Coffee is raising the bar on quality and traceability, with companies now called upon to respond to new demands, across the production chain.

“Although coffee grinders are quite a traditional segment from a technological point of view, we have in recent years seen something of a change: consumers expect something new from their cup of coffee and want to know what they are drinking,” says Damián Ascaso, CEO of the Spanish company Compak.

Innovation in this sector includes grinding machines that weigh out the correct amount: “The specialty coffee boom is opening up new markets for us, because grinding is now perceived as an integral part of the process of extracting quality coffee.”

Many users, accustomed as they are to displays, touch screens and remote controls, now also expect such features on this kind of equipment as well. “We are thinking about coffee grinders that can connect directly to roasters to set the way the coffee is ground in real time. On new markets, where people don’t have such an extensive knowledge of coffee, there is a need to automate operations as much as possible in order to ensure constant quality, also where experience is lacking.”

From the Business Development department of IMA Coffee comes a picture of the world where big developments are being seen: that of single-portion coffee packaging.

“Customers want to have ever greater control over the quality of the product at all stages, from the green coffee bean to roasting and packaging. There is also a big demand for sustainability, in terms both of energy saving and of materials, such as the use of compostable materials. Some markets where this is big business, like France, Germany and Belgium, are more sensitive to these issues. Italy is catching up, though, not least because stricter regulations will necessitate a more sustainable approach. As well as compostable products there is a growing use of recyclable materials, in particular capsules made of aluminium.”

Italy is a very significant market for single-dose usage, with certain regional differences: capsules are used more in the North and pods more in the South. Another burgeoning segment regarding sustainability but also a greater demand for quality and freshness, in Italy and abroad, is for coffee in granules packed in bags.