Cafe Culture Magazine - Issue 48

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magazine FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUE 48

TASTING THE LIFESTYLE OF THE CAFÉ SECTOR

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Welcome!

CONTENTS

Entries are now being taken for this year’s prestigious Café Society Awards (turn to page 12 for details), the winners of which will announced at a lunchtime event to be held at the Roof Gardens, Kensington, London (24 May 2012).

In this issue we preview what looks set to be a more coffeefocused Hotelympia (26 February to 1 March, Olympia, London), and find out more about the successful Drink Me Chai brand.

Feature-wise, we turn our attention to cups, soft drinks and milk.

Having attended the European Coffee Symposium, held in Berlin towards the end of last year, we provide a comprehensive report on the ethos and ambitions that were outlined there by two of the sector’s biggest players – Costa and Starbucks. We also report on some of the latest market information to be revealed in Allegra’s Project Café11 Europe report.

Clare Benfield - Editor Editor Clare Benfield, Tel: 01291 636336, E-mail: clare@jandmgroup.co.uk Advertising Manager Paul Steer Tel: 01291 636342 E-mail: paul@jandmgroup.co.uk Production Manager Jayson Berry, Tel: 01291 636339, E-mail: jayson@jandmgroup.co.uk Subscriptions and Customer Service Tony Lorimer, Tel: 01291 636333 E-mail: tony@cafesociety.org.uk Editorial Address Café Culture, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, NP16 5DB Fax: 01291 630402 E-mail: cafe@jandmgroup.co.uk www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk Opinions expressed in Café Culture are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of J&M Group Ltd or Café Culture. No responsibility is accepted for the opinions of contributors. Café Culture is published by J&M Group Ltd. and supports Café Society. It is circulated to managers, executives, buyers, retailers and traders in the café industry. © 2009 J&M Group Ltd

NEWS 4 BSA adopts food hygiene rating scheme.

5 Branded coffee shop sector posts 10% growth.

6 Caffè Culture show has plans for 2012.

8 Coffee shop market full of beans.

CAFÉ SOCIETY AWARDS 2012

40 Soft sell – the healthy benefits of a soft drinks offering.

ARTICLES 18 People and partnerships – the future plans and latest thinking of Costa and Starbucks.

46 Market insights - some of the findings from the latest Project Café11 Europe report.

12 Category information and entry form.

PROFILES

EVENT PREVIEWS

32 Behind the brand Amanda Hamilton’s Drink Me Chai.

14 Hotelympia 2012 50 Coffee Week and Coffee Leader summit.

FEATURES 26 Cups at the core – updates and developments to that coffee shop essential.

34 Milk monitor – the importance of milk, and a resurgence in milkshakes.

REGULARS 39 Coffee Clinic - your maintenance questions answered.

49 Barista talk – your barista questions answered.

52 New products.

55 Checkout

‘Made in Britain’ email: sales@malmesburysyrups.co.uk tel: 01666 577 379 @jtmalmesbury Malmesbury Syrups

www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk

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BSA adopts food hygiene rating scheme

Twinings partners with BA for top flight beverage experience Two well known British brands, British Airways and Twinings, say that they have established a new business partnership that will enhance the travel experience for customers globally.

The pair have combined their respective expertise to ensure that passengers will enjoy a first-class beverage offering from Twinings, in-flight and in British Airways airport lounges in a new agreement that will see Twinings take over as exclusive tea supplier to British Airways in support of the airline’s brand commitment “To fly. To serve”, helping in its objective of “delivering a high-quality tea offering consistently” across its international network.

The announcement comes after British Airways recently announced proposals for a £5billion investment in its customer products and services.

“This is an example of two British companies pooling their resources to improve on-board service and ensure customers receive a top-class journey experience,” said Jacqueline Chapman, customer marketing manager at Twinings.

“Tea can play a part in maintaining hydration and supporting the well-being of passengers when they are flying. One of the greatest challenges for airlines however is the fact that hot water can only boil to 89oc at altitude – which can spell disaster if the quality of the blend isn’t up to scratch. We worked closely with British Airways and rigorously tested our range to ensure the tea chosen met consumer needs in-flight, as well as on the ground.”

Twinings Tetra Mesh Loose Tea range will be available on all BA first class lounges from April 2012. The offering will include English Breakfast, Tutti Fruitti Earl Grey, Mint Humbug, Jasmine Pearls, Red Berry Fool and Honeycomb Camomile.

The Tetra Mesh teas will be presented in delicate silk pyramid bags enabling BA customers to enjoy the freshest and richest flavour associated with traditional loose teas, within the challenging environment of in flight service.

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The British Sandwich Association (BSA) has become the first trade association to use the Food Standards Agency’s national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme to set standards for its members.

The Association, which already operates an accreditation scheme for sandwich manufacturers and suppliers to the industry, will in future require that its retail members have a minimum food hygiene rating of three.

BSA director, Jim Winship, said: “Food safety has been at the heart of the Association since it was founded in 1990.

Whilst we have been auditing sandwich manufacturers for over 20 years, the new

FSA scheme also enables us to monitor food hygiene standards across our retail members.

“Although the scheme is still being rolled out, we believe it offers a real incentive for encouraging food businesses to make food safety a priority.”

Food Standards Agency chief executive, Tim Smith, added: “The support of the food industry is critical to the success of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme so I am delighted that the BSA has set minimum standards for membership of its organisation. We look forward to working closely with the BSA so that both consumers and businesses can benefit from this scheme.”

Go-Go Gaggia goes for coffee in West Yorkshire A former lawyer in West Yorkshire who got so exasperated by the lack of latte that she gave up her profession to do something about it has now set up Go-Go Gaggia, a coffee shop with a difference - it operates from the back of a two-seater Smart car.

“The whole idea was to keep it small and quirky, but to offer top notch coffee on the street,” says Jocelyn Robinson. “It was my sister who first suggested trying to get a coffee machine in the back of a Smart car – she thought it would make people look twice, and it really does!”

Jocelyn Robinson then took the concept to Caffe Shop, a coffee specialist based in Ellend, Halifax where managing director, Raj Beadle, was bowled over.

“I love the idea of taking good quality Italian coffee to the commuter on the streets of West Yorkshire,” commented Raj Beadle.

“The problem was getting everything to fit – not just the machine itself, but also the water, waste and extra batteries to power the espresso machine. We needed a compact coffee machine and a compact system that would fit into this compact car.”

The machine they selected was a Gaggia GD2 Compact. Measuring just 550mm wide, 540mm deep and 500mm high, it’s compact but even so it has two group heads, dispensing up to four espresso shots at once, and powerful steam wand for frothing milk.

“It’s designed for restaurants but it works great in a Smart Car,” explained Raj Beadle.

“It will easily produce several hundred shots a day.”

Caffe Shop supplied a special base for the machine that fits snugly into the back of

Jocelyn Robinson and her Smart car Gaggia coffee machine combo. the Smart Car, holding the GD2 firmly and featuring drawers for accessories including cups, lids, sugar and food items.

“The GD2 works brilliantly – we haven’t had to modify it at all,” added Jocelyn Robinson. “Because the car is what it is, it really attracts a crowd. Kids, adults, everyone is fascinated to see how we can make cappuccino and espresso out of the back of a tiny Smart car. Being a Gaggia, the machine looks great, and it’s red – just like the car.”

The Gaggia range of espresso coffee machines and ancillary equipment is marketed in the UK by Watermark and is available through catering equipment distributors and coffee specialists (Watermark is currently expanding its distributor network, watermark.uk.com).

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NEWS

Branded coffee shop sector posts 10% growth The UK branded coffee chain market, including chains such as Costa, Starbucks Coffee Company, Caffè Nero, Pret A Manger and EAT, has shown incredible resilience, growing sales by 10% to an estimated turnover of £2.1 billion with the market doubling since 2005, report Allegra Strategies in their latest Project Café11 UK report, as consumers embrace the growing coffee culture trend and demonstrate their love of coffee, enabling the sector to substantially outperform the wider retail market.

“The UK coffee shop market continues to exceed expectations by growing significantly in value, but also in outlet numbers,” said Jeffrey Young, managing director of Allegra Strategies. “More than 600 new coffee outlets opened in the UK during 2011. As consumers gain more opportunity to consume coffee through more outlets, they are making it part of their lifestyle.

“High quality independent coffee shops are fuelling consumer demand and driving the branded coffee shop sector to increase focus on unique interiors and improved brewing methods within a wider, more artisanal coffee offer. This focus on quality

in all areas can only continue to drive a thriving industry.”

In the largest ever research study of its kind, Allegra say that they surveyed more than 36,000 consumers, revealing continued growth in visitor frequency, with one in 10 UK adults now visiting coffee shops daily, based on their findings.

Consumers refuse to give up on their regular coffee out of home, claim the researchers, with 39% of those surveyed stating that they visit coffee shops more often than 12 months ago.

However, Allegra’s report did also highlight concerns. Perhaps not surprisingly, they discovered that weaker mid-sized chains and low quality independents are suffering as the major brands expand.

Consumers have also started to spend slightly less per visit (down from £3.50 in 2009 to £3.18 in 2011), thereby reducing their food-related spending in coffee shops (69% of consumers interviewed purchase food in coffee shops regularly, compared with 71% in 2010).

The branded coffee shop market is led

by Costa, expanding with 167 new UK outlets to a total of 1,342. Starbucks opened 12 new stores and posted revenue

growth in 2011 from its 743 strong store estate. These largest chains account for 52% share of branded market sales and further market growth is predicted.

Coffee will continue to be an affordable treat and provide a much needed indulgence for consumers during challenging economic times, assert Allegra.

Rising consumer value expectations is a long-term factor shaping purchasing behaviour, believe the researchers, who suggest that branded chains will need to ensure they offer high quality products, especially food and authentic environments.

The UK coffee shop sector will continue to out-perform retail sales growth and this will attract further non-specialist interest, conclude Allegra, who predict like-for-like sales growth to continue, with leading brands to average high single digit growth over the next five years. Indeed, they feel that the branded coffee chain market will be the main growth driver of the overall market, expected to grow at 6.0% compound annual growth and exceed 6,000 outlets by 2015 (they predict sales to grow by 10.7% CAGR and reach £3.2 billion by 2015).

Brains acquire Coffee #1 Wales’ brewing and hospitality business, S.A Brain and Co Ltd, has purchased Coffee#1 Limited, the award winning coffee chain which currently comprises 15 high street stores spread throughout South Wales and the South West.

“We are delighted to have completed the purchase of Coffee#1. We are selling an increased volume of coffee through our pub estate and believe we are well placed to continue the fantastic success of Coffee#1 with our complementary hospitality skills to a well-established, highly-regarded and awardwinning retail operation. We have been very impressed with the excellent standards of product quality and service and were attracted to the significant development

potential for Coffee#1 going forward,” said Brains’ chief executive, Scott Waddington.

“The coffee market has continued to grow strongly despite the recent difficult economic conditions. We believe that with the continuing changes in consumer eating and drinking habits, this acquisition presents an obvious opportunity for our business in the future and is complementary to the continued development of our pub business.”

James Shapland, the founder and managing director of Coffee#1, added: “We are delighted that Coffee#1 has become part of the Brains family and are confident that under their control the business will go from strength to strength.

“I would like to thank all

Coffee #1 is now owned by pub company Brains. our staff for their hard work and help in growing Coffee#1 into the well-loved and

highly successful business it is today, and wish them every success in the future.”

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NEWS

Caffè Culture show has plans for 2012 The Caffè Culture Show (www.caffecultureshow.com) has announced a number of new initiatives for 2012, ensuring it remains the most relevant, comprehensive and businessfocussed event for the UK’s café bar market, say the organisers.

Taking place on the 16 to 17 May 2012 at Olympia, London, the Caffè Culture show has undertaken an extensive review of what exhibitors and visitors are looking to achieve from their attendance and has further developed the show to meet their specific needs.

“We pride ourselves on being a completely business focussed and highly targeted event for the industry’s leading brands,” says event director, Elliot Gard. “We are here to deliver results for exhibiting companies, in terms of

providing a professional and effective environment in which they can promote and sell their products to the right volume and calibre of visitors. Likewise, we promise to offer visitors access to innovative products and inspirational ideas that they can take back to their businesses.”

The show will enjoy a makeover for 2012, with an extension in the number of free

seminars and demonstrations, offering in-depth and practical advice on all aspects of running a café bar, tea room or coffee shop. The new programme will mean even greater numbers will gain access to free advice and support from leading industry experts, say the organisers.

The show will also see the addition of a new live stage where a host of interactive

sessions and workshops will give business owners, managers and baristas inspiration and practical ideas to help transform their food and beverage offering.

This year’s show will see over 200 leading suppliers exhibit their products and services and will also welcome a number of new exhibitors including Viaggi, Nestle’s award-winning premium barista beverage system, first time UK exhibitor, Tea Scent, who produce 100% natural, hand-picked Taiwanese tea, niche point of sale and display manufacturer Norman Pendred, and luxury cookie supplier, Galete (for a full Exhibitor List, visit www.caffecultureshow.com/ exhibitorlist and www.caffecultureshow.com/ register to register for a FREE trade pass).

Defra boost for Yorkshire ice cream producer

Starbucks’ drive-through plans to influence forecourt operators?

Just before the close of 2011, Starbucks announced plans to ramp up its opening of drive-through coffee outlets at service stations to capitalise on the rising demand for coffee on the go.

