Starting its journey with a small coffee processing unit at Duggirala in Andhra Pradesh and growing steadilythereafter for next 28 years, CCL Products (India)Limited has now become a billion-dollar company in market capitalisation.
Founded in 1995 by Mr. Challa Rajendra Prasad, a passion entrepreneur with far-reaching vision, CCL Products is an Indian multinational in the truest of the term, and also the world's largest private label coffee manufacturer with roots in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Formerly Continental Coffee Limited, CCL initially focused on coffee exports and contract manufacturing. Driven by his passion for coffee, Mr. Prasad identified the untapped potential of Indian-grown coffee being exported without value addition. To address this, he established an instant coffee plant, adding value by converting green coffee beans into high-quality instant coffee. This visionary initiative not only generated valuable foreign earnings, but also positioned India as a prominent player in the global coffee market.
With an unwavering vision to fortify its position in the coffee market, CCL embarked on an aggressive capacity expansion. From its humble beginnings with a manufacturing setup of 3,000 tonnes per annum (TPA), the company scaled up, reaching a staggering capacity of 55,000 TPA in the last 28 years. CCL today has four manufacturing plants, two in India and one each in Vietnam and Switzerland.
With ‘Innovation’at its very core, CCL achieved remarkable success and became the preferred supplier for major clients worldwide. With the advantage of large-scale production and an extensive marketing network, CCL has become a powerful player in the global coffee industry with B2B customer base across more than 100 countries. Setting up a freeze-dried unit in 2005 was one such innovative step that was way ahead of its time. The product became such an instant success that a 1,500 TPA FD unit got expanded to 6,000 TPA immediately and another 6,000 TPA got added over a period of time.
Speaking on this occasion, Challa Rajendra Prasad, Founder and Chairman, CCL Products India Ltd, said: “30 years ago when I saw that Indian coffee beans were being exported as raw materials, Ithought why shouldn’t we do the value addition in our own country and then export the finished products?This way, our country willearn more foreign exchange and, in the process, generate more employment as well. With this objective, I started Continental Coffee Ltd. and set up our first factory at Duggirala. With the help of our marketing partners across the world, we were able to focus on creating customised products for each customer across the world. As a result, today we are the largest private label coffee manufacturer in the world! It is a proud moment for India and Team CCL Products”.
B2C foray in India, beyond : Mr. Challa Srishant, Managing Director, CCL Products India Ltd, said: “Building on the strong foundation that our Chairmanhas laid, CCL has grown by focusing on creating innovative products like Functional Coffees, Cold Brew Instant Coffees, Microground infused Coffees, Specialty instant coffees and so on. We have created a library of more than 1,000 unique blends of coffee for our customers over the years. This base of products has given us the confidence to launch our own brands in the domestic marketand create a sustainable B2C vertical.”
It is quite rare to see such a phenomenon wherein a B2B company has been able to build a strong B2C vertical as well. CCL focused on creating coffee blends specifically tailored to the tastes and preferences of Indian consumers. In 2016, the company took a bold step forward by launching ‘Continental Coffee’. Today, their multitude of offerings range across Instant Coffee, Freeze Dried, Roast & Ground and Premix.
Throughout this transition, CCL made significant investments in various areas such as supply chain management, packaging, sales, and marketing teams. Additionally, the coffee major established a strong network of distributors and retailers to establish and reinforce their presence in the B2C market segment. In a short period of time, in a market dominated by two significant players, Continental Coffee stood at the No.3 position in the Indian market.