In the early hours of Tuesday morning, thousands of

“Budgets come in two types: marketing and listing. Marketing budgets pay bars for branding their interior. Listing is when you mention the alcohol brand name in the bar’s menu – for instance, when a cocktail bears the name of a certain alcohol brand”.Departing brands ultimately also means a reduction in the advertising budgets on which many establishments depend.

“‘Well, what can I say, we now serve different alcohol, that is cheaper, brands are less known,” Margarita said.“It’s sad, but we continue working.”For many Russians who spoke to Al Jazeera about their experiences since the invasion, the corporate exodus has been tolerable.

“In the beginning, it was very unusual to see all the stores closed in the mall. But I am now buying the same brands online,” Guzel, a resident of the central Russian city of Kazan, told Al Jazeera.“Yes, it is less convenient, you cannot try things on before buying, but that’s a minor problem.”

Daria, an entrepreneur in Moscow who asked to be referred to by only her first name, said she was not bothered by the minor inconveniences stemming from the exit of Western brands.

“The real cause of my everyday anxiety is people in military uniform on the streets of Moscow, the state of war with a neighbouring country, and oppressive laws that were implemented for the last two years that forbid me even to call it a war. So the reason brands left - that’s what bothers me, not the consequences,” Daria told Al JazeeraIn 2024, the state registered its highest-ever production at 48 MT, per state department officials. Yeptho said Nagaland Coffee alone supplies 40 cafes across India, of which 12 are in the Northeast region. And Naga coffee is already making waves internationally, winning silver at the Aurora International Taste Challenge in South Africa in 2022 and then gold in 2023.

“To aim for export, we need to be at least producing 80-100 MT every year,” Yeptho told Al Jazeera.But before aiming for mass production, entrepreneurs said they still have a long way to go in improving the quality of beans and their post-harvest processing.

With a washing mill and a curing unit in his farm, where he grows both Arabica and Robusta varieties, Yanthan’s Lithanro brand is the only farm-to-cup institution in the state. He believes farmers need to focus on better maintenance of their plantations, to begin with.“Even today, the attitude is that the plants don’t need to be tended to during the summers and monsoon season before harvest (which starts by November),” Yanthan told Al Jazeera. “But the trees need to be constantly pruned to keep them within a certain height, weeding has to be done and the stems need to be maintained as well.”