Because of its pioneering efforts and innovations, local coffee brand Great Taste has played a significant role in the history, growth and expansion of the country’s coffee industry.

Long before cafes and coffee shops mushroomed around the metro, Universal Robina Corporation (URC), makers of Great Taste, has been an industry trailblazer with numerous products that later defined the trends in the market.

In the 1960's, URC's Blend 45 entered the coffee arena as the first locally manufactured coffee blend. Dubbed as the "Pinoy Coffee" because of its distinctly Filipino blend and flavor, Blend 45 immediately captured the attention and preference of countless Pinoys. Today, the brand continues to be the coffee that is uniquely and proudly Filipino in taste.

After Blend 45's initial success, a slew of many other firsts were introduced in the market under the Great Taste brand name. In the 1970's, Great Taste Granules, the first concentrated coffee in the country was introduced. The unique coffee format coupled with an affordable price has since set the standard for economy among coffee drinkers. It truly goes "a long, long way" considering that up until today, Great Taste Granules gives consumers more coffee for their money's worth without compromising taste and flavor. And by the time the 80's rolled in, Great Taste had ensured its niche in the economical coffee market by introducing the first refill pack in foil.

It was in the same decade that Great Taste came up with another "first" - Great Taste Coffee Mixes, the first complete 3-in-1 flavored coffee mix. This novel idea was designed to complement the increasingly busy and fast-paced lifestyle of more and more Filipinos.

Fast-forward to 1999, on the brink of the new millennium and greater changes, Great Taste introduced two new innovations to the coffee industry – Great Taste 2in1 and Great Taste Ready to Drink (RTD). Both are pioneering brands that further expanded the Philippine coffee market. Great Taste 2in1 was geared towards black coffee drinkers while Great Taste RTD was created specifically for the younger and more adventurous coffee-loving crowd.

In a span of more than four decades, Great Taste has definitely proven that it is a coffee brand with both a glorious heritage and a dynamic future. As the pioneering spirit behind momentous breakthroughs in the coffee industry, Great Taste has indeed played a significant role in the Philippine coffee history -- but it doesn't end there.

This year, Great Taste re-launched two of their biggest brands -– Great Taste Premium and Great Taste 3-in-1 -– enriched with even richer flavor and aroma to satisfy the increasingly discriminating Pinoy palate.

With the unending quest of local brands like Great Taste to improve, to innovate and to be at par with the best blends in the world, the Philippine coffee industry is indeed looking up.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Coffee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.