Ezprezzo

Last Thursday (14 May) evening, I was invited to be involved in the launch of Carte Noire, a premium retail coffee from France at Old School’s Art Gallery. It was an honor.

In this rather competitive industry where competition is stiffed and dominated with names like Nestle, Moccona, Illy, Lavazza, Segafredo, and local names like Super Coffee, Owl etc etc…we need to understand the differentiation of the coffee market a little clearer. Let me dwell on this more.

There are typically 2 markets for coffee companies; the retail and the food service sector. The retail refers to coffee sold in retail stores in the likes of Carrefour, Cold Storage and NTUC Fairprice etc. Foodservice refers to the hospitality market where it includes Hotels, cafes, restaurants (HORECA) and caterers.

Next, there are two generic types of coffee consumption methods as I would call it. Roast and Ground is one group. The other is Instant or Vending.

Nestle, Maxwell house and Super Coffee Mix are great examples of Instant coffee where all you need is add water and drink. Convenience was the driving force for the development of this coffee when it started. Now, there are sugar and cream that forms part of its content which is even more convenient. This form really took off in World War 2 when Nestle and Maxwell started including this sort of coffee in rations for soldiers in the field.

Roast and Ground coffee are mainly Illy, Lavazza and here is where Carte Noire resides mainly. You have to have plungers, or proper decent coffee machines to brew the coffee and remove the coffee grounds before you can easily drink the dark brew. More troublesome but coffee afficionados will have you know that having coffee in this manner is worth the trouble.

Therefore, it is in Retail Market that branding and marketing efforts are most obvious and active as coffee brands fight for the mindshare and attention of millions of shoppers browsing the numerous rows and columns of coffee products available on the shelves of supermarkets.

In this respect, Carte Noire is rather successful in France to position themselves, it seems, as the premium retail and one of the top brands there. And from here, it is rather safe to infer that Parisians love Roast and Ground instead of Instant coffee. In fact, Roast and Ground coffee is making their way into a lot of homes of more affluent and demanding European and Australian/Kiwi consumers who really wants that good old coffee aroma coming from the moment hot water hits the coffee grounds, and watching the cafeols or coffee oils form on the surface, giving the rich crema and all important 4 basic factors of coffee characters, i.e. aroma, taste, acidity and body.

Back to Carte Noire’s launch.

The event was a showcase of the new advertisements that will come along with the introduction of this brand. It was sensual! To me, it is about accentuating the basic element of passion that revolves around coffee. Watching the advert clips was ….wow…I think its better to catch it yourself to know what I mean.

There were beautiful models for the fashion in the evening, and I was involved in showcasing coffee art. Here are some fantastic pictures which my buddy, Terence from Cinchphoto, help took.

One of the many beautiful models on catwalk there.

Another shot. The girls in the audience were swooning over the guy in this picture…

A bit of bollywood meets Hollywood’s lady in red.

I like the hat she was wearing and the way the dress accentuates the curves…

Here’s showing a little bit of coffee art with the espressos made from Carte Noire’s Roast and Ground coffee.

A great shot by Terence! Check out the guy in the picture frame.

Looks like he’s interested in how I was pulling the shots! Eerie!

Two ladies having a go at making some cafe latte art themselves.

Sharing my passion for coffee as usual with a slew of audience and friends of Geek Terminal.

Really enjoy watching the people having fun with this. This is what its all about.

Everyone can do it! And, obviously, an artist was born here! Could it be the one with the beret?

Looking at how the MC of the show, Paris, trying his hand at some latte art. He’s such a sport!

A group shot of some famous bloggers here. Can you guess who they are?? Some of them are on my links.

Thanks to Carte Noire and Aaron Koh, I had the opportunity to share my passion and be part of this beautiful event. Terence’s pictures certainly helped me capture the moment to share for many years to come.