Vittoria gets instant lift in lockdown sales

WHEN Rolando Schirato started receiving pictures on social media of well-known chefs showing off Vittoria instant coffee in their pantries he knew he had a winner.

Launched at Woolworths in June, the first freeze-dried instant coffee produced by Vittoria has been a hit.

Mr Schirato, the managing director of Vittoria Food & Beverage, said the brand had already captured a 24 per cent market share of the 100g category within Woolworths.

Locked in their homes due to Covid, people are opting for coffee pods and roasted coffee, and buying better home coffee machines to brew them up, but also are increasingly reaching for instant coffee.

Instant coffee sales are up about 12 per cent since the pandemic and lockdowns began.

“Our philosophy is however people drink coffee we want to provide them with the best possible coffee they can find in that format,” Mr Schirato said.

“So if people are drinking instant coffee it is not about being a snob about it saying it’s

no good, it’s just a different type of consumption.

“And what was funny as well is you would expect the feedback, from social media et cetera, from the supermarkets that it could be horrendous when you are entering instant coffee and it has been overwhelmingly positive.

“People were saying it is about time, we are so happy you guys are finally in instant coffee and a quite funny anecdote is, I would get photos from chefs of our instant coffee in their pantries.

“But it just indicates this; that instant coffee is multifunctional, people can enjoy it as well as pure coffee. It is not one or the other.”

It helps that Vittoria is a third-generation family owned coffee roaster.

The Australian company has built its reputation over 70 years as the “go to” coffee brand in the country’s cafes and top-tier restaurants.

Breaking into instant also made good business sense for Vittoria. Covid-19 had forced the shutdowns of its biggest customers, not just restaurants and cafes but all that coffee sold at universities, airlines such as Qantas, hotels and other function centres where the Vittoria brand owned that space.

Mr Schirato is upbeat about the future of Australia’s cities and its stock of cafes and restaurants, despite the prolonged battle against Covid-19.

He sees coffee consumption remaining strong, even growing, with changes to our way of life triggered by the pandemic – and expected to be lasting – simply pushing around where that coffee is consumed rather than pushing down volumes.

“There will be a shift in consumption – where you have it and how you have it,” he said.