KOCHI: Bored with your everyday coffee and want to try something different? A group of college students here has green coffee ready for you.
Students from Laurus Logistics Institute, Kalamassery, have launched a brand called ‘Green Coffee’, a less explored entry in the caffeine category. This variety of coffee is said to be rich in antioxidants. According to its promoters, it boosts metabolism and helps in reducing diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and weight. Green coffee is made by grinding coffee beans that have been dried in the sun, rather than roasting them.
Laurus Nature Green Coffee was launched as part of an institute project in 2020. In 2020, the private institute launched a student entrepreneurship project aimed at bridging the skills gap in the job market. Thirty members were split into different groups and sent off to explore options for starting their own ventures.
The 10-member team chose to explore the FMCG sector and turned their attention to tea and coffee due to their popularity across the globe. They came across green coffee during their stay in Palakkad in search of the best suppliers. The group of students were amazed by what they found and decided to give it a try.
The students ground, brewed and tasted small amounts. They also tried a variety of pre-made coffee powders, but the focus was on developing the lesser known green coffee. Suppliers told them there wasn’t much demand for sun-dried green coffee pods, but the students were keen to learn about the variety. It took several weeks of research before the project was decided upon.
With financial support, suggestions and other assistance from the institute’s chairman, Dr. Ajay Sankar, the team went ahead with product development.
They procured their raw coffee beans from Coorg and Palakkad. “In the second phase, we experimented with grinding the beans into different sizes. We conducted multiple lab tests to determine the shelf life of the product. We finally decided to grind Arabica coffee beans into small pieces and package them,” Ajay Sankar said.
The students faced their first big challenge when most of their initial order of 8,000 packaging envelopes were delivered defective. Frequent follow-ups helped them resolve the issue, but their biggest challenge was still to come: they had difficulty finding initial buyers due to unfamiliarity with the product and its taste.
Laurus Nature Green Coffee was introduced to health clubs, gyms, medical stores, businesses and organizations, but the initial response was lukewarm. Eventually, the students found customers for the product by explaining its benefits to people directly. “Our motivation is that customers continue to purchase our product after experiencing the benefits with at least two packs,” said the Laurus Green Coffee team.
The project, which began with the 2020 batch, has been carried over to subsequent batches. Students continue to research ways to improve the product. Early attempts to enhance the flavor with mint, cardamom and rose were discontinued as they shortened the product’s shelf life.