Starbucks formed a partnership with Euro Garages in March last 2010, and the latest announcement of its expansion to 100 outlets suggests that British motorists have a growing appetite for consumption onthe-move.

Market observers, Verdict Research, believe that the resulting uplift in quality and service benchmarks could

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well force forecourt operators to rethink their food service strategies.

“Food and drinks served in a drive-through format will be highly welcomed by drivers as it will cater to their growing need for convenience and time efficiency,” commented Ashima Jain, a retail analyst at Verdict Research. “With an expansion of big coffee brands such as Costa and Starbucks on the horizon, the quality benchmark of hot coffee served across UK’s service stations will improve further and will cause other fuel retailers to consider similar partnerships.”

The West Yorkshire ice cream producer, Yummy Yorkshire, which specialises in premium artisan ice cream, has received a 50% ‘match funding’ grant equating to £55,676 from the Rural Development Programme for England, co-funded by Defra and the EU. The grant will be used as part of the company's expansion plans, which include increasing production levels and doubling the size of its ice cream parlour and coffee shop located on the outskirts of Huddersfield.

Twenty extra table settings will be created in the dining area of the shop, bringing the total to approximately 40. An extra serving counter dedicated to hot food will be installed, freeing up the existing counter for ice cream use only, resulting in a speedier service for customers. A serving hatch will also be created to facilitate access for those wishing to only buy an ice cream on the cone.

The grant will also help Yummy Yorkshire purchase new freezing equipment, to help grow both the wholesale and retail side

of the business and the company plans to increase production levels by 60% over the next three years.

“With the Defra contribution we will be able to expand and upgrade our business, increasing the capacity of the shop as well as production levels,” said Jeremy Holmes, co-founder of Yummy Yorkshire. “Ultimately we’ll also be able to offer additional employment. We are very excited about what the expansion means for us and our customers and are extremely grateful to Defra for making the project possible.”

Yummy Yorkshire Ice Cream Co., a diversification project set up four years ago by Jeremy and Louise Holmes whose original business is a third generation dairy farm, currently employs five full time and six part time staff, having increased its head count by four in the past 12 months. A turnover of £331,000 is predicted for 2011/12. Funding for Yummy Yorkshire was managed and allocated through Defra RDPE Delivery Team Yorkshire and Humber in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

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NEWS

Coffee shop market full of beans A new Market Assessment – Coffee & Sandwich Shops - published by marketing intelligence provider, Key Note, focuses on the coffee and sandwich shops market in the UK, revealing an industry which has performed very well despite a chilly economic climate.

The Assessment provides market intelligence on a number of key areas of the industry, say Key Note, including coffee shops and sandwich shops, as well as profiles of some of the UK’s most prominent operators.

Further key data includes exclusive market research commissioned by Key Note in 2011, investigating consumer opinions regarding coffee and sandwich shops and revealing that almost half of those surveyed had visited a coffee shop or a sandwich shop in the previous three months, thus giving some idea of the market’s strength.

Despite the recession and the subsequent downward pressure on UK growth, a symptom of which has been high unemployment, the number of coffee and sandwich shops grew between 2009 and 2010. In 2010, the top 12 brands of coffee shops had 3,041 outlets between them, while the top 12 brands of sandwich shops totalled 3,748 (these are dominated by the coffee chains Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero and, the sandwich chains, Greggs and Subway).

Expansion of the market has been rapid and prolonged, with the recession having only the slightest effect on this trend in 2009, report Key Note. The London and South East markets have become more saturated and, as a result, key expansion areas have sprung up in the rest of the country, where brands are competing for market share.

The market benefits from a high level of consumer retention despite the economic downturn, with the market research also revealing that less than a third of respondents have cut back on visiting a coffee or sandwich shops due to the recession. Demand is therefore not falling at a sufficient enough rate to prevent or curtail the current expansion of the market, suggest Key Note.

The popularity of coffee shops is further highlighted by the fact that so many retailers now have their own coffee shop kiosks, particularly in supermarkets and other locations with high square footage, note Key Note. However, recently there outlets have refrained from including branded coffee and sandwich shops in their stores, with many retailers now increasingly incorporating their own generic in-store cafés, which are run by the stores themselves rather than an outside chain.

It is not just the UK which sits in the

Power of partnerships The fine food distributor, Cotswold Fayre, has presented its Supplier of the Year Award 2011 to the artisanal soft drinks producer, Belvoir Fruit Farms.

The award was set up three years ago to recognise suppliers that best embrace Cotswold Fayre’s working in partnership business ethos.

“The team at Belvoir Fruit Farms really go that extra mile to ensure a successful business relationship. They have spent time with all our sales team, run regular promotions, undertaken tastings at our customers, regularly forward us leads from trade shows and gave a presentation at our Suppliers Conference in September,” said Paul

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Hargreaves, managing director at Cotswold Fayre.

“Working closely with us has also seen sales of their products increase by 30% in 2011 too.”

Belvoir Fruit Farms, which makes cordials, pressés and fruit crushes at its base in Lincolnshire, has been working with Cotswold Fayre for the past 10 years.

Lawrence Moore, sales director at Belvoir Fruit Farms added: “We are delighted to have been selected as Cotswold Fayre’s Supplier of the year.

Having a true partnership, as opposed to a transactional relationship, makes all of the difference.

That’s what we feel we have with Cotswold Fayre – so the award is a real testament to that too.”

crosshairs when it comes to the expansion of the market. Many foreign markets are also being targeted by the chains, which are currently making much headway in the UK. The Asia-Pacific region in particular holds particular importance, as does the Eastern European market, say Key Note.

Having survived the worst of the recession relatively unscathed in most cases, the major coffee and sandwich chains are likely to continue to expand, with the only caveat being that perhaps it will be a more cautious expansion than would have previously been undertaken before the recession. Indeed, a number of the major chains did cut back outlet expansion during the economic crisis, with some, such as Starbucks, closing stores in a number of locations across the globe.

However, with the worst now expected to be over, feel Key Note, and tentative hints of overall growth in 2012 for the UK economy to look forward to, it is likely that a number of the larger chains will return to concentrating on expansion, possibly at the expense of some of the smaller, independent chains. By 2015, Key Note is predicting that store numbers for branded coffee shops will reach 3,800, while the number of branded sandwich shops will grow to 4,511 over the next five years (www.keynote.co.uk).

Kenco’s new developments for 2012 Kraft Foods has launched Kenco Professional, with a vibrant new look and feel and a wealth of new benefits and resources for all services products stakeholders, whether operator or consumer, say the company.

The relaunch is designed to reflect Kenco Professional’s three core principles - excellent quality, innovation and sustainability. The new logo, which already features on Kenco’s retail packs, brings an updated and fresher look to the brand while maintaining a link to its heritage as a leading premium coffee.

New developments for operators include a new web site at www.kencoprofessional.co.uk, as well as new look machine decals and fascias. Kenco Professional also has a number of new product developments in the pipeline for the year ahead.

Already, a 650g refill pack has been launched to enable caterers to continue to deliver

excellence to consumers, through the provision of premium quality coffee in a pack that has 84% packaging weight reduction, compared to the alternative composite tin.

Susan Nash, trade communications manager at Kraft Foods UK, said: “In the retail market, Kenco is already leading the way in sustainability, with twice as many consumers describing the brand as ethical compared to any other brand of soluble coffee. What’s more, its retail value has risen 10% to £77.1 million, according to public data, over the last 12 months.

“Our relaunch brings a whole range of benefits for operators, and this is just the start of what promises to be an exciting 2012.

We have a number of great plans for the next 12 months to help make a real difference to businesses through excellent quality, innovation and sustainability in every hot beverage offering.”

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NEWS

SHORTS ISA’s new approach to UK market ISA has announced that it is changing the way it supplies its commercial refrigeration solutions and shopfitting products into the UK market. Recognising the strengths that existed within their established dealers and with the introduction of new dealers, ISA will now be directing all its business, with the exception of major key accounts, exclusively through this network (www.isaspa.uk.com).

Secret recipe goes on ‘display’ The Coca-Cola Company has removed its top secret drinks recipe from a bank vault in order to put in on display at their World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, USA. However, visitors might be disappointed to discover that the formula for this beverage that’s become popular the world over, is not on view, but contained inside a metal box within a high tech vault.

Museum account for ice cream maker Huddersfield ice cream producer, Yummy Yorkshire, has landed a series of new accounts which include the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield. The familyowned artisan ice cream producer has been appointed to supply four different ice cream flavours to the tourist attraction which visitors will be able to enjoy as part of the museum restaurant’s dessert menu or in 120ml takeaway tubs.

Cake decorating showcase Squires Kitchen's annual cake decorating, chocolate and sugarcraft exhibition is one of the most anticipated events in many a cake lover’s calendar, celebrating everything to do with the amazing art of cake decorating and sugarcraft. A three-day event, it attracts thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world who come to see displays, watch demonstrations, buy new products and learn more about their favourite pastime or profession (tickets are available from www.squiresshop.com).

Big brands to attend Natural Food Show Dorset Cereals, Kallo Foods, The Food Doctor, Windmill Organics, Green & Blacks, Clipper Teas, Infinity Foods, and Tree of Life are just a few of the big name exhibitors returning to London’s Olympia on 1-2 April for this year’s Natural Food Show at the UK’s only dedicated natural and organic products trade event Natural & Organic Products Europe (visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk quoting priority code NPE12050).

Cadbury supports Fairtrade The Cadbury brand is set to launch an innovative new creative campaign in support of Fairtrade Fortnight (27 February to 11 March 2012) and that will feature standout POS and imagery to help consumers identify how easy it is to back Fairtrade Fortnight, by purchasing and enjoying the Cadbury branded products that are involved.

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Inside the new Bath Tea Monkey store.

Tea Monkey opens second outlet An award winning café - Tea Monkey – has now officially opened its doors in Little Southgate, Bath after opening its first café in Midsummer Place, Central Milton Keynes in March 2011, and heralding the start of an innovative communication café concept in the UK that offers consumers something a little bit different, but is still on trend.

Tea Monkey was originally created out of a dis-satisfaction with the current coffee shop chain after its founder, and devoted tea drinker, Tracey Bovingdon, became fed up with being treated as a second class citizen in coffee shops, especially with the UK being regarded as a nation of tea drinkers! Her team then went on to devise a tea space where people could not only chill, work, meet and tweet, but also have access to the latest technology in a space for all and that engaged locally.

Tea Monkey is a refreshing, clean and cutting edge tea bar,

with over 40 different types of loose tea and organic pyramid tea sacs, including a wellness range and some impressive ‘blooming’ teas. It also offers people a wide range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, wraps, funky cup cakes and pastries, and provide gluten free products, vegetarian options and a friendly and stimulating space for children.

The up and coming outlet says that they are not saying that customers can’t drink coffee - in fact they serve some award winning blends (Beverage Standard Awards 2011, Best Tea, UK, 4 cups award for Coffee and 4 cups award for Hot Chocolate) but they simply believe in giving customers more choice as well as a really great place to be.

Each store has wall mounted iPads for customers and children to use free of charge. There’s also free WiFi and access to printing (with print costs going to charity), and say that they also plan some open mic nights and local music.

HMRC launches resolution service A pilot introducing a new way of resolving disputes between SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been launched.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a pilot for small and medium enterprises that uses independent HMRC facilitators to resolve disputes between HMRC and customers during a compliance check, but before a decision or assessment has been made. It aims to find a fair and quick outcome for both parties, helping to reduce their costs and avoid a tribunal.

The pilot in North Wales and the North West follows a successful trial earlier this year, where 60% of disputes were

either fully or partially resolved, say HMRC. “ADR will help SMEs resolve disputes without having to go to a tribunal – saving them both time and money. It is a good opportunity for HMRC to work together with our customers to potentially resolve disputes much earlier than at present,” said HMRC’s Jim Stevenson, assistant director, local compliance. “The facilitators are HMRC members of staff who have been trained in ADR techniques and have not been involved in the dispute.”

ADR does not affect existing processes or review and appeal rights, and covers both VAT and direct taxes (to find out more, visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/adr /intronote.pdf).

