Coffee&tea

Focus on the market and types of coffee and tea packaging, products that belong to the large “beverages” area.

Coffee and tea are two types of beverages, which can be consumed cold and/or hot, not as simple thirst-quenching products, but rather as an integral part of rituals linked to an invigorating break (coffee) or a moment of relaxation (in particular way, tea and infusions).
 
The reference markets Coffee
The Italian coffee industry is among the most brilliant in the Food & Beverage area: in Europe, Italy is second only to Germany, both in terms of production and export.
When we speak of Italian production, and consequently also of export, we refer only to roasted coffee since, in the absence of native plantations, we import green coffee from producing countries, and then work it and mix it in Italy.
The roasting process involves the roasting and grinding of imported green coffee beans, and it is this activity that distinguishes Italy in the coffee production process.
With around 950 companies active in this field, the main characteristic of Italian production is that of knowing how to mix the grains from different geographical areas to the best.
In 2017, Italian coffee production reached € 4.1 billion, for a total of around 546,000 tonnes, with a growth rate of around 5% on 2016, both in terms of value and volume.
According to initial estimates, in 2018 production should have grown by around 4%, exceeding 560,000 t.
As for foreign trade, in 2017 over 570,000 tons of green coffee were imported, equal to about 1.38 billion euros.
If we also consider minor imports, roasted coffee, instant coffee and coffee-based preparations, the tons reach 585,000, with an average price of about 2.71 euros, up about 7%.
Over half of our imports come from Brazil and Vietnam, followed by India, Uganda, Indonesia and Colombia.
The first assessments for 2018 show a 6% increase in the volume of green coffee imports, but in parallel there is a decrease of about 8% in value.
Exports are mainly roasted coffee. Approximately 38% of Italian production is exported: in 2017, the exported roasted coffee reached 209,000 t (value of around 1.4 billion euro).  Over the past 10 years, roasted coffee exports have more than doubled, confirming the growing foreign demand for the Italian espresso.
The main outlets for Italian exports are European countries (around 60%), followed by the United States, Australia and Russia.
For 2018, roasted coffee exports should close with a 5.7% increase in volume and a 0.5% drop in value.
Apparent consumption (imports of green coffee - total exports excluding the movement of stocks) were down 5% in 2017, but up 7% in 2018.
However, when we talk about coffee consumption, by analyzing the data in weight we need to take some factors into account. First of all it must be considered the fact that roasted and ground coffee weighs 20% less than the green coffee in grains, thus passing from 351 t/000 to 280.
Secondly, of these, about 84% is destined for the preparation of the drink, both consumed at home and away from home, while the remaining 16% is destined for industrial use, ie the preparation of products such as ice cream, yogurt, soft drinks, desserts, etc.
Calculations to hand, the tonnes of packaged coffee consumed in Italy in 2017 were 235,870.
Regarding the portion not intended for industrial use, which is consumed directly as a drink, about 65% is destined for domestic consumption (including that in pods consumed in the office), the remaining 35% is covered by Horeca + Vending (vending machines, excluding pods).
A further subdivision about coffee consumption is that which takes into consideration the different types: of coffee destined for domestic consumption, 90% is ground, 6.7% is in grains and 3.3% is accounted for by the soluble product.

Tea (and infusions)
Even in the case of tea, when we talk about production, we talk mainly of bulk and packaged imported products in Italy, in bags or jars. As regards infusion teas, in 2018, in Italy about 157 million packs were purchased (including chamomile, mallow, etc.) for a total value of 303 million euros.
The quantities of tea and infusions consumed increased by 4.7% compared to 2017, with a growth rate of 5%. In this context tea confirms its leadership of the category with consumption stabel compared to 2017.
The absolute protagonists of the growth trend are infusions, whose growth rate by volume, in 2018, is over 15%.
However, in Italy the consumption of tea does not only concern infusions; an extremely important slice of the market refers to the consumption of packaged cold drink, often purchased as a substitute for other flat or carbonated drinks or fruit juices.
In Italy, iced tea is the most drunk smooth drink - second only to Coca Cola - with a per capita consumption of over 9 liters / year, one of the highest values in Europe.
In addition to the traditional fruity tastes, green tea (which has now reached about 9% of total volumes) and ice cold tea (the latter conveyed mainlyby young people) have also become well established.
According to the data processing of the Italian Packaging Institute, in 2018, after a 2% growth which had supported the trend of flat drinks, the consumption of iced tea settled at around 548 million liters (+ 0.5%). Based on the sector analysis, there are no imports of this soft drink, while exports continue to grow by more than 15% in 2018. The importance of this market in Italy is also evidenced by the investments that Coca Cola has activated in this regard, focusing heavily on the new line of Fuzetea products, created to compensate for the declines in carbonated beverages and replacing the Nestea brand, which back within the Nestlè group. Ferrero is still the undisputed leader of the area, with the Estathè brand.
 
Packaging Coffee packaging
About 24,170 tons of packaging are used a year for the coffee sector, intended for the preparation of the drink: the value includes both the part destined for the Horeca sector (bars and restaurants) and that consumed in the domestic environment (including capsules used both at home and in the office). Translated into value, we are talking about approximately € 140 million.
Let’s take a detailed look at the subdivision of the packaged product, analyzed by type of packaging:
- 85% is packed in flexible polychromatic bags, with capacities ranging from 250 g to 3 kg, the latter destined for Horeca;
- 8% is attributable to steel cans, which have the same capacity as polylaminate containers;
- 4% is single-portion coffee packaged in aluminium capsules or pods, made of plastic or paper;
- the remaining 3%, basically soluble coffee, is packaged mainly in paper bags (2.4%) or in glass jars (0.5%);
- the cardboard boxes compete for 0.1%.
In the field of single-serving coffee, aluminum capsules are the segment that grows the most: in 2016 (latest available data) they recorded a + 11% compared to a decline in plastic capsules and paper pods.
In the last few years the use of capsules made of biodegradable material is being promoted, and this to avoid the problem of the recyclability of capsules made of any other material: this type of packaging, now widespread, cannot in fact be separated from the product after use, and therefore cannot even be disposed of like other packaging, falling within the collection cycle of the main material.
Opening a window on the Horeca sector alone, we find that 85% is represented by flexible polylaminate packaging, 8% by paper bag and 7% by the steel tin. All packs have a capacity greater than 1 kg.
 
Tea packaging
The mix of packaging related to tea and infusions must be distinguished, depending on whether we are talking about the product intended for infusion or the packaged beverage.
In the first case we talk about packaging in single sachets or loose product, where the individual sachets are collected in cardboard boxes (with an average of 20 sachets per 2 g per box); in the case of the bulk product, about 70% is packaged in cardboard boxes and 30% in steel tins.
Speaking of the packaged drink, the packaging mix is definitely more varied.
Packaging in PET bottles is the most common (71%), with formats ranging from 50 cl to 1.5 l. Then we find the beaker in PS, 20 cl format, with 17%, followed by the 33 cl aluminium can (6.5%), brik (3%) and the cheerpack (2.4%). The latter, in particular, in the last 5 years has been eroding market shares both in glass and PS. The 50 cl capacity glass bottle brings up the rear with 0.1%. Based on the initial analysis, the glass bottle should, in the coming years, increase its position by a few percentage points thanks to the launch in the horeca field of the glass bottle for Estathè.
In 2018, approximately 27,900 tons of packaging were used to package the tea as a beverage, for a value of about 170 million euros.

Barbara Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio