Highlights
- Araku Valley Coffee won the Gold Medal for the best coffee pod
- Araku Coffee won the recognition at Prix Epicures OR 2018 Awards
- Araku Coffee was a government initiative to uplift tribal farmers
A brand that was founded to provide employment opportunities to tribal youth has won global recognition. Araku Valley Coffee has won the Gold Medal for the best coffee pod in the Prix Epicures OR 2018 Award in Paris, France. The coffee being sold by the brand is produced by tribal farmers in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Last year, the coffee from Araku Valley debuted in Paris, earning its placed besides popular coffee bean varieties from Colombo, Sumatra, etc. The brand had opened a café store in the city's trendy upper-Maraise neighbourhood and also started selling in the grocery store La Grande Epicerie. The initiative to promote the brand worldwide was spearheaded by the Naandi Foundation, which has Mahindra & Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra as one its directors. Araku Coffee's latest achievement was announced on Twitter by Naandi's CEO and co-founder Manoj Kumar.
In just a year Araku Coffee has managed to win the hearts of Parisians and accolades, and everyone associated with the brand has been celebrating the win. Mr. Mahindra also tweeted about the significance of the award, saying, "A more important milestone than might seem apparent at 1st glance. In a land of gourmets, an Indian coffee, grown by Adivasis in an underdeveloped part of India, has been ranked as one of the best coffee brands in the market. It's time Indian food brands crack the premium segment." One particular Twitter user also asked Mr. Mahindra why Araku isn't as widely available in the Indian market, to which he replied by saying, "It will be soon...wait for it!"
Araku Valley Coffee was established as an endeavour of the Andhra Pradesh government to uplift the disadvantaged tribal farmers from the scenic Araku Valley, located in the eastern ghats of India. The valley is home to 150 different tribal communities of India, which produce, beside coffee beans, pepper, jackfruit, mangoes, etc. The initiative to take Araku Coffee to global consumers started in 2008, with the establishment of Araku Originals by the Naandi Foundation. The social enterprise was launched to market the coffee to buyers and coffee enthusiasts around the wold.