CAFÉS FOR SALE LIFESTYLE TRADED IDYLLIC SHORELINE RESTAURANT & TEAROOMS

ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND BAR

CRAFT BAKERY & SPA TEA ROOMS

THRIVING SANDWICH BAR

NORTH YORKSHIRE

DEVON

PRESTON

WEST COAST SCOTLAND

T/O £171,000 Well presented throughout Scope to develop further 34 cover dining room

T/O £81,000 Very well established Superb town centre trading position Scope for deliveries & catering

WT £7,000 Superb town centre location 70 covers, potential to increase Excellent scope to develop

£170,000 LEASEHOLD

£65,000 LEASEHOLD

£120,000 LEASEHOLD

Ref 38177

T/O £126,193 for 7 months trading Beautiful location in popular tourist destination, Spectacular views 2 bed bungalow included, land available for expansion £550,000 FREEHOLD Ref 38522

Ref 37244

Ref 38112

CAFÉ & SANDWICH BAR COMPANY BATLEY WT £1,400, Prominent trading location 16 covers, Well presented premises REF 38960 £50,000 LEASEHOLD

HULL SANDWICH BAR/CAFE & DELI Town centre location, WT £3,200, Well presented throughout, 66 covers REF 30601 £70,000 LEASEHOLD

MERSEYSIDE CAFÉ Turnover £78,000, Main road position, Superbly presented premises, Fully refurbished to a high specification REF 39048 £40,000 LEASEHOLD

BRIDLINGTON BISTRO 2 dining rooms, WT £3,500-£4,000, Established 1987, Enclosed rear garden REF 33653 £275,000 FREEHOLD

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE CAFÉ/RESTAURANT Proj T/O £750k+, GP 70%, Refurbished to a high standard, Evening trade currently just 4 days per week, Leasehold L/up rent £730pwx REF 36848 £450,000 LEASEHOLD

CAFÉ AND VENDING OVER 2 SITES BURNLEY WT £3,500, Established 2007, Fantastic trading position, Superb premises REF 38710 £115,000 LEASEHOLD

DONCASTER CAFÉ/TEAROOMS WT £1,000, Substantial premises, 56 internal covers, 26 external covers, Low rent and rates REF 38239 £0 LEASEHOLD

HAMPSHIRE EUROPEAN BISTRO & SANDWICH BAR 5 sites (3 in house), Turnover £1m , 2 Leasehold, 3 rent free, Scope to Franchise REF 32974 £600,000 LEASEHOLD

LEICESTER 66 COVER CAFE & BAR 66 Covers, WT £3,000-£3,500, Rent £253pw, Well established REF 33858

BURTON-UPON-TRENT COFFEE SHOP WT £1,800, Town centre location, 35 covers, Scope to introduce outside catering REF 38118 £37,000 LEASEHOLD

LIVERPOOL CAFÉ TAKEAWAY WT £1,150, 28 covers + 6 external cover, Most equipment new within 3 years, New 5 year lease, rent £7,500pa REF 39065 £23,500 LEASEHOLD

LICENSED 38 COVER CAFE MABLETHORPE RESTAURANT Well presented property, WT £1,000 , Prime location, 2 bed accommodation REF 32645 £124,950 FREEHOLD

MALTON DELICATESSEN/CAFÉ/BAKERY 28 covers, WT £5,000 , Rent £290pwx, Scope to introduce deliveries REF 30976 £104,995 LEASEHOLD

MANCHESTER CAFÉ/SANDWICH BAR WT £1,000, Superb main road location, Fully equipped kitchen, Low rent and rates £25,000 LEASEHOLD REF 38711

SOUTHPORT COFFEE SHOP WT £2,500, Town centre main high street location Fully refurbished to an impeccable standard Substantial three storey premises REF 39050 £80,000 LEASEHOLD

WETHERBY ESTABLISHED CATERING COMPANY W/T £1,400 GP 54%, Highly regarded, Serving corporate and private sectors, High repeat custom REF 38310 £35,000 LEASEHOLD

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Sponsored By

Awards 2012 The Café Society is a trade body focused on the encouragement of the café experience as a way of life in the UK. As well as providing support for its members, the Society aims to promote the café society to consumers in a way that will encourage the development and embodiment of this casual way of life into British lifestyles.

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The Café Society, set up in the early 1990’s, has six principal objectives: • To promote good quality standards in terms of both beverage making and the café environment in which products are sold.

• To safeguard the integrity of the café market and environment by setting technical standards for beverage making and retailing as well as by encouraging those in the industry to uphold these standards.

• To encourage excellence and innovation in the café market.

In these challenging times, it is all too easy to let standards slip and to put innovation and creativity on a back burner - yet the long term future and integrity of the café market depends on us all maintaining the high standards and reputation that the industry has achieved to date. The Café Society Awards were relaunched in February 2010 to encourage good practice, innovation and standards by recognising those who continue to push the boundaries and lead the way in promoting all aspects of the Café Society in the UK. The 2012 awards will take the form of a luncheon at the Roof Gardens, Kensington, on May 24th 2012, when seven awards will be presented. So why not enter your business in the 2012 Awards and gain the prestige and recognition your business deserves.

Entry Entry to the awards is open to anyone in the industry. You can either nominate your own business or put forward someone else who you think the judges should consider for an award. The Secretariat of the Society will collate information on all those entered and present it to a panel of judges. The judges, who will include

Café Culture editor Clare Benfield, will be chosen for their knowledge of the industry and the independence from those who have entered. The closing date for entries is: 1st March, 2012 The Awards The following are the 2012 award categories: The Café Society Award This award will be given annually to an individual or organisation that is considered by the judges to have been exceptionally influential in shaping the Café market in the UK. In making submissions for this award, please state why you think the individual or organisation you nominate deserves an award.

The Café Innovation Award This award aims to encourage innovation in the market, either by operators or suppliers. The judges in this category will be looking for successful innovation that has been influential across the market.

Submissions in this category should provide details of the innovation, evidence of its success as well as any evidence of its influence on the market as a whole.

ENTRY FORM

• To promote the café market, the way of life it encompasses, and members to consumers.

• To provide a collective voice, and represent the views of, all those involved in the industry to government, both central and regional.

• To provide mechanisms for increasing knowledge and understanding in the café market, particularly through the publication of a regular news magazine about the industry.

The Café Design of the Year Award This award aims to encourage good design practices in the sector bearing in mind the importance that the atmosphere of an outlet can have on its success. The judges in this category will be looking for good practical design that sets new standards. Submissions in this category should provide details of the design brief, its successful application as well as pictures of the results.

New Product of the Year Award This award aims to encourage the development of products (including drinks and equipment but excluding food) for the market. Submissions in this category should provide product information as well details of why the product is particularly suited to the Cafe Society.

The Café Food Award This award aims to encourage the innovation and development of food products specifically for the Cafe Society market. Submissions in this category should include product information as well as details of why you think the product deserves this award.

Café/Coffee Bar Chain of the Year This award aims to recognise the work being done by leading operators to set standards and drive the market in terms of innovation, standards and consumer satisfaction.

Submissions should set out on an A4 sheet why you think the business deserves an award in this category.

Café/Coffee Bar Independent of the Year This award aims to recognise the work being done by entrepreneurs in the industry to develop successful independent café/coffee bars. Submissions should set out on an A4 sheet why you think the business deserves an award in this category and should be supported by any relevant information you can provide, such as photographs, menus etc.

Remember, you need to submit your entries before the closing date – 1st March, 2012 If you would like further information about the Café Society Awards, please contact Pam Sainsbury on 01291 636341.

Please state which category or categories you wish to enter:

Name _____________________________________________________________

■ The Café Society Award Business Name _____________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

■ The Café Innovation Award ■ The Café Design of the Year Award

__________________________________________________________________

■ The Café Food Award Tel No _____________________________________________________________

■ New Product of the Year Award Email ______________________________________________________________

■ Café/Coffee Bar Chain of the Year Name of business/product being submitted: __________________________________________________________________

■ Café/Coffee Bar Independent of the Year

Please attach the supporting infomation for each entry and post it to: Pam Sainsbury, Café Society Awards, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow NP16 5DB Or email your entries to: pam@jandmgroup.co.uk

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SHOW PREVIEW

Coffee shop sector influences Hotelympia Hotelympia returns this year (26 February to 1 March 2012, ExCel, London) with a greater coffee shop sector emphasis, hosting three coffee sector championships, and with many food, drink and catering equipment exhibitors keen to showcase the café potential of their products.

Stage set Traditionally a hub for show stopping insight, hard fought competitions and the meeting of minds, the Stage will yet again be the focal point for the five-day show, say the show’s organisers (Fresh RM), playing host to a number of one-on-one interviews, seminars, panel discussions, international competitions and awards ceremonies.

Sunday will kick things off with ‘Marketing the May Fair’, the spotlight being thrown on the people behind the publicity to give us an intriguing glance into how they stage-manage the hotel’s celebrity. Also on the bill is Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, who will be presenting the association’s campaign for cutting VAT. Monday will see Giorgio Locatelli talk about The Clink charity – an initiative to train people in prisons the art of cooking and front of house service allowing them to have meaningful employment opportunities when they are released. Also scheduled for Monday is Fred Sirieix – general manager at Fracino’s John Cook is looking forward to the Hotelympia show.

Galvin at Windows and star of Michel Roux's Service, who will be imparting his advice and offering tips on creating the perfect service. The man behind successful restaurant chains including Pizza Express and Giraffe, Luke Johnson, will also be on hand to talk about his businesses and the secrets to achieving and maintaining your own hospitality business.

Budding designers will not want to miss Martin Brudnizki who will be talking about the future of design. As well as discussing what lies ahead for the sector, he will also be talking about technique, inspiration, favourite projects and advising how to work successfully to schedules and budgets.

“Consumer spending may be squeezed, but you can still delight your customers by giving them what they want before your competitors do,” says Toby Wand, group exhibition director at Fresh RM. “Whether you’re looking for operational advice, innovative thinking or a fresh view of the industry, the Stage will offer a comprehensive and unparalleled snapshot of the hospitality market-at-large and offer insight to keep your business in front of the pack.”

Coffee emphasis On the Wednesday and Thursday, coffee will be the word on everyone’s lips as the Stage hosts no less than three championships.

The UK Coffee in Good Spirits Championship promotes innovative beverage recipes that showcase coffee, spirits and unique ingredients in a competition format. The barista’s mixology skills will be put to the ultimate test as competitors present courses of Irish coffee and signature beverages to two judges. The drinks are then judged for taste, aroma, visual qualities and overall presentation.

The UK Latte Art Finals require a cool head and a steady hand, shining a light on the most intricate and beautiful latte art designs. Competitors will each have to make two macchiatos, two cappuccinos and two

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speciality drinks in ten minutes. Each drink will be decorated with free–poured latte art, while each pair of drinks will also be judged against a photo of the intended design that the barista has to submit before judging.

Finally, the World Cup Tasters Championship will award the professional coffee cupper who can distinguish between the intricate taste differences in speciality coffees, while the UK Cezve Ibrik Championships celebrates coffee that is Rational Ltd’s (Stand N1410) SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency®, pitched as ‘the next generation combi oven’ due to its sustainability and time and money-saving features, has been short listed for a Hotelympia 2012 Innovation Award (winners to be announced on Monday 27 February on the main stage at the event).

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SHOW PREVIEW produced in the tradition of Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.

Café appeal Fracino (stand S2916), the UK’s only manufacturer of cappuccino and espresso machines, will be showcasing its 55-strong portfolio of award-winning machines. The company recently invested £250,000 in sheet metal and form bending production facilities, allowing it to manufacture more components in house.

This new facility will enable Fracino meet the increasing demand for its range of innovative coffee machines, of which it currently produces over 3,000 per year.

“Hotelympia is a fantastic opportunity to see what is hot in the foodservice and hospitality industry. I’d like to invite everyone to visit our stand where you can get a taste of our world-class products and find out what we have brewing for 2012,” says John Cook, sales and marketing executive at Fracino.

Visitors will get a chance to see how the Vivreau (Stand N2829) team of designers have taken their already successful V20 tap to the next level with a complete design overhaul, which includes a futuristic new control system along with a more stylish look and feel that is set to revolutionise tap design, say the company.

The Italian, traditional coffee machine manufacturer, La Cimbali UK (stand S3219), will also be in attendance. "Consumers are now involved in more coffee drinking experiences on a daily basis, but have come to expect their coffee to be as good or better than the offering that they can get, not just from high-street coffee chains, but now supermarkets, department stores and garage forecourts! They expect creamy lattes, frothy cappuccinos and rich espressos,” says Carl Bjorkstrand, managing director of La Cimbali UK. The La Cimbali Q10 - a fresh milk beanto-cup coffee machine which has been

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designed to ensure that any hotel outlet can offer a high standard of coffee to its business guests with hardly any staff training needed and for less than 10p per cup – will be on show, as will the company’s M29 Select Turbo machine (a compact traditional machine with an automatic steam facility for hotels that want to serve fresh, quality coffee from a traditional machine), the new M39 HD machine and Magnum on demand grinder, and the new S54 semi-automatic machine, a dual boiler, high performance bean to cup machine for large demand, retail based occasions. The S54 will be accompanied by the more compact M1 S10 Turbo, for those wanting the same style of production, but on a more modest scale.

Originally Founded in 1946, Italian ice cream equipment experts, Carpigiani (stands S1036 and S1040) will be offering visitors advice and knowledge of artisan ice cream, soft ice cream-cream, whipping and thick shake machines, as well as their Carpigiani Gelato University training courses which are available throughout the UK for those looking to learn the secrets of ice cream making. On stand will be the new Carpigiani “Freeze & Go” machine - single cylinder (500ml), compact, counter-top machine that allows for the high quality production of ice cream and sorbet in just five minutes.

Katerbay (stand N1159) will be launching the “Turbo Air” brand of refrigeration equipment which includes upright fridges and freezers, counter fridges and freezers, as well as pizza, prep counters and glass door drinks coolers, and promising the very highest quality, reliability and real value for money.

Victor Manufacturing (stand N1346) will launch the Optimax range of refrigerated, heated and ambient display cabinets alongside the company’s extensive ranges of foodservice equipment. Some of the products on show will include the popular Synergy drop-in counter units, highlights from the company’s servery and foodservice counters, chilled and hot display units and the ever-popular Victor hot cupboards and Banquetline hot holding cabinets.

Instanta (stand N1766) will be widening its range of Sous Vide machines, upgrading its CT and 1500 product lines to include a number of features specifically requested by its customers, introducing a new compact

countertop boiler - the 1000C, and launching a range of four manual fill urns.

Metcalfe (stand S1001) are the sole UK distributors for the Roband range of grill stations. With the elements cast into the smooth die-cast aluminium cooking surfaces the grill has been designed to produce an even, efficient heat transfer both across each plate and between the top and bottom plates, ensuring a perfectly cooked 60 second panini, claim the company.

