The Consortium E.S.E. Members’ Meeting this year, in addition to the approval of the 2015 Financial Statements, has also been convened to elect the Board of Directors who will guide the Consortium E.S.E. for the next three years (2016/2018)
Besides the Directors’ term in office, that of the Board of Auditors and Council of Discipline, bodies that supervise the Consortium’s activities, is also expiring this year.
We should recall that two Presidents served during the 2013/2015 three-year period: Roberto Morelli from February 2012 till the end of 2013, and Furio Suggi Liverani, elected by the B.O.D. on 25 February 2014.
Members of the Consortium E.S.E. met and unanimously voted to reappoint for the 2016/2018 term the exiting Board of Directors, composed of: Mario Cerutti (Lavazza), Renaud Gey (Groupe SEB), Franco Guzzi (Cohn & Wolfe), Furio Suggi Liverani (illycaffè).
The newly elected Board immediately deliberated to reconfirm Dr. Furio Suggi Liverani as President of the Board, and grant to him and Franco Guzzi single-signatory powers of authority.
Immediately thereafter, President Suggi Liverani outlined the scenarios in which he operated while pursuing the consortium statutory goals for the previous three years, and commented on a few aspects the current Presidency of the Consortium E.S.E. also deems fundamental for the near future.
From a market and scenarios standpoint, many things happened. Paper pods maintained their market share, in spite of fluctuations tied to the contingent crisis situation, and industrial mergers taking place in our sector.
The figures shared by the Presidency, although not certified, nonetheless resulted from considerations tied to the President’s direct experience, and supported by research commissioned by the most renowned coffee roasting companies.
First of all, the estimated market for E.S.E. paper pods is approximately 600 million pieces total, half of which sold in Italy. The rest is more or less equally divided between the U.S.A. and Europe.
The last few years’ (2012-2015) growth trend basically peaked at 12% (in 2011), and settled thereafter (from 2013 till today the volume decreased or rose slightly by a few percentage points). Lastly in 2015, it gained 2% in value.
Ultimately, because this is a mature product, the average price has been dropping slightly, by a few percentage points each year. Nonetheless, this has not prevented its value from rising slightly, by 5%. In terms of volume, growth has been much slower: 2% in the last three years.
Competition in the paper pod systems sector is rather fierce, and tends to favour systems that are closed, and use plastic rather than aluminium capsules, or capsules made of other materials like biodegradable plastics or others, which are rigid compared to paper.
The changing scenario of the last few years in fact included:
E.S.E. standard pods, although a mature product, are becoming more popular in certain markets, such as the U.S.A., thanks to their being perceived as a light, not “over packaged” product.
The lack of over packaging, which severely affects many closed single-serving coffee systems, may be a key opportunity for growth, especially in markets that are most sensitive to environmental issues.
