Merlo Coffee

MERLO COFFEE

FRESH, PREMIUM COFFEE 2 | APAC Outlook issue 51

FOOD & DRINK

David Holt, General Manager at Merlo Coffee, discusses his company’s drive to provide unrivalled coffee to the people of Queensland, Australia and further Writer: Sean Galea-Pace Project Manager: Ben Weaver

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erlo Coffee began nearly three decades ago with a singular mission – freshly served coffee by people that are passionate about it.

This aim has never shifted, and the company takes care to ensure the highest quality coffee beans are used from around the world. With knowledge and friendly staff at the fore across its stores, Merlo Coffee strives to deliver exceptional service across Australia.

And sitting as the General Manager of the organisation is David Holt. His journey with the company began in October 2020 and with the COVID19 pandemic in full flow, it was a challenge Holt embraced upon his first days in a new role.

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David Olsen Managing Director Indoor Outdoor Imports 0418 358 013 david@indooroutdoor.com.au

Indoor Outdoor Imports was established in 1989 by David Olsen and started importing a range of Italian style Market Umbrellas from China at an affordable price when the only alternative was very expensive locally made product.

Since that time the managing director David Olsen has improved the range and quality of product to include both the luxury Levante Market Umbrellas by “Bambrella” and the Sirocco by “Bambrella”. IOI designed Commercial Aluminium Range of Market Umbrellas satisfy the demands of the commercial Restaurant and Café Scene and make up the bulk of IOI sales.

The Commercial Aluminium Range and Café wind barriers In the early 90’s with the advent of smoking restrictions outdoor areas became increasingly important and coffee roasters and other food and beverage suppliers recognised the value in increasing their brand awareness by supplying umbrellas with their logos on the umbrellas. Café Barriers were another opportunity for Branding and IOI started fabricating these as well.

Bambrella Range This range is a premium “Timber Look” market umbrella made from renewable bamboo that is laminated to produce a flexible and very strong frame.

The Levante range includes premium stainless-steel fittings and easy opening systems and is available in three Square, two Rectangular and two Octagonal sizes.

The Sirocco is an entry level umbrella but still has the same strong laminated frames. The Sirocco range is available in Just 3 square sizes 2x2m, 2.6x2.6m and 2.9x2.9m starts from $250.

Folding Arm Awning, Blinds and other Shade structures IOI also supply and install a range of awnings and Blinds for commercial and domestic applications. Installing in Melbourne and surrounding districts, including retractable roof systems.

IOI now supply a large range of sizes in the Aluminium range from small custom-made rectangular umbrellas to suit narrow city café trading zones right up to extra-large 4mx4m square and 5.0m octagonal umbrellas.

IOI supplies business’s all around Australia and although they are based in Melbourne they have developed good relationships with customers in all major centres and have their business development manager based in QLD in Palm Beach where IOI best customer Merlo Coffee is based.

Most smaller business’s do prefer to purchase small quantities when they are required and IOI can produce branded product in 4-6 weeks.

Larger business’s, like Merlo Coffee, prefer to plan ahead and ensure they have stock of the Market umbrellas and Café Wind Barriers so that they can quickly respond to their new customer’s requirements and grow their business quickly.

MERLO COFFEE “It feels like I’ve been here a lot longer than I have but in a good way,” he reflects. “We’ve definitely been pretty busy. We have 15 of our own retail stores, plus three licensee outlets and some of these at airports and universities were hit quite hard during COVID-19. However, our suburban company owned retail stores did perform well as it gave those that were working from home an opportunity to get out of the house.

“Our wholesale business where we sell our product and roast for other cafes is about half of our business and is performing well. Around two years ago, we started our B2C commerce side of the business, and we had good infrastructure in place coming into COVID-19. This only accelerated because of the pandemic.

We were fortunate that e-commerce really picked up any shortfall from COVID-19.”

Today, Merlo is a household name within Queensland. For Holt, he is clear about what sets his company apart from others in the space.

“As we start to look at other states within Australia, we really pride ourselves on delivering fresh, premium roasted coffee,” he affirms.

“We only source the highest quality commodity, and we only roast the highest grade of coffee. We are fresh to market and our service levels really set us apart. That is why customers come to us, it’s our premium offering that differentiates us.”