Following its recent acquisition of the equipment distribution division of Servequip, Jestic (stand S1415) will be exhibiting a range of products from brands such as Henny Penny, Ugolini and Frigomat.

The Josper charcoal oven grill, distributed exclusively by Jestic, is being pitched as ‘the must-have product’ for chefs of the year and Josper (stand S1419) will have a stand directly opposite where they will be carrying out live cooking demonstrations throughout the show.

Tibard (stand N2615), one of the industry’s most long established chefs’ wear manufacturers and Oliver Harvey, one of its newest, will be sharing a stand once again, coinciding with the launch of Tibard’s brand new catalogue which will contain a number of new additions to both its front of house and back of house collections.

Manitowoc (Stand N1869/1870) will be launching its new Merrychef e2, the latest version in the Merrychef eikon selection, and the ideal solution for a variety of smaller establishments such as cafés, tearooms and kiosks, feel Manitowoc, with 375mm x 724mm x 686mm dimensions. The e2 will help to create additional revenue opportunity for new locations where space has previous been a limitation to offering good food, fast. It has a new patented heat transfer method uses planar plumes to provide fast and efficient crispy cooking with uniform browning so that popular snacks such as paninis, pizza cones, chicken wraps can be cooked very quickly to a very high repeatable standard.

The Merrychef e2 should interest café operators with its small footprint and easyTouch control panel that has the ability to store up to 1024 six-stage recipe programmes.

WMF (Stand N2110) plans to launch the Solutions collection from Tafelstern, a fine porcelain range to enhance coffee service, no matter what time of day or style of operation. A modular system, it combines

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SHOW PREVIEW Also look out for…

Steelite International, Stand N2526 - tableware The Contact Grill Company, Stand 1760 – high speed cooking equipment Capital Coffee Roasters, Stand S2919 - coffee Cino Coffee Machine MFG Co Ltd, Stand N3046 – Chinese coffee equipment Conti-Espresso UK – espresso machines from Monaco Dalian Goodwood Medical Care Ltd, Stand N2566 – FSC certified disposables Dinkum Products Ltd, Stand N2815 – drinks concepts Euro Food Brands Ltd, Stand S2716 – illy coffee Fergana International Ltd, Stand N2350 – ceramic coffee cups and tea pots First Choice Catering Spares, Stand N1420 – spares and ancillaries Global Tea & Coffee Exchange, Stand N2944 – coffee and tea G W London, Stand S1109 – catering and refrigeration equipment

Attending and exhibiting Companies seeking to find out how they can promote their business at Hotelympia and reach an audience of over 33,000 should visit www.hotelympia.com, or contact Andrew Pantelli on 0207 886 3055. Visitors can also visit the web site to register for a free ticket, saving the £30 entrance fee. make at the show, but nothing will be revealed until the first day. Meanwhile, it is teasing customers and prospects alike with sneak previews of what is in store.

Images show partially hidden Artis products, draped in silk, with the strapline, ‘All will be revealed….’

Il Gelato di Ariela (A&F Gelati Italian Ltd), Stand N2860 – ice cream Magrini Ltd, Stand 2920 – coffee equipment and juice blenders Marco Beverage Systems Ltd, Stand 3014 – beverage equipment Peros, Stand 2930 – coffee shop supplies Taylors of Harrogate, Stand 2910 – coffee and tea Tudor Tea and Coffee, Stand 3010 – coffee and tea Watling Hope, Stand 1236 – food/coffee sediment traps

Sielaff’s Piacere touch screen.

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Part of WMF’s new Solutions collection from Tafelstern. imaginative design with practical shapes to enhance the service of any beverage occasion, but especially coffee, say WMF. Hot drinks dispensers, vending machines and product merchandisers, Sielaff (Stand S3046), will be demonstrating its latest product introduction, the ‘Piacere Touch’, a touch screen version of its best selling bean-to-cup machine. Also on the stand will be the company’s latest merchandiser, the Combimat 75, a combination machine for both cold drinks and snacks and the innovative self-service coffee bar, Barista Uno. Tableware, cutlery, glassware and barware, Artis (Stand N2609) says that it will have some exciting announcements to

All to be revealed…

New launches from Artis.

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BERLIN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM

People and

partnerships Themed ‘wake up and smell the coffee!’, the Ritz Carlton Hotel Berlin hosted Allegra Strategies’ latest European Coffee Symposium (22 to 24 November 2011). There was the chance to sample some Berlin coffee shops, network with others, and applaud award-winning and peer-nominated companies and individuals at a celebratory black tie dinner. The event also provided a comprehensive opportunity to hear about some of the latest developments and plans of two of the biggest names in the sector –Starbucks and Costa.

STARBUCKS Michelle Gass (main picture), at the time just fifty days into her new role as head of service and operation for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia (EMEA) for Starbucks opened the first session of the speaker programme on the topic of 'transcending borders: the Starbucks experience in Europe'.

People and processes Starbucks fervently now describe themselves as a people company that serves coffee, as opposed to a coffee company that serves people – a reoccurring theme that was equally as evident in Andy Marshall’s following presentation for the fellow, now also global, coffee chain, Costa.

As was the form for most speakers, Michelle Gass showcased a corporate presentation film about what Starbucks means in Europe, before talking about the nature of the ‘Starbucks experience’, the company’s ethos and future plans. She drew particular attention to how this major brand has been working on its social credentials, as well its partner relations since the 2008 watershed moment when sales had slipped, some US outlets had to close, and the coffee shop giant that originally started out in Seattle in the 1970s recognised that they needed to evolve by developing a role for themselves far beyond their coffee by establishing connections with people, communities and customers.

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At Starbucks these days they don’t have employees, but rather partners, with Michelle Gass outlining to the gathered audience of over three hundred people, how every person the company does business with should be a little better off for it. Everyone who works at Starbucks from part-time and above, and right across the board, has the opportunity to own a piece of the company via stock options, in turn meaning that everybody is invested in, committed and passionate about the business by being given the opportunity to thrive.

Starbucks undoubtedly has a large presence in most major European countries, but says that it is still very committed to improving the in store experience, and that they are currently working to ensure that every store is globally relevant to the surrounding community.

New stores will showcase smart design with buildings using reclaimed materials with a greater awareness being shown towards where materials and resources are sourced from, how they are used and the

energy consumed as the chain aims for a 25% reduction in energy consumption by 2015, and in the process all adding up to a new kind of in store experience for the consumer, claim the company.

At the same time, they are also consciously investing in the journey of their product and its producers from farm to cup, including how the farmers grow their coffee crops and the infrastructure of the places where they live by taking a greater interest in their crops, their land and how they live.

They aim to deliver the same level of quality and experience in their off the shelf, retail products too, saying that although they are a big brand, they are in fact made up of very small parts and many people, and since 2008, now aim to pursue expansion by getting bigger but better by placing an emphasis on individual stores, with a ‘one customer at a time’ and ‘one neighbourhood at a time’ approach -

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BERLIN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM sentiments that are reflected in the new vision of their global mission statement (“to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time”).

Although they are evidently a big company, generating $10 billion in revenue with millions of customers in 15 countries and with 17,000 stores, they do not, on a day to day basis, see themselves in operation in big business terms, claimed Michelle Gass.

“We don’t think about ourselves that way,” said Michelle Gass, who revealed

that she had been part of the small team who worked with Howard Schulz on developing the revised, post-2008 mission statement when he returned back as CEO (the old mission statement having read “to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffees in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.”).

“We often think about ourselves like that single shop that we opened in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1971, because we’re not 17,000 stores, we’re about one store in 17,000 neighbourhoods, and it’s about serving one customer literally one cup at a time.

That is what inspires us as partners.

“We evolved our mission statement and for Starbucks, having always been mission-driven, it was a very big deal. We looked in the mirror in 2008 and recognised that we had to evolve and send a different signal, especially to our people,

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and look to the future. We recognised that our role in the world was something far beyond just the coffee. Coffee is at the centre of what we do, but it really is something much broader, and it’s around making connections. So it’s about every day, through that cup, and a great cup of coffee, that we see our role.”

They currently employ over 20,000 partners, have over 17,000 stores and are still growing, encompassing 70 nationalities. They are present in 32 countries with 21 different languages, eight business partners and three ownership models. Thus, the Starbucks business in the EMEA region is very complex, admitted Michell Gass, and often viewed as being somewhat daunting by her colleagues back in the States, particularly when viewed against the background of what’s now happening economically in Europe.

But Michelle Gass believes it to be a tremendous opportunity because while they do have a presence in many countries, it’s not always many outlets (in Germany, for example, there are 150 stores and they report that they still have plenty of people there eager to know when a Starbucks will be arriving in their particular town).

In identifying what it is that underpins the Starbucks experience, Michelle Gass said that it had always been about the coffee, of which they were very proud, having always sourced the highest quality arabica, as well as striving to seek out the top three percent of coffee via their ‘coffee people’ whose job it is to scour the world for good coffee. She also pointed out that they have ‘feet on the farm’ with their teams literally on the ground at farms, hundreds of days a year.

“In the last three years we have invested in agronomy offices so that we can help farmers improve their quality and their yield,” Michelle Gass told the symposium, going on to relate how she had seen for herself, father and son farms situated side by side in Guatemala. The son had adopted some ‘modern’ farming tips and advice from the Starbucks agronomy team (such as pruning and the non-removal of plant debris so that it could remain to help form nutrient-rich compost), having overtaken the father as a direct result by producing a better quality and yield by his being prepared to adopt new methods that were less familiar to more ‘old school’ predecessors. Successful developments such as this were a good example of the contribution Starbucks could make to the sustainability of farmers’ livelihoods, felt Michelle Gass.

“Starbucks has been pioneering in many advances in the world of ethical sourcing. For us, clearly it is the right thing

to do,” she added. “Good farming practices, price transparencies, improved quality and knowledge of social costs is now essential, but at the end of the day it’s about good business.”

In addition, the types of coffee Starbucks served, the espressos and cappuccinos, were at the heart of everything they do and also a key part of the Starbucks experience, pointed out Michelle Gass. Back in the 1980s, she recalled, it was Howard Schulz who, when travelling in Italy at the time and when Starbucks was a purveyor of full beans, saw espresso coffee bars in places such as Milan and Verona, and what happens when coffee’s shared with customers, then deciding to bring back that concept which has since gone on to help create the Starbucks of today.

Good coffee As part of their ethical sourcing strategy, a few years ago Starbucks decided to move to 100% Fairtrade across EMEA, a move which was very relevant to their customers, and as a result this also led to the building of good relationships with their suppliers, said Michelle Gass. “We strive for all our coffees to be ethically sourced. For us it’s a true badge of honour that everything is 100%,” she stated.

“Beyond that, beyond the beverages, we also like to celebrate the good coffees, the rare coffees that we find all over the world. We recently introduced a line of coffees called Reserve, and one of the things we thought about when it comes to scale and being big is when you have a coffee that serves 17,000 stores, there’s opportunity to still act small. Our coffee department will come in and talk about coffees they find here and there, and we decided we can’t actually send that to 17,000 stores, but what if we just do a select source? And so we are rolling out a programme called Reserve Stores where we are bringing very special, unique coffees that are like fine wines, that our paying partners can bring to our customers and create discovery and love around the coffee.”

Such coffees are also being made available for customers in pour over format to take away and enjoy at home, with Michelle Gass illustrating the many ways in which Starbucks can innovate their own coffee by drawing attention to a popular ‘by the cup’ cafetiere-type serving format used at Starbucks in the US called the Clover - a piece of equipment she would personally like to see appear in stores in Europe. The Clover uses vacuum press technology and produces full flavour coffees at precise temperatures.

At the other end of the spectrum is a

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BERLIN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM

new range of coffees called Blonde Roast, already popular with consumers, and which Michelle Gass described as “still part of the signature taste profile of Starbucks but for those who want a lighter roast, it brings them in at a different place”. They will be rolling this out globally during the first part of this year.

Disciples Michell Gass revealed that at Starbucks they often have a coffee/people debate, but have decided that the two are equally as important, with people being their partners in terms of the 200,000 people they have responsibility for and, of course, their customers, and so they have a fundamental belief that they must take care of their people so that they, in turn, can take care of their customers, and they do that in a variety of ways.

“In the very early days, Starbucks was a pioneer of benefits that really didn’t widely exist at the time, such as private healthcare, something which is still a major issue today. Globally we offer stock equity to anyone working twenty hours and above, and give hours and hours of training,” said Michelle Gass. “In Europe, we employ a lot of younger people who get not only the training to make coffee but are coached to develop life skills and a customer service mentality.”

They also invest in their employees, with some store managers going on trips

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CAFÉ CULTURE

to origin to places like Africa or Latin America. “This is so that they themselves can see what it’s like to be on the farm and to put their feet in the shoes of the farmer by picking cherries, for example, so that they understand how hard the farmer is working, and also see the joy and love that farmers have and to share that with them,” explained Michelle Gass. “These partners come back with videos and pictures, and their lives have changed and they become disciples inside their stores and inside their districts.”

The company will continue to invest in this, as well their partners’ own passions, having specially allocated funds to assist with a personal passion that they might want to pursue, or do, such as helping them in a charity fund raising challenge which, in turn, puts Starbucks in the business of connecting with their customers.

