Strategies of Technological Leadership in Premium Coffee Segment in the Russian Federation

Strategizing technological sovereignty of a particular economic sector requires an objective value chain and a sectoral/intersectoral division of labor system. It also needs clear and balanced requirements and boundary conditions for commercial attractiveness of the activities that ensure technological leadership. Coffee is one of the best-selling commodities in the world: its annual production and consumption exceed 10 million tons. The global coffee market is a complex system of production and sales relations, the purpose of which is to bring the coffee product to the end consumer. This system consists of three major segments: production and primary processing, roasting, and marketing. As a rule, coffee is produced and processed in the place of origin, i.e., Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and roasted in the place of consumption, i.e., Europe, North America, and Asia. The coffee market in Russia is growing, as is the demand production of roasted coffee, trying to catch up with the demand. The supply volume to Russia is also increasing. However, such is the current economic situation on the Russian market that it requires a prompt response from the domestic stakeholders. The challenges include a shortage of ready-to-drink and preprocessed coffee supply, import restrictions, and the withdrawal of foreign companies from the Russian market. However, these challenges provide opportunities for early import substitution and prospective technological leadership, which means that the national technological leadership in the premium coffee sector needs strategizing. The research objective was to strategize the way to national technological independence in the premium coffee sector based on interrelated aspects of policy, strategy, and tactics, as stipulated by Professor Vladimir L. Kvint’s theory of strategy and methodology of strategizing.