In one of the biggest projects Merlo Coffee has ever completed, the company has recently unveiled its state-of-the-art Brambati 360 coffee processing plant. Having taken six months to complete, 19 containers consisting of 52 individual crates were unpacked and assembled in Merlo’s warehouse. Now capable of roasting up to a tonne of coffee per hour, the facility is regarded as a significant upgrade on the existing roaster in Bowen Hills. In addition, the plant is 6 | APAC Outlook issue 51

THE FOUNDING OF MERLO COFFEE Coffee and the family Merlo go hand in hand. Having originated in Luigi Merlo’s Trattoria in Tirano, Italy, Luigi began a new life for him and his family in Australia in 1950, beginning in the cane fields of Mackay before moving to Brisbane in 1958.

Indeed, Luigi’s eldest son Gino continued his father’s tradition of hospitality, and launched Café Milano in the Queen St Mall in 1960. The cornerstone of the café was the gleaming La San Marco espresso machine and it was the first of its kind in Queensland. As such, Gino introduced the people of Queensland to a European tradition of drinking espresso after an evening meal.

But, Gino wasn’t finished yet. For he was an inventor and intent on spoiling the Queensland community. Following the success of Café Milano, this ultimately led to Gino moving on to create Queensland’s first silver service restaurant, also called Milanos, which would subsequently host the likes of Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II. It was at this restaurant that Gino taught his son, and Merlo Coffee’s founder Dean all he knew about hospitality. For Gino and now Dean, it’s all about great service, quality standards and most importantly, creating the perfect espresso. The rest, as they say, is history.

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or over 30 years, Indoor Outdoor Imports has been supplying high-end commercial quality market umbrellas, cafe barriers, blinds and folding arm awnings for both domestic and commercial applications.

The company launched in 1989 with a range of inexpensive wooden Italian style market umbrellas but soon added better quality commercial aluminium range of umbrellas that quickly became a popular solution for the increasing outdoor entertainment market.

Food and beverage companies recognised the value of branding umbrellas, and the promotional cafe umbrella became a best-selling item. Indoor Outdoor Imports have continued to evolve the range to satisfy its customers’ requirements and can even custom make umbrellas to different sizes when councils only permit narrow trading zones.

Based in Brunswick East, Melbourne, the firm supplies and supports many coffee roasters including the likes of Merlo Coffee and food and

beverage supplies like Moet Hennessy Australia and De Bortoli Wines. The firm operates offices in Palm Beach, Queensland, and northern New South Wales customers from Noosa to Sydney.

Added to the large range of umbrellas, Indoor Outdoor Imports also import directly and distribute a range of its own folding arm awnings including full cassette, heavy duty and light duty inexpensive folding arm awnings. For a more weather-proof system, the firm can also supply and install retractable roof systems and cafe blinds and many and varied shade and weather protection solutions.

Merlo Coffee selected Indoor Outdoor Imports to supply its promotional market umbrellas and café wind barriers, in addition to tear drop banners for annual requirements. This decision was made due to the quality of product, fade resistance of the canopies and strength of the umbrellas as well as the value and cost considerations.

Indoor Outdoor Imports import the required quantities of market umbrellas and barriers and tear drop banners and deliver these as required by Merlo Coffee. Subsequently, Merlo then pay for the product as they receive it which reduces the financial outlay, however, they also benefit from having stock for immediate supply as it is needed. Through the relationship, Merlo provides Indoor Outdoor Imports with sustained business long-term.

In Queensland, Indoor Outdoor Imports have Ross Tinkler serving as Business Development Manager and is essential to servicing Merlo Coffee and other coffee roasters in the state. Sitting as the Owner and Managing Director is David Olsen. With significant industry experience, he has spent more than 30 years growing the Indoor Outdoor brand. Olsen is a hands-on manager and can be seen, not just behind the computer screen, but also repairing umbrellas or unloading containers with the team.

T 0418 358 013

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E david@indooroutdoor.com.au

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indooroutdoorimports.com.au

MERLO COFFEE capable of more than just roasting and is instead an all-encompassing solution that creates many efficiencies across all stages of the

APAC OUTLOOK: HOW IMPORTANT ARE PARTNERSHIPS TO THE SUSTAINED SUCCESS OF OPERATIONS? David Holt, General Manager: “Partnerships are the fundamentals of business. A longterm relationship is a genuine win-win in business. We’ve got some supply partnerships that we’ve grown up with and have worked with them for a long period of time. As we seek to expand into Asia, I’m looking for partners and building a less transactional relationship. Even as we diversify, it’s vital to our thinking.”