“In EMEA we serve over 20 million unique customers every month and we view it as our role to surprise and delight by creating that amazing Starbucks experience every single day,” said Michelle Gass. “Inside the stores, songs get written, books get written, jobs get offered. There are even weddings! So we believe that there is something that truly sets Starbucks apart and why we can transfer it across so many different countries and cultures. Fundamentally a human truth, it’s about human connection. It’s a high tech’

age of iPads and remote working, but there’s nothing that replaces human connection.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the world right now, economic uncertainty, social unrest. Where’s the future going?

There’s a lot of fear, and we look at ourselves as Starbucks and what role we can find. How can we be that respite, that small haven, that 30 minutes where you get a chance to take a break from what’s happening out there. So I would say the question is, how do you create a company that fosters that trust and safety in a world that is just so uncertain? Taking and transporting that emotional connection that’s happening in the stores, and bringing that into a way that’s relevant to how people communicate today.”

Social marketing Thus, as Michelle Gass confirmed, social media, which they launched back in 2008, is very relevant to Starbucks, and it is the number one brand on Facebook with over 30 million fans, and in Europe, they report that they are making great strides. Often asked how they achieved this, they put it down to what they have done inside their stores and how they have brought this forward.

“We don’t use the tool to market products – we tell customers about them, of course (we’re a business) – but the main thing is that we foster a connection,”

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BERLIN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM added Michelle Gass. “When first launched our social media was about doing good and inviting people in, and since then it’s built and built.”

It all happens inside the store and this is something that Starbucks say they are re-evaluating, so over the coming year we can expect to see the acceleration of how they drive not only the best of Starbucks, but how they recognise and feel that. They want their stores to feel like they’re a home, but the challenge is to provide a trust that makes it really locally relevant.

The company says that it is also doing a lot in the world of environmental lead standards, but still with local relevancy. For example, a store in an opera-influenced area of Paris features locally sourced and reclaimed fixtures and fittings from markets, a water conservation unit has been installed in London’s Conduit Street store, and a store in Dresden has ‘intelligent’ lighting controlled by the amount of natural daylight. The fact that a new store at the train station in Mainz is mainly filled with ‘destination customers’ who have come for the Starbucks experience as opposed to travel, would seem to suggest stores are indeed providing a powerful draw.

Lastly, community has always been part of their mission and values, said Michelle

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Gass, and they view their role at both a global and very local level where they spend a lot of time involved in locally relevant projects in the immediate communities, but given their scale, they have to be part of the global community too and so aim to use their scale for good as a catalyst for change.

In the US right now, the company claims to be leading the conversation on job creation in the US, and are donating $5 million to go to funding loans for small businesses. Their footprint (ie. stores) is also being used as a platform where people can meet – something they’ve been asked to do – and therefore an example of how they can drive their aim to be relevant to what’s going on in the world.

In Europe, the focus is particularly on youth and getting people into work by tackling unemployment, said Michelle Gass. Clearly, they are still very much a ‘for profit’ company, but by undertaking all the social, local, environmental and ethical commitments, then business success surely follows, and it has. Starbucks says that it is having a record year and at an all time high in terms of its stock price, so the model must be working.

“Do right and the rest follows,” said Michelle Gass. “It’s an exciting time, creating top line, creating jobs, helping the

economy and creating a special place in peoples’ lives. I see EMEA oozing with opportunity. There’s more potential, more store formats and opportunities to grow cross channel. In Continental Europe, we’ve barely scratched the surface of thing like hotels, foodservice, office and consumer products – all platforms that we want to pursue. We know that our customers are waiting for these products and are excited to go after it. We’re not perfect, but we’re good at what we do and see opportunities. I’m not here to embrace the status quo, I’m here to drive change.”

When asked about the chain’s food offering fitting in with the concept of the ‘Starbucks experience’, interestingly they have noticed demand across the board for their generic products (their US-style muffins being popular in Paris, for example) as well as more specific, regional interest in local items such as the UK’s bacon buttie.

And as for their response to that frequently-posed question – when will Starbucks appear in the Italian market?

The answer appeared to be ‘not yet, but watch this space’, as the company believe there to be a growing demand there for the Starbucks experience, with Michelle Gass saying that at some point in the future the time and the place will be right.

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COSTA In his presentation (‘getting under the skin of the coffee lover’), Costa’s chief operating officer international, Andy Marshall, emphasised the brand’s international presence (China, Europe and the Middle-East, for example), its genuine nature (prior to its acquisition by Whitbread, it had originally been founded by two Italian brothers with a passion for coffee and is still roasting its trade mark Mocha Italia blend to this day), and echoed the widening mantra that its brand, too, is always about its people.

People and coffee Costa view their coffee as being superior because of its full roast that they use and most importantly because of the knowhow and skill they have in blending and roasting a coffee that lots of different people like across many beverage formats.

They have also found the nature of their stores to also be very popular with customers who choose words such as funky, trendy friendly, fast, efficient, relaxing and sociable to describe them when asked.

“Costa is a brand that’s all about its people at its core, whether it’s about partnerships around the world, or people in the stores,” said Andy Marshall. “The world is a very big place, and there are lots of opportunities. Getting under the skin of the coffee lover is something that’s a very relevant, passionate and keen aspect to what we do and our business around the world, and that’s looking at the real heart, the real centre of this brand.

“Of course it’s about the coffee, it will always be about the coffee, but it’s about a number of other things too that are very important to us and very key. It’s about our people and how we engage them in the job that they do, and it is also about our partners that we actually work with. These are the key things that we have to understand and to drive our business.

Because with that understanding about those people and what they do for us, they will drive the experience which delivers for our customers. And that’s tied in with our mission statement – ‘to save the world from mediocre coffee’.”

And with, in his opinion, there still being a lot of mediocre coffee out there, Andy Marshall added that it was important that they carried on driving the obsession to deliver great coffee that he knows Costa can produce, but that’s also a challenge for the industry as a whole. “I think we’re all in it together to deliver that statement,” he added. “Costa is very determined to do that. And we’ll do that through our great Mocha Italian blend and Rainforest Alliance association that that blend has.”

Costa have recently won an award for their involvement with Rainforest Alliance for all their work that they have been

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doing to help in driving this forward, and so an ethical commitment and foundation is at the heart of this aim, and report that they have developed 22 schools with 200 teachers and have just put 12,000 children through an education programme. This has been achieved by Costa members of staff getting involved in fundraising challenges and creating interest around the coffee communities back at the other end of the chain.

“We’re very much about that and believe that it underpins our brand,” said Andy Marshall. “We’re also very much about being the world’s favourite coffee bar, and the world and the coffee brand are two differences from where we used to be.

“The people values that underpin our business, they are our people who work very hard and tirelessly and they do it in a very genuine way. There isn’t spin on what they do. They are the people at the front end who are interfacing with our customers and communities every single day. They’re very confident and committed.

Confident about delivering consistently great coffee every single time they pull an espresso. They care about it, they love it, and it’s at the heart of what they do. And they are very committed to us and to the communities, and to the customers that they actually serve every day.”

These are the values that have to live throughout their brand, feels Andy Marshall, if they are to deliver their mission statement of saving the world from poor coffee.

International Drawing attention to their recent acquisitions of brands Coffeeheaven (which has furnished them with 90 outlets in Poland) and Coffee Nation (now turned into Costa Express in the UK), Andy Marshall talked about how the company has changed - by adding breadth.

“We’ve gone from being a coffee shop company to a brand, and we plan to extend our reach to ensure that we put coffee at arm’s reach of every coffee lover who wants their Mocha Italia,” said Andy Marshall.

“We’ve moved from being a UK centric

business to a truly international business.

We were a great British business and now we are a great international business and have aspirations to be a global business.”

Costa have 150 stores in China (going from 100 to 150 in just three months), 300 stores in the Middle East, 200 in Europe and 100 in India.

“We want to become the world’s favourite coffee shop,” Andy Marshall continued. “That is the journey, that is the business plan that we’ve set for the next few years. We’re very focused on engaging people and partners to deliver every time what the customer in that market wants, and the profit then follows, because we are a commercial organisation. But it’s about something else too, something that engages customers in an emotional way.”

Preference Andy Marshall related a story about a coffee shop customer in the London area, presented with a myriad of coffee choices when they step out of their door – chains as well as independents – but who regularly chooses a certain Costa, even going out of their way to go there. Why? Because of the personal relationship that has been established with staff at that store, the fact that they smile and greet, or enquire after them, and know their order, having taken time out to build up a rapport. Thus, the coffee is important, and the environment has to be great too, but for someone to go out of their way to visit, it’s this that’s at the heart of what they do, feels Andy Marshall. Without that vital aspect, they say that they would not survive, and so the brand aims to make

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sure that the positive experience is there every single time.

“It’s been said before, but when you get ordinary people to extra-ordinary things, they do, because they’re so passionate about it, and so there’s something about

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the service that that member of staff on minimum wage in that particular store provides that says she is enjoying it as well, and enjoying the experience. Just in a matter of seconds that engagement is fostered and cemented. That’s what we’re about. Making ordinary people do extraordinary things,” explained Andy Marshall.

And how do they achieve that? By listening and acting on customer feedback, say Costa. They also have 17 training academies around the world, fully staffed with expert baristas who train all their baristi around the world, with one barista having won Costa’s Barista of the Year competition with Moto, before going on to more responsible training and customer service training roles, and now employed

by Costa in their Middle East region at just 23, showing how less can soon become more in a short space of time for those who are interested.

In relation to the customer side of things, to go from being a successful business to being a legendary one, requires getting under the skin of the customer, and in their early, entrepreneurial days Costa say that it was all about being instinct-driven and gut feeling, taking what they did in the UK and transferring it, and a ‘let’s try stuff’ approach, which was fine when they were

a small brand in the UK. However, having come of age, they have had to change that strategy and have put a structured programme in place, aimed at getting to know more about their customers, and their competitors, and putting local capabilities at the centre, but regionally.

Recently they have been establishing subsidiaries in Asia, the UK, Middle East and Europe, as well as a new division called Costa Enterprises for the wholesale and Costa Express side of their business.

Having structured themselves to put their people regionally nearer their customers, Costa revealed that they also insist that every week their people go and sit in their main competitor, and second main competitor.

“We spend a lot of time in other people’s stores!” said Andy Marshall.

“We’re all learning from each other, gaining knowledge and understanding. It’s all about growing the sector, not necessarily competing. There’s great growth potential in this industry and it’s an exciting time. And so all this is giving us information, measures and insights so that we can drive our strategy in a much more structured way.

“We’re doing much more around usage and attitude and customer satisfaction. Via YouGov, we’re surveying 2,500 people

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each month in the UK and around the world at least three times a year in other markets. So now we have data on some one million coffee shop users, and know how they think, behave at regional, country and store level, and are starting to learn from that insight.”

Via the launch of their electronic loyalty card scheme and web based technology they report that they are pushing or pulling back from customers based on their real life experiential data. They do not rely on mystery shopper programmes, but rather prefer talking directly to their customers who go to their stores every day.

“We are getting the equivalent of 60 pieces of real customer information on their experience in every store, every month,” said Andy Marshall. “Gathering that insight is helping us move forward and in understanding what we’re doing right, and what we’re doing wrong. And this has revealed that a smile, engagement, conduct is the number one promoter that brings people back time and time again. However, it’s also the number one detractor. So if you get it wrong you can lose customers to another sector or competitor.

“It’s the friendliness, helpfulness, efficiency and recognition, all the things that make that experience, and we can see the positive interactions reflected in the analytical data. When’s there’s a lack of engagement, customers walk away from the business.”

This crucial aspect, feel Costa, can only

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be achieved by making sure that people are engaged with them as a brand, and as an industry, and the procedures they have now deliver praise reports at store level every month, say the brand, and so their staff get ‘real words back from real customers’. On the basis of this, they have launched a reward programme with some bonus points so that every barista can build points on the basis of praise, which they can in turn use to buy experiences, such Red Letter Days or holidays, cameras, iPods etc. This costs them in the region $5 million, say Costa, but the whole feedback and reward loop is really helping them, say the company.

“Praise reports are a real tool for us to drive and engage, and thank, those people who work hard in the stores,” said Andy Marshall. “We also have text alerts, direct messages from customers detailing issues that come up as a text message to the area manager who will get back to the customer in 48 hours to try and rescue the situation. So we always have to get better, we’re never perfect, but this process means we can respond to every customer every time and deliver a much better experience.”

Challenger brand Where they are now – a challenger international brand – they say that they have seen some differences. In the UK, for example, it’s an older customer base, whereas elsewhere it’s much younger, so they respond to that in a local regional way.

“We’re mass market in the UK, whereas elsewhere we’re very premium and customers are very affluent, so we have to respond to that in a very different, very tailored way,” said Andy Marshall. “We also see that there’s a female emphasis in the UK, but a more male emphasis overseas. There’s a much shorter dwell time in the UK than we have anywhere else. These things are very important because when you’re building a coffee shop chain, you have to understand these aspects.”

A short dwell time in the UK, note Costa is less than 20 minutes, whereas in China a short dwell time is around 54 minutes, which requires building very different stores, say the company, because customers are expecting different things and experiences. Indeed, Costa say that they are now using this insight to drive a distinctly different look and feel to their stores in China, India and Middle East.

In terms of marketing, they have some core messages that come from the UK and that can be pushed out across the world.

