packaged in Russia, which allows for a slight reduction in production costs, since part of the production is in the ruble zone.

The main suppliers of tea to Russia remain India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, which has again moved up to 2nd place. Also in the top six suppliers are Vietnam, Indonesia and China. The latter, despite being the birthplace of tea and its largest producer, does not occupy the first place because, firstly, it mainly produces green tea, and Russians consume little of it, and secondly, China has its own large and attractive domestic market with a high demand for tea and high solvency.

Speaking about the overall volume of tea and coffee markets, Ramaz Chanturia noted that despite the growth in coffee consumption and the decline in tea consumption in Russia, the volume of hot drinks markets remains almost at the same level. At the same time, the consumption of both tea (over the past 10 years, the growth was about 40%) and coffee (25%, respectively) is steadily growing in the world. However, there is not enough land suitable for growing tea and coffee.

The CEO of the Roschaikofe Association also spoke about the growth of the global economy, global inflation, logistical problems, auction prices for tea, challenges faced by the global coffee market and average prices for coffee and tea in Russian retail. You can read this information and watch the recording of the webinar in the WorldFood Connect community.

Bean-to-bar chocolate

The second webinar within the thematic week was devoted to the current state and current trends of the bean-to-bar chocolate market in Russia. Alexey German, founder and CEO of the company "Chocolate Workshop", spoke with the audience about this.

By the end of 2024, the global chocolate market was valued at $130.72 billion, and the bean-to-bar chocolate segment was valued at $14.6 billion. The average annual growth rate of the segment is 11.2%. By 2030, its volume is expected to double to $28 billion, while the total market volume will reach $172.89 billion.

The leaders in cocoa bean production include countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Ecuador, Cameroon, and Nigeria. But the top five countries that process the crop look a little different: Côte d'Ivoire, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Germany, and the United States.

Alexey German spoke in detail about the production of cocoa beans and explained the differences between regular and bean-to-bar chocolate. The vast majority of industrial enterprises work not with cocoa beans, but with already processed cocoa mass. Bean-to-bar manufacturers independently process cocoa beans into chocolate, controlling all stages of production from the selection and roasting of cocoa beans to the manufacture of the final product.

Bean-to-bar chocolate producers are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, where manual labor and painstaking work prevail. However, large companies are also starting to launch bean-to-bar lines to expand their range and attract a new audience. But, as the speaker noted, if large producers pounce on this market, then small companies will not have enough high-quality raw materials, because there is generally little of it.

Bean-to-bar chocolate is consumed by enthusiasts who are interested in quality chocolate and are willing to pay more for unique products, health-conscious shoppers looking for natural and organic products without artificial additives, as well as those who purchase bean-to-bar chocolate as gifts for holidays and special occasions.

Bean-to-bar chocolate is a rather expensive product. This is due to the fact that the cost of quality beans starts from $15-16 per kg of raw beans, and the cost of cocoa butter today is $25-30 per kg. In addition, bean-to-bar is a multi-stage production process that requires large investments in equipment. An important role is also played by the fact that labor costs are rapidly growing in Russia and the world. According to Alexey German, there are no prospects for price reduction. Probably, cocoa bean prices will stabilize, but at a fairly high level.

Among the trends that are relevant both for the bean-to-bar segment and for the entire chocolate market in Russia and the world, the CEO of the Chocolate Workshop named: multi-flavors and multi-textures, limited and seasonal offers, chocolate with reduced sugar and eco-chocolate, drinking and functional chocolate.

Alexey German also spoke about the crisis in the cocoa market, its causes and consequences for the world in general and for Russia in particular, competition in the Russian bean-to-bar market and tools for promoting bean-to-bar chocolate. To learn more about the content of the webinar, watch its recording in the WorldFood Connect community.