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roasting process, from the storage of green beans to the finished product.

“A big reason why we’ve decided to introduce this is evolution,” discusses Holt. “20 years ago, we outgrew our original roasting facility and moved to one that produced around 300 kilos per hour. We see this new plant as a major improvement.

“We also needed a business continuity plan to ensure we could keep the business going if the old roaster was damaged or compromised. We made this purchase because we wanted to make a significant investment that would allow us to grow and take that next step. Ultimately, it’s a $3.5 million purchase and is the next step in our strategy.”

Indeed, being proactive is an important mantra that the company lives by. A case in point was the launch of Merlo’s cold brew can several months ago to diversify and expand.

“It’s all about innovation,” explains Holt.

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FOOD & DRINK

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MERLO COFFEE “TO ME, PEOPLE ARE NUMBER ONE. PEOPLE FIRST IS MY MANTRA AND I LOVE DEVELOPING HIGHPERFORMING TEAMS” – DAVID HOLT, GENERAL MANAGER, MERLO COFFEE “We need to be different from our competitors and seize opportunities to open up new channels. We believe that ‘ready to go’ drinks are a huge growth area and as with our premium coffee offering, we’re seeking to become a major player in the space and looking at new alternatives with oat milk.

“It’s an exciting time in the industry and we remain keen to broaden our horizons and branch out. Through ‘ready to go’ drinks, we can achieve that. There’s lots of potential.”

Today, many companies seek to adopt a greener approach to operations in a bid to reduce the impact on the environment which has meant that offering a sustainable alternative has never been so important. As such, Merlo has introduced compostable BioCups and lids which allow customers to make a big difference through their choices. By replacing plastic cups, carbon emissions from Merlo packaging will be reduced by 25 percent and the company vows to keep 9.4 tonnes of plastic out of landfill every year.

“Sustainability is huge to us,” affirms Holt. “We’ve invested significantly in packaging and the next step is to invest in that high-level of compostable packaging for roasted products, not just takeaway cups.

In addition, at a site level, our whole facility is powered by solar panels.

“From a charity perspective, we give a lot back. We try to help the community by partnering with numerous charities and hosting events while sponsoring as much as we can.”

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FOOD & DRINK

Another key pillar to Merlo’s strategy is the importance of developing staff from within. Without good employees, a business is likely to fail, and Holt recognises how valuable harnessing a positive culture is to retaining its people.

“We’ve got a great culture and a low staff turnover, and it’s not uncommon to hear that someone from working at store level as a barista has worked their way up to a senior management position,” he discusses. “Upon joining, what impressed me the most was the size of our HR department given the scale of the business. To me, people are number one. People first is my mantra and I love developing highperforming teams. It’s important to see how we can become an employer of choice in the marketplace and our people are what makes us.”

Looking ahead, Merlo Coffee

is targeting exponential growth.

“We’re going into a growth phase and our three-year strategy plan is about focusing on the younger demographic,” explains Holt. “We have acquisitions down the East Coast of Australia to further enhance our roasting infrastructure to potentially get secondary branding and become a major player in Sydney.

“The one thing I’ve noticed while I was travelling around the world in Europe, America and into Asia is

that Australia has one of the most advanced coffee cultures in the world. Of course, you get pockets elsewhere but consistently across the country, Australia exceeds in the quality and taste of our coffee.

There are a lot of emerging countries in Asia that we can reach, and I see lots of opportunity in countries like Japan and Taiwan, as well as Singapore and Hong Kong where we can offer premium roasted coffee.

We’re targeting significant growth in that space, and we can’t wait for the future.”

Tel: +617 3620 4200 info@merlo.com.au www.merlo.com.au

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MERLO COFFEE 320 Fison Avenue East, Eagle Farm Qld 4009, Queensland, Australia Tel: +617 3620 4200 info@merlo.com.au www.merlo.com.au

PRODUCED BY APAC OUTLOOK MAGAZINE