At the same time, there are messages from around the world that they are starting to push back to the UK. For example, their ice cold range of drinks is not unsurprisingly very strong in hot climates, so they have now utilised what they have learnt in the development of these drinks abroad, in the UK, and completely transformed the range as a direct result. Added to this is what Costa term the ‘crema’ in their ‘crema, body, heart’ model – doing some regional activity that’s locally driven (for example, the flat white was popular in the UK, and was then rolled out to the UAE where it was very successful indeed and now draws 15% of coffee sales there).

The ‘body’ of their model is meeting potentially more sensitive needs of the market place, such as Ramadan in the Middle East, where Costa have launched specific products at specific times to meet cultural needs, and still draw a commercial return. In China they have taken it a stage further, with the moon cake festival. Some businesses there will make most of their money during this yearly festival, which is very big, and then subsist the rest of the time, whereas Costa says that it has developed products for this time, in addition to its regular products and strong brand building.

Currently they report that they are delivering a 28% compound average growth rate in store numbers and a 29% increase in system sales, as well as a 30% increase in profits. Over 44 successive quarters there has been like for like sales growth. Their approach is working, say the brand, and delivering output.

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CUPS

Cups at

The Planglow range

the core Disposable cups are an important and highly visual aspect to many successful café and coffee shop businesses. With enhancements to the nature of biodegradable materials leading to better cups for the ‘to go’ market, the vended coffee sector is also taking a leaf out of the high street’s book when it comes to serving beverages in premium packaging.

New developments Planglow says that it was already offering a fairly comprehensive range of home compostable packaging for the ‘grab and go’ industry when it decided to address a gap in the market - cups that were green from lid to base. Made from a corn-based EN13432 certified material (the European Standard for compostability), early lid prototypes were brittle and kept cracking in transportation so the finished product was around twelve months in development, report the company.

Free from oil based plastics, Planglow says that the cups themselves are made from sustainable and renewable resources and lined with a food safe, plant based coating. They are available in three sizes eight, 12 and 16oz, and they were - and still are - a fairly unique offering as one of the first compostable cups on the market, feel the company, who are constantly seeking new ways to further enhance our full product offering.

In the case of their Bio Cups, they recently moved from a rippled to a ribbed product to allow for greater print quality and are the only direct provider of these specific cups, with their competitors offering either the rippled version, or sourcing ribbed products from the States, say Planglow.

They offer a range of branding options from bespoke cup designs (utilising an existing logo or other collateral), to a complete re-brand, and also produce stickers for smaller businesses looking for a lower cost branding option, as well as those for whom storage may be an issue. Last year, Planglow worked with top UK tourist attraction the SS Great

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International Paper’s new spillage-preventing lid.

Britain to create a cup using their own logo.

“We love the new cups, they look incredible and are great for promoting our brand. The fact they are biodegradable and made from renewable sources is also important as it fits in with our sustainable visitor charter,” says Dawn Craig, catering manager, Brunel’s SS Great Britain.

With the pace of day-to-day living continuing to speed up, International Paper has announced the introduction to the market a new hot cup lid that it says has been specifically designed with the ‘movers and shakers’ of this world in

mind. The lock-back dome lid comes with the tab closed to ensure that you get to drink your coffee, not wear it, say the company.

Keeping with the trend of ‘drinks on the go’, this latest lid has been manufactured with the primary aim of preventing spillages. The lids are easily opened with one hand and stay securely locked back while the beverage is enjoyed. The lids give a reassuring ‘snap’ sound when applied, confirming a secure fit. They will fit a selection of cup sizes and are available in black and white. The dome sipper shape design is ideal for

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CUPS stacking and provides the best option for drinks on the go.

Mike Gardner, sales and marketing director for International Paper’s Foodservice business in Europe, believes the lock-back dome lid will have a wide appeal: “Nobody wants to rush into a meeting mopping coffee from their suit.

These lids ensure that the users are less likely to spill drinks on the go avoiding the risk of stained clothes and unnecessary irritation.”

International Paper produces a range of single use consumer packaging for food and drink applications including hot and cold cups and food containers. It manufactures the ecotainer® product line which consists of hot cups, cold cups, food containers and lids, all made from fully renewable resources. The company is a supplier across a full range of industry sectors from its European Headquarters in Winsford, UK.

Huhtamaki’s PLA Polarity (left) and Bioware cups.

New launches The disposable manufacturer, Huhtamaki, has recently extended its successful environmentally-friendly BioWare range with the introduction of new PLA Polarity tumblers and lids – which are ideal for a wide range of cold beverages on-the-go, suggest the company.

Made from Ingeo™ PLA (Ingeo™ biopolymer is a trademark of NatureWorks LLC, a resin derived from plant starch developed from annually renewable resources, which can be composted within 60 days in the optimum condition of industrial composting facilities), these new PLA Polarity tumblers and lids are certified

Cost benefit analysis Founder of Delicious (www.deliciouscafe. co.uk, a food service business specialising in locally sourced produce and highly quality vended coffee), Dominic Bowers, launched his brand two years ago, determined to be different within the automated refreshment market whilst still delivering on quality and taste.

Delicious report that they spent two years mastering the art of creating successful coffee shop style outlets within all sectors, whether it be a premium weekend leisure destination such as its flag ship sites at the Trentham Estate in Staffordshire, or large call centres with thirsty staff throughout the week, or even traditional British manufacturing or distribution sites.

Delicious believes that no one sector should be seen as better than another, and that all customers should receive the same quality, and Dominic Bowers feels that this is key to creating a successful brand identity that can be repeated across more sites in creating a true alternative in workplaces to the well-known high street chains. To maintain the image

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of Delicious, the machines and sites had to reflect that coffee shop experience, which was why Dominic Bowers was keen to find ways of achieving this, but without doing great damage to his bottom line.

His attention was drawn to International Paper (www.ipfoodservice. co.uk) as the paper cup manufacturer had recently brought attention to itself by calling on all vending operators to reject the traditional standard plastic 7oz vending cup and replicate the high street coffee shop experience by swapping the plastic for smarter, better designed paper cups. The cups that International Paper manufacture are the same size as those you would get in a high street coffee shop 8oz, 10 oz and 12 oz. What was even better though, was the fact that the new 8oz cup for vending machines had a 73mm diameter so that they can be dropped into 7oz squat cup units without the need for splitter modifications.

“It’s great to find a supplier who shares our vision - a good coffee experience for all, both in the coffee shop and out – and who is able to offer quality, locally-manufactured

products in keeping with the Delicious ethos. And the price is pretty good too!” said Dominic Bowers.

Mike Gardner, sales and marketing director for International Paper, added: “Delicious’s aims are very much in line with International Paper’s. Whilst we instinctively knew that they’d like our vending cups, we were also aware that we could provide a cost-saving solution for the coffee shops as they had been using double wall paper cups from another supplier that were costing significantly more than the single wall, heat resistant, branded cups with cup buddies that we could supply them. As well as a cost-saving solution, we came up with a design that we knew they’d like. When you are offering a customer a superior product at far less cost, it’s difficult to refuse.” Dominic Bowers was so pleased with the costs and, equally so, the thinking behind International Paper’s new line of 8 oz paper vending cups, that he is now rolling out the cup on all sites. “We assessed the 8oz cup and it worked perfectly both operationally and for rate of

sales. We wanted to be different to the norm and have now confirmed that we are a paper only company. I have never been a fan of plastic cups of coffee and, after the success of brands such as Coffee Nation, it’s obvious to us that the end user doesn’t want a boring old beige cup any more,” he explains.

“We have taken a small hit on the costs, but we feel the added value it creates and the extra rate of sales will easily balance this out. The other key benefit is that we have spent a long time perfecting a great coffee shop drink for our public access outlets which are based on 8 and 12oz hence the drink and the cup can now be rolled out across all things Delicious.

International Paper has helped us to meet this goal and we are very happy to have them as one of our leading suppliers.” International Paper is supplying branded 12oz and 8oz cups across the Delicious Group as well as food packaging containers for its substantial grab and go food market which are sourced at International Paper’s plant in nearby Winsford.

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Join us for the

The Café Society Awards 2012 Luncheon at the Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High St, London, on Thursday 24th May 2012

Tickets (including lunch and wine )

£98 + VAT Tables £980 + VAT

When seven awards will be presented The seven award categories are: • The Café Society Award • New Product of the Year Award • The Café Innovation • Café/Coffee Bar Chain Award of the Year • The Café Design of the Year Award • Café/Coffee Bar Independent of the Year • The Café Food Award

See pages 12-13 for more details

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FEBRUARY 2012 CAFÉ CULTURE 29

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CUPS in accordance with EN13432 (the European norm for compostability of packaging).

Available in a variety of sizes (7oz, 12oz, 16oz and 21oz), all the new tumblers have the same diameter of 95mm and can also be fitted with a choice of PLA polarity lids.

Outlets can choose from domed with a hole, domed without a hole, or flat straw slotted lids. These substantial tumblers and lids are also crystal clear and shatterproof, say Huhtamaki, offering a safe, sturdy option for cold drinks with a premium quality finish, and making them well suited to fruit smoothies, milkshakes, refreshing juices and chilled frappuccinos.

Not only are these new tumblers completely biodegradable and compostable, but for outlets seeking to enhance their branding, these crystal clear tumblers can be custom-printed with up to six different colours by sending Huhtamaki your logo, brand name and/or promotional message (www.foodservice.huhtamaki.co.uk).

Huhtamaki BioWare paper cups are PEFC Accredited, manufactured using paperboard material that is PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) Chain of Custody certified. PEFC aims to promote sustainable development in forest

management and assurance that the material in the final product can be traced back to a sustainable source managed with due respect for environmental, economic and social standards.

“Huhtamaki is committed to sourcing from suppliers who promote good forestry practice and we're proud to demonstrate our support for the high ecological, social and ethical standards required for sustainable forest management. We’re delighted that our UK site has been accredited for PEFC – a great positive statement to highlight on our BioWare cups and a process which we’ll be sure to roll out across our other product ranges too,” says Catherine Tipper, head of business excellence, Huhtamaki (UK) Ltd. Available in a choice of sizes, BioWare cups feature the PEFC logo as part of their design – the certification and logo provides assurances that the products are from sustainable, legal and traceable sources – which identifies Huhtamaki’s unique certification number so that customers know that the product they are using is PEFC certified.

BioWare hot cups are available in a stylish stock design which includes the PEFC logo, and for those who wish to custom-

print their BioWare cups to feature their own branding, the PEFC logo can also be incorporated into their own artwork.

Fully certified in accordance with the European norm for compostability of packaging (EN13432), BioWare cups can be composted within 60 days in the optimum condition of industrial composting facilities.

Used BioWare cups can be collected from workplaces and sent to industrial composting facilities by Save a Cup, as part of a nationwide scheme which sees the waste product turned into quality compost for use in farming and horticulture. www.save-a-cup.co.uk.

The BioWare paper cup range includes varieties suitable for hot, cold and vended beverages, and is the ideal choice for caterers concerned about their impact on the environment who are looking to offer customers a completely ethical beverage service.

Over half of caterers are serving Fairtrade/ethically-sourced beverages, with the majority of these also considering the type of disposable cups used to serve the product to be important too (recent independent research commissioned by Huhtamaki into the role, use and importance of disposables within UK

Customised supply Huhtamaki has worked alongside one of its newest customers - Bolling Coffee to develop a unique cup design that incorporates innovative technology to help educate and inform customers.

Bolling Coffee has customised its supply of Huhtamaki double wall paper hot cups with a striking orange custom-print for its Grumpy Mule brand. The stylish new cup design features a QR code alongside the fun Grumpy Mule logo, directing customers quickly and conveniently to the Grumpy Mule web site.

“Our Grumpy Mule brand was created about five years ago and reflects the hard work of the mules working on coffee farms – which very often results in a ‘grumpy’ mule!” explains Ian Balmsforth, managing director at Bolling Coffee.

“We chose to use

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Huhtamaki, not only because of the superb quality of their disposables, but because we were also looking to do something fun and different with the Grumpy Mule brand.

The design incorporates a QR code, something that we hope will encourage interest in the brand and educate and inform our customers.

Customers with smart phones simply scan the QR code in order to be directed to www.grumpymule.co.uk, where they can learn more about the brand and its values.”

Ray McNamara, UK vending sales manager, Foodservice Division, Huhtamaki (UK) adds: “The Grumpy Mule’s fun branding lends itself perfectly to custom printing and it’s been extremely interesting to work on a customer’s design in which we can incorporate the latest technological developments. You see QR

codes more and more these days and it’s an effective way to direct customers to your web site, whether it’s to raise awareness of your brand or to point people towards a promotion or competition.”

Bolling Coffee source and roast coffee, and provide a range of related products to those within foodservice. The Grumpy Mule logo has been incorporated into the company’s stylish new print, together with the four key elements of the brand – traceable, ethical, sustainable and 100% arabica.

Huhtamaki is printing the zesty orange stock design in three sizes for Bolling Coffee, 8oz, 12oz and 16oz. Each of

the core value messages will be printed in sequence, creating a mixed sleeve of cups, demonstrating Huhtamaki’s ability to print mixed sleeves for its customers.

Bolling Coffee chose double wall paper cups manufactured by Huhtamaki because of the enhanced 'feel' that their cups provide – the deeper emboss not only provides superior insulation, but allows consumers to ‘grip’ the cup when being held, say the company, which makes for a far safer takeaway beverage experience, which is important because of the very nature of on-the-go drinking.

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Europe. “We know that consumers are often confused about what to do with their used cups and this scheme gives reassurance that the cups reach the best possible end of life by actually being recycled rather than just recovered.

