Bengaluru to Host the 7th edition of the prestigious India International Coffee Festival

Bengaluru, December 21,2017: India Coffee Trust in association with the Coffee Board announced the 7th Edition of India International Coffee Festival, 2018, to be held from January 16th to 19th, 2018. The prestigious flagship eventis back in NAMMA BENGALURU after four years and is bigger, better and promises a lot more than just a brew for your business.

It will host giants of the national and international coffee industry, policy makers, industry captains, exporters, manufacturers and host of other luminaries associated with the coffee industry.The festival will be held at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.

At the curtain raiser program held at Bangalore today, Shri Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT, BT and Tourism, announced the commencement of this much-awaited festival, unveiling this year’s theme, “Express yourself with Coffee”.

Shri PriyankKharge, Hon’ble Minister for IT, BT and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, said,“I am glad that India International Coffee Festival is being hosted in Bengaluru - the true home state of Coffee. Government of Karnataka is proud and privileged to host the seventh edition of IICF, which will help us enhance our reputation as one of the best coffee growing states in the world.”

Department of Tourism hopes to leverage IICF to promote Coorg, Chikmaglur and Sakleshpur as not only coffee growing districts and also as a tourist destinations, as these districts have great landscapes with unique culture & cuisines which can be experienced through homestays.

For this reason, we are committed to develop the ecosystem for experiential tourism thorough Coffee trails and homestays. We are supporting many Start-ups which are offering unique coffee delivery and consumption platforms through the Start-up pavilion at IICF 2018,” he further added.

Shri.Srivatsa Krishna, IAS, Secretary, Coffee Board of India, Govt. of India, expressed his views, “The initiative of India International Coffee Festival which was taken jointly by the industry with the support of the Coffee Board of India, way back in the year 2000 has now become a major platform for the coffee industry. Coffee board of India is committed to promoting coffee consumption in India and towards that end; we are taking many a steps.”

“In addition, IICF is an excellent platform to showcase ‘Coffees of India’ to the global coffee buyers. I also believe that new technologies like ‘blockchain’ “Analytics, artificial intelligence based disease detection visually, bean to cup traceability and IVR based extension services” can play a significant role in the coming future of the Coffee sector and we are already looking at this with great interest.”

“I am also happy to share that Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, will inaugurate IICF 2018. The Coffee Board of India and Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India is glad to extend its whole-hearted support to IICF 2018.”

On this occasion, Shri. Anil Kumar Bhandari, President, India Coffee Trust, said, “True to its theme this year- which is ‘Express yourself with Coffee’, IICF 2018 will continue to be the premier platform for the Coffee and allied industries to express and explore new and game-changing ideas and solutions.”

The Conference this year will be addressed by a plethora of international experts coming from countries like Brazil, UK, USA, Columbia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Thailand, besides India. Global Coffee Leaders like Mr. Jose Sette, Executive Director, International Coffee Organization, Mr. Roberto Vélez, CEO, Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School & renowned Motivational Speaker are some of the key personalities addressing the conference. The Skill-building workshops will provide coffee enthusiasts and coffeeprenuers training in coffee roasting and brewing through seven sessions.

The large expo at IICF will provide an excellent opportunity for start-ups and leading Indian brands like HUL, Tata Coffee, CCL as well as International brands like Astoria, Probat, Buhler and so on to showcase their latest products.”

The primary focus of IICF is promotion of Coffees of India across the globe. It also serves as a platform to connect and create meaningful interaction of the Indian coffee planters with the International Community. The various activities conducted during the IICF are aimed at empowering the coffee sector with new ideas and technologies and promoting domestic coffee consumption. The event also aims at promoting Coffee Tourism and Coffee Entrepreneurship.

The 4-day festival will comprise of International Conference Exhibition for all things coffee, Skill-building workshops, Product launches, Coffee Quiz, Coffee Awards, Golf Championship, Café Crawl and a host of other exciting activities.

Through several sessions the Conference will aim at capturing prevailing trends in Production and Scientific Techniques,Trends in Coffee Consumption, Coffee Marketing and Advertising Trends, Alternate Techniques of Brewing, Coffee Tourism and so on. Speakers from countries like Italy, Brazil, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, Columbia, Thailand, and Singapore and of course India will address the delegates.

This year, seven Skill-building Workshops in Roasting, Brewing and Post-harvesting Technology will be held to provide coffee enthusiasts – professionals & amateurs – hands-on. Experts from all across the world will conduct these workshops.

The Exhibition at Coffee festival will provide a platform to many coffee growers, Roasters, Retailers, Equipment suppliers, Researchers and entrepreneurs to showcase and launch their products. Visitors will get to enjoy coffee tastings of brews from all over the world, a glimpse at the Latest Coffee equipment and technologies,a preview of the latest products and so much more.

This year the event is expected to bring 500+ delegates for the conference and skill building workshops, more than 60 companies will exhibit in the Coffee Expo attracting 10,000 visitors. Leading brands like Hindustan Uni Lever, Tata Coffee, Nestle, Consolidated Coffee Limited, Astoria, Buhler,KaapiMachines, Coffee Board of India,MK Associates, Swiss Pack, Bunn-O-Matic, Kuraray, Diedrich, CMA,Probat, KaapiMachines, Eltex,Bayers, Birla Corporation Ltd, Hatti Kaapi, SLN Coffee, Araku Aroma, Sanvi Trade, True South, Red Bee Machines etc.have confirmed their participation in the festival.The Exhibition will also have a Start-up pavilion this year.

A new feature at IICF 2018 is a Golf Championship for some of the key delegates and speakers and special invitees. The tournament will be held at the sprawling and serene course of Bangalore Golf Club, which is also within a stone's throw distance from the event venue.

Last few years have seen a quantum growth in Coffee Tourism and this has opened new avenues for the Coffee Planters. The Coffee districts of Coorg, Chikmaglur, Sakleshpur and Hassan in Karnataka have become popular holiday destinations for travelers from across India and the world, thereby spreading the aroma of Indian coffee far and wide. Coffee Tourism will be a major focus this year in the festival. This is in line with Government of Karnataka’s vision to promote Eco-tourism as well as ‘Adventure Tourism’. Government of Karnataka has already announced this year as the ‘Year of the Wild’.