“At Solo Cup we use superior quality board in our cups and so they are a valuable post-consumer commodity for which there is demand. With paper converters in the UK with the expertise to deal with paper cups, this scheme looks set to take off. Save a Cup has stepped into the gap left by the absence of a consistent recycling strategy amongst local authorities and a lack of recycling points outside the home. We look forward to continued work with both Save a Cup and the Paper Cup Recovery & Recycling Group to ensure this scheme grows and grows.”

Peros’s latest ‘hessian’ look cups and containers. foodservice has shown that more than half of the caterers surveyed served Fairtrade/ethically-sourced beverages, of which the majority of these operators also consider the type of disposable cups used to be important).

Peros has launched a new range of environmentally-friendly disposable foodservice products including cups, dinnerware and food containers. The coordinated range is exclusive to Peros and features stylish artwork with an attractive ‘hessian’ design.

The range includes single-use products that are biodegradable, compostable, recyclable and sustainable. These are made from annually renewable and sustainable resources including polylactic acid (PLA) from corn starch, fibre from non-wood sources such as sugar cane, reeds and bamboo, and cellulose and limestone.

The comprehensive range includes cups with lids for hot and cold beverages, hot beverage sleeves, plates, knives, forks, spoons and teaspoons, food and soup containers with lids, burger and food boxes, food portion pots, deli containers with lids, salad bowls, salad boxes, baguette trays and napkins.

These environmentally-friendly products are an ideal complement to Peros’s range of Fairtrade beverages and snacks. Foodservice operators can offer customers a complete package of ethical and sustainable products

from a single supplier creating an additional marketing advantage.

Peros, a UK independent fair and ethically traded beverage and snack supplier, was established in 2000 and now offers a comprehensive range of over 350 Fairtrade, Organic and ethically traded products, available across the UK on a next day delivery.

Save A Cup campaign re-energised Solo Cup Europe, manufacturers of single use packaging for the foodservice sector, is endorsing the Save a Cup campaign to recycle paper hot cups. Solo, which, amongst other items, manufactures cups for global foodservice brands, is supporting the re-energised campaign which has been devised with advice from the Paper Cup Recovery & Recycling Group of which SCE are founder members (visit www.saveacuprecycling.co.uk and www.papercuprecyling.com for the latest details).

“There is a clear need for a scheme that is easy to implement so we are delighted to support Save a Cup’s work and look forward to the scheme being rolled out across the UK,” says Anne Sutton, vice president for the Environment at Solo Cup

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01606 552537 www.ipfoodservice.eu

Never easier Creating a brand using paper cups has never been easier, say the Printed Cup Company.

With the minimum order quantities now as low as a 1,000 cups with a four colour process, printed cups can be manufactured in just two to three weeks, say the firm, enabling outlets to promote their company and provide information by communicating to their customers. Bespoke graphics, bold tones and a recognisable design which links to the companies theme or company colours, adds style and class and allows a business to sell more products just through the design on the cup, suggest the suppliers. When designing a cup, it is also important to not include too much information and to have a well laid out and balanced design (visit www.printedcupcompany.co.uk or call 01200 449900 to enquire about free samples).

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BEVERAGES

Behind the brand Amanda Hamilton, whose

The popular Drink Me Chai Latte brand of chai latte drink (a style of Drink Me Chai brand has proved popular with a nation drink first created in India over 5,000 years ago) combines the of tea drinkers. familiar milkiness of latte with exotic spices and black tea. The brand is the brainchild of former BBC employee, Amanda Hamilton, who, after a background in television and marketing, decided to turn her back on the corporate world to run a small chain of five, South East London based tea shops instead. Then she embarked on the creation of her own brand of drink that has created a £2 million a year business.

Something different Amanda Hamilton set up her company at the height of the coffee and coffee bar revival 10 years ago, having wondered why the same could not be accomplished for tea. “I thought ‘I don’t drink coffee’,” she admits, “and so my vision was to make tea trendy, and the chai latte format in particular seemed to fit the café culture lifestyle.”

She and a colleague had given up their senior BBC management jobs, but it was a trip to India that changed everything when Amanda first encountered the ancient chai latte drink. The beverage has since become so well known in both foodservice and retail circles here that it is arguably responsible for having helped to influence the drinking habits of people.

Its unique blend of spices and other secret flavours combined with black tea and skimmed milk captivated her, so she resolved to create her own, authentic formula and start selling it. During six months of hard experimenting in her kitchen whilst she raised her baby daughter, she soon discovered that great differences in taste could be created via deploying different methods of production. Eventually, she came up with her powdered version of the ancient drink but then it took off almost immediately after she began introducing it to her network of specialist tea stalls around London.

The tea shop environment and experience (selling tea from distinctive, authentic phut-phut three wheel bicycle

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stalls set up at major commuter points across London), says Amanda Hamilton, not only provided her with good business experience, but a suitable way of market testing in the run up to the launch of her own branded beverage, enabling her to gather valuable consumer feedback.

In the event, reveals Amanda, when it came to the eventual taste profile of the drink she decided upon, she discovered that there was little difference between what was typical in India and what people enjoyed in the UK. Created in 2004, Drink Me Chai was soon taken on board in its infancy by Tesco, even before the product’s name and packaging had been signed off, with Amanda having three months to sort out the final name, and therefore not really having too much chance to ‘obsess’ about the final name, as others might have done. The supermarket giant instantly decided to put it into 250 of their supermarkets after Amanda cheekily telephoned their tea buyer and suggested he needed to meet her and hear about her unique, speciality powdered drink!

Available in convenient powder format, it features sugar, milk and a blend of all natural spices. It is also now available in various flavours too, such as vanilla, mango, chocolate and peppermint, but the original spice variant remains the most popular in the UK, report the company. Amanda has also achieved the only

Fairtrade certification for an instant Chai Latte brand in the UK (other accolades include Best Product and Service category at the 2011 National Best Business Awards and a prestigious Gold Star award at the UK National Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food Writers).

Chai latte drinkers Chai latte is proving to be especially popular amongst the young set who have rejected traditional tea and coffee and prefer speciality drinks. It is sweet like hot chocolate but virtually caffeine free and non-fattening because of its skimmed milk content, and coming in a powdered form means it is as truly authentic as the Chai Latte drunk in India.

It is predominantly enjoyed by female customers in the 25 to 45 age group, but not exclusively, with Amanda describing her typical customer as being someone

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who loves café culture, is well travelled, and probably part of the ‘mums’ set’. The drink itself, with its quirky branding, has been designed to give a feeling of wellbeing, and be thought of as a social drink that brings people together (there have been recipe competitions with the chance to win breaks away, for example).

The company say that they now supply most of the coffee shop chains, and where the drink is not always branded, whereas in the retail market it’s definitely all about the brand. They have won over all the major supermarket chains like Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Asda, spreading it overseas into countries like Sweden, Germany, Spain and Holland.

They also supply independent restaurants, bars and cafés and major travel operators including Virgin Trains.

Anyone who has tasted chai in India will know what a comforting, reviving and thirst-quenching drink it can be, enjoyed and consumed much as our national drink, tea, is here. Needless to say, Amanda Hamilton, who says she likes really strong chai, has taken a practical, hands-on role in the taste testing of her latte chai product right from the early days of the product’s initial development by paying careful attention to the blend of spices in creating the right taste profile that appeals to consumers.

“Chai is a drink that tastes different across the regions of India, but that suits the climate there. In my opinion the best chai comes from the centre of Mumbai, from the street vendors. Having now had third generation Indians in the UK tell me that they like my product, I feel that we are certainly delivering on authenticity,” explains Amanda.

Future plans Indeed, the company have recently revealed ambitious expansion plans for the future, including taking this Indiainspired beverage back to India itself, where there is a rapidly developing café culture.

“I visit India once a year for inspiration,” says Amanda. “I find it an exciting place that’s very entrepreneurial and there have been major advances in India’s own burgeoning café culture. They don’t have quality instant chai lattes there, so there’s a need for a higher quality product.”

And as for ‘taking coals to Newcastle’, Amanda reports that she and her product have always been well received there, and there are no barriers to doing business. However, some drinks companies are already trying to penetrate the Indian market, but are finding that the taxes can be prohibitive, which is why

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Amanda says that her company’s approach will be to look at producing there.

Amanda also hints that her company may well start to look at drinks outside the chai arena, and from other countries around the world, having now established strong distribution networks throughout Europe, Scandinavia, South Afria and the Far East, and meaning that the company is growing at the rate of approximately 15% year on year. They are struggling with China, as the Chinese are not used to spices in their drinks, and so far they have stayed away from the US. However, they are also looking at how they can further develop their chai product by creating other recipe ideas (muffins, for example).

Thus, the company has grown steadily from one with Amanda as the sole employee working from a room in her own home to a team of seven now working out of much larger, dedicated offices and finding that as word of their brand spreads, there is greater interest from around the world, with enquiries coming in every week, not least at the Anuga trade show, through which they experienced particular success.

Both retail and foodservice sectors will offer challenges in the future, feels Amanda. “I love the foodservice sector as it offers us the chance to be creative, whereas in retail, for a small brand, we don’t have the large marketing budget of some, although our sales are growing,” she says. “We have been lucky with our retailers, and have had great support from them, but we can’t match the budgets of the big brands.

“As far as the UK market is concerned, our ambition is to continue and push on with our brand awareness so as to stay ahead of the competition. We want to grow our distribution, retailers and contract caterers via a push and pull strategy.

“Lots of sampling! This is a key strategy too, and we plan to attend six shows this year including lunch! and Caffè Culture. Lots of social media - over the past year we have found this has made a big difference.”

As for Amanda’s top tips for other would-be entrepreneurs, she warns that the food and beverage sector is tough.

“Success can be achieved. You need to make everything out of every opportunity,” she advises. “You also need to know how to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’, and spot the curves. People look for something different and new. The industry is one that allows people in and has some nice people working in it. I have learnt a lot, and been stretched, but I’ve not done everything yet!”

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MILK

monitor There’s more to milk than perfecting your frothing and foaming technique, although that helps, particularly if you are planning on entering this year’s UK Barista Championships. As we also find out here, milkshakes have been undergoing a makeover.

Less is more?

“Cappuccinos and lattes are as popular as ever, but people are starting to opt for shorter drinks,” says Lynsey Harley, United Coffee’s specialist barista and Q-grader.

“A standard high street milky coffee has a milk to espresso ratio of 11:1 which means the coffee flavour becomes diluted and quite subtle. Milky drinks served in the independents tend to offer a shorter ratio of around 4:1, or even as low as 3:1, and this is a trend that is growing.

Coffee drinkers really love these shorter drinks that feature delicious milk whilst delivering a strong coffee flavour too.”

However, as all would-be and established baristas know, milk certainly isn’t a straightforward ingredient to work with, and there are lots of factors that baristas need to consider when preparing it.

“Whether the milk is organic, homogenised, whole or semi-skimmed, the way it is stored – all these aspects really make a difference to the final result,” says Lynsey Harley. “Whatever milk you

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choose, it needs to be thought through and tested before it’s served. Personally, I prefer using un-homogenised organic whole milk as it has a great taste, body and texture, and so it gives the coffee a platform to shine.

“As well as regular cow milk, consumers frequently ask for dairy-free alternatives such as soya, lactose-free, almond and rice milks.

Generally these alternatives are easy to use, but there are a few factors that you need to be prepared for. For example, soya shouldn’t be heated as high as regular milk. It has a lower heat resistance and overheating will damage the taste. But, with these variables in mind, great coffees can be made using dairy alternatives.

“Once you’ve determined which milk works best, you need to make sure that it is cold before you start texturing.

The best technique is to purge the steam wand just prior to steaming the milk. Make sure that you have the steam tip just under the surface of the milk, and keep the steam wand at the edge of the jug so that the milk spins in a vortex.

This will help it become even and smoothly textured.

However, the key to really fantastic milk is practise, practise, practise!”

And for those who aren’t so confident in their milk skills?

Like many of the sector’s machine suppliers, United Coffee has a machine-based solution.

“For outlets that have a high turnover of staff, or who don’t have the resources for barista training, our Swiss manufactured Black&White range of bean-to-cup machines, for example, is ideal. They produce barista standard milk literally at the touch of a button and are the most advanced bean-to-cup in the market for milk texture, creating smooth, shiny and dense foam every time,” adds Elaine Higginson, United Coffee’s managing director.

“The latest addition to the range is the Black&White Smart. This mini machine is small in size, with a width of only 420mm, but efficiently delivers silky, perfectly textured milk to the same standard as the larger machines. It’s an efficient,

compact solution for cafés with limited surface space.”

With milk being such integral player in the makeup of speciality coffee, it has long been known that milk with a high fat content creates a longer lasting foam, not to mention a richer, fuller flavour,

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MILK

claim dairy company, Pritchitts.

But, with a demand for healthier ‘skinny’ options, could consumers be making a sacrifice on taste, to help their waistlines?

Pritchitts say that its Millac Cappuccino Milk offers caterers and health conscious

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consumers the best of both worlds – the texture and foaming capabilities of full fat milk, with just 1% fat.

A fat content lower than semi-skimmed milk, thanks to its consistent and long-lasting foaming capabilities, Cappuccino Milk creates a luxurious, dense drink ensuring a great cup of coffee every time. The milk is so easy to use, say Pritchitts, that it can be poured by a member of staff who is not necessarily a trained barista, without any sacrifice on quality.

“The latest research from Allegra Strategies tells us that consumer palates are becoming increasingly more refined with people actively seeking out speciality lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites,” says Simon Muschamp, head of marketing at dairy company, Pritchitts. “Allegra’s ProjectCafé 11 UK report goes on to suggest that coffee is now viewed as a ‘habitual treat’ – this is good news for café owners!

“As coffee ‘to go’ becomes a greater part of the busy cultural fabric, research also tells us that health is a key driver for time poor consumers. In a recent Reed Business Insight survey, 82% of respondents said they believed that society's shift towards healthier living is leading to demand for healthier options out-ofhome.”

Their Cappuccino Milk is also versatile enough to be used in any hot beverage, say Pritchitts, including tea and hot chocolate, and can be stored and used from ambient limiting the need for refrigeration and eliminating waste, and meaning that outof-home operators who don’t necessarily have the skills, space, equipment or time to provide quality speciality coffee on demand can use Pritchitts Cappuccino milk to enhance their hot drinks menu.

Competition level Cravendale milk says that it will be stirring up the coffee industry this year through its

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MILK involvement in the UK Barista Championships 2012. The brand has been a sponsor of the event for the past six years and will be taking the sponsorship one step further this year, supporting two budding baristas through the competition.

Rachel Parker, a farmer’s daughter from Garstang in Lancashire and Philip Halhead, a farmer from Lancaster, who both supply milk to Arla Foods, are being put through their paces by Cravendale ambassador, coffee expert and familiar face at the annual event, Paul Meikle-Janney, and their goal is to make it all the way to the final of the UK Barista Championships this spring.

The UK Barista Championship 2012 aims to drive the quality of coffee served throughout the country by making people more aware of just how good their daily cup can be with a little more care. The competition provides a spotlight for top professional baristas, giving each one a 15minute performance where they are required to make a series of superb coffee based drinks for the judges to evaluate.

Cravendale say that they found two budding baristas to enter into the competition as part of its Milk Matters

Philip Halhead and Rachel Parker, who are honing their milk skills for this year’s Barista Championships. campaign, which communicates the special nature of Cravendale milk.

Both candidates are members of Arla Foods’ Milk Partnership (AFMP), a group of farmers who supply milk directly to Arla Foods, the company behind Cravendale milk.

Everything matters when it comes to making milk, say Cravendale. From the grass the cows eat, to the way they filter it (giving Cravendale milk a longer shelf life). The fact that it is filtered through ceramic means it’s purer and stays fresh for twice as long as normal milk, claim the company – seven days once opened, and 21 days unopened.

Reader Offer!

For companies looking to move into the fast growing milkshake market, the Shake Academy say that they are running regular courses covering how to make delicious milkshakes, including the health and hygiene aspects, machinery required, blenders needed, the packaging and ingredients, as well as marketing and business planning.

These courses are normally £295 per person, say the company, but as a special offer to readers of Café Culture, the first ten readers to register and mention the magazine, will be able attend free of charge (for more information and to register, visit www.theshakeacademy.co.uk, or email registration@theshakeacademy.co.uk).

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“We believe Cravendale makes the best cup of coffee because of the way the milk froths, making frothier coffee than its competitors, and we hope that Cravendale milk will help Rachel and Philip go all the way in this year’s championships and we wish them the best of luck!” says Sam Dolan, senior brand manager for Cravendale.

The training kicked off at Paul Meikle-Janney’s barista training centre and café consultancy, Coffee Community in Huddersfield, where the candidates immersed themselves in the world of coffee, learning new skills such as latte art, foaming and texturing milk and are even going to visit some local roasters. Through these visits the candidates are gaining inspiration for their ‘signature drink’ which they will produce along with four espressos and four cappuccinos as part of their performance, as outlined in the annual competition criteria.

Paul Meikle-Janney, managing director of Coffee Community, comments: “I’m thrilled to be involved in training Cravendale’s selected candidates for the championships this year.

When we founded Coffee Community twelve years ago, barista training was unheard of so it’s great to see that the art is now getting some support.

“Through its sponsorship deal, Cravendale is offered to all UK Barista Championship candidates. I hope that through our rigorous training programme, Rachel and Philip will be able to show the other candidates the benefits of using Cravendale to make a coffee!”

The UK Barista Championships have been running for 12 years and aim to drive the quality of coffee served throughout the country as well as provide a spotlight for the top baristas in the UK (to learn more about Paul, the candidates and their progression in the competition, visit Cravendale’s newsroom at www.themilkmatters.co.uk).

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Milkshake makeovers The consumption of milk per capita is in decline, whereas flavoured milk and milkshakes are in growth, especially on the go, where time poor adults demand convenient value for money, high quality products, observe the retail milkshake brand, Yazoo, who say that their product fits perfectly with this trend, offering a beverage which can be enjoyed either as an accompaniment to sandwiches, or as a refreshing pick-me-up snack to top you up in between meals.

Just over 52 million milkshakes are consumed out of home per annum, with 25% of all flavoured milk purchases occurring in coffee/sandwich shops (Kantar Worldpanel Usage Out of Home Consumption 12 m/e May 2011) with milkshakes tending to be drunk at lunchtime and mid-afternoon (Relish, Flavoured Milk Survey, November 2011).

With an array of new entrants, flavoured milks have nearly doubled the choice for consumers over the past 18 months (from 16 lines in 2010 to an estimated 30 for 2012).

The flavoured milk category continues to grow at +11.7% value (according to Nielsen Scantrack data, 52 weeks 26.11.11), outperforming the total soft drinks market and is forecast to reach 6.1% in 2012 (Mintel’s Milk, Cream Report 2011).

“Yazoo is no exception with our consumers buying more year-on-year. Its popularity can be attributed to its healthier credentials, value for money and refreshing great taste. Recognised by consumers as a leading milkshake brand Yazoo provides businesses a real opportunity to increase profits,” says Helen Cridge, trade marketing manager at FrieslandCampina.

“We would advise cafe owners to stock Yazoo in the chiller alongside other popular soft drinks, to ensure consumers can easily find their firm favourite amongst best selling products. As the

milkshake category is continuing to grow, stocking a strong chilled range will help to maximise sales opportunities, particularly amongst young male adults looking for a treat to perk them up on-the-go.

“To ensure real stand-out in the chiller, Yazoo has undergone a recent packaging makeover merging the simplicity of the recipe, the natural texture of milk and the great tasting flavours to create a bigger, bolder, design, “Flavour is one of the key purchase triggers for consumers when choosing flavoured milk and it was vital that our new design brought each of our great tasting flavours to life. The redesign reflects the healthier credentials which consumers associate with the Yazoo brand through increasing the amount of crisp white colour, representing the high milk content (94%).

“By understanding who their customers are, what their mission is and the consumption occasion they are buying for, café owners will be in a strong position to ensure that they have the right products in the right place to maximise sales and profit opportunities.”

Yazoo has a 94% milk content so it is packed with natural goodness such as calcium and protein, which a typical glass of milk provides.

Shaken up with natural fruit juices or cocoa, Yazoo only contains natural flavouring, no artificial colours, is low in fat and is nutritional, say its makers with one 500g bottle of Yazoo giving you 70% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium, as well as other vitamins and minerals (more details at: www.yazoo.co.uk).

“Peoples’ expectations of a milkshake have changed much in the last 30 years,” confirms Dennis White, executive manager at Dinkum Products (www.dinkum.net).

“Back in the day of the early burger bars and quick service restaurants, a milkshake was milk with some liquid syrup

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MILK flavour and mixed with a fork or whisk. If you were lucky you would get the milkshake mixed with a scoop of ice cream in a Knickerbocker Glory Glass. If you were very lucky it would be topped with cream and a cherry! Oh how the times have changed.”

These days, for the café there are a multitude of ways of producing a milkshake, it just depends on what the owner wants to sell, feel Dinkum who identify five basic types.

1. Milk + Syrup Flavour 2. Milk + Ice Cream + Syrup Flavour – mixed in a blender or drinks mixer 3. Milk + Ice Cream + Fresh Fruit (or chocolate bar) – mixed in a blender 4. Milk + Ice + Syrup or Fresh Fruit – mixed in a blender 5. Milk + Thickshake mix – mixed in a drinks mixer or blender “We have a dilemma though. When you blend milk and any style of ice cream, you find that initially the drink is thick, once the ice cream warms slightly it releases its air and the drink drops,” says Dennis White. “We’ve all seen the sad view of big bubbles rising to the top of the cup and an over strong milky consistency in the bottom. The ice blended drinks work well apart from the watery consistency once the ice starts to melt. The problem is finding a fine balance of a thick and cold consistency for as long as possible.”

These problems have a root issues based in the physics and chemistry of milk and ice, reveal Dinkum, who will have a stand at Hotelympia in the food and drink section, and are encouraging operators to come along and talk to them about shakes.

“At Dinkum we have looked at all these problems and have products to help the café owner. Firstly we make Shmoo - a thickshake that is easy to make with no fuss,” explains Dennis White.

“Mix with milk for 20 seconds and serve in branded disposables. We also have a

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neutral flavoured thickshake mix that you can add to ice cream milkshakes and it gives the ice cream a longer lasting texture, so whatever you make, it stays better for longer.

We also make an ice blended thickshake mix which is designed to blend with milk and ice which has a special ingredient that when the ice melts it makes it creamier so no more watery shakes. These products work just as well for cafés that blend iced fruit to make a smoothie shake.”

And of course, every shake deserves a topping, if you don’t want to let a fun drink like a thickshake be spoilt by poor presentation. It takes only seconds to spray some squirty cream or a non dairy topping onto a shake, and then sprinkle some extras on top.

“At Dinkum we offer four types of topping ranging from micro mallows to fruit crispies.

For pennies you can gain extra profit by turning a drink into an experience,” Dennis White continues.

Shmoos or Shmooches can be achieved with the purchase of a starter pack, machine and 300 servings for around only £300.00, say Dinkum.

Plant-based eating trend leads to increased popularity of dairy-free The plant-based non-dairy market (not including goat milk or lactose-reduced cow milk) is worth £107.5 million according to Nielsen data (52 weeks ending 29/10/11), having seen a 3% year-onyear value increase. Soya dominates the dairy-free category, with 88% of value and 89% of volume growth, meaning it can offer some distinct commercial advantages for coffee shop operators for out-of-home usage, feel soya milk company, Alpro. With more than 25 million soya drinks being served a year in coffee shops across the UK, this would tend to suggest

What about something inside the shake?

“We’ve looked at inclusions into shakes and there are a few issues to consider,” says

that there is a growing demand and opportunity for this fast-emerging market.

Alpro soya says that it is offering the coffee shop trade a soya milk that doesn’t compromise on taste, but delivers a really viable alternative to dairy.

Its coffee shop sales are increasing year on year, as consumers see out alternatives that not only taste great, but are healthy and good for the planet (soya being low in saturated fat and packed with plant goodness, thus representing a sustainable alternative to dairy products).

Dennis White. “Firstly is your blender good enough? Will it break down the inclusions sufficiently? You can put in cookies or chocolate bars into the mix for blending, however you ought to consider that if an ingredient isn’t totally blended, and lumps could shoot up the jumbo straws and choke someone! I don’t want to sound like a killjoy, but it needs consideration.”

And milkshakes are not just for when it’s warm outside, say Dinkum.

“Why be boring and sell only cold milkshakes? Hot thickshakes are totally delicious! It may sound totally mad, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!” Dennis White urges. “By using a quality thickshake mix you can heat the milk first on your steam arm or microwave then mix the thickshake. At Dinkum we have Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana, Vanilla and Mango flavours. At Christmas we made up some hot vanilla and served it with our mince pies, and hot chocolate and with fudge cake! Interestingly, what warm drinks are on your menu for the under 12 age group?”

C

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FEE F O

CL

INIC

If you have a coffee machine-related question that you would like answered, then why not email clare@jandmgroup.co.uk or write in with details of the name, location of your café and question to Café Culture, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow, NP16 5DB and Café Culture magazine will endeavour to source an answer for you!

The Coffee Clinic Here, Glenn James of maintenance company Coffix (www.coffix.com), responds to some of your frequently asked questions and concerns about the day to day use and smooth running of coffee machines by offering some practical advice and guidance.

Question I’m hoping that you could advise me on a coffee company or similar that can provide free on loan equipment for a new café that my family's starting up in Fulham. I've owned and operated cafés in Australia and New Zealand for quite a few years and now we have decided to come back home and start business here.

Most of our previous cafés have had the equipment supplied as well as additional equipment in relation to the amount of coffee we sold per week. For example, if we sold 40kg of coffee per week, the coffee supplier would supply us with $40,000 of equipment (take into account we are talking Australian dollars).

We have had a quick look around at a few companies but none so far are willing to give any free on loan equipment. Coming from an industry were it’s common place it’s hard to see how we can start up without as huge layout of funds which unfortunately we don’t have. Can you help us in anyway to find a supplier that could offer the free service.

Colin Crisfield, Fulham

Answer Welcome to the UK market, mate. I’m Australian and just getting back from holidays there and I know what you mean by the free on loan equipment in Australia. There are companies in the UK that do free on loan, but for a start up business you may struggle to get them to commit. Also as a warning a few (not all) of the smaller coffee companies who do equipment on loan pass off their older machines so you wouldn’t for example get a new La Marzocco or equivalent as you would in Australia.

As for selling 40 kg a week, I wish you all the best Colin as that’s quite a lot in the UK café market. I know they say that’s medium usage in Australia but we're not in Oz. You will find that the market in the UK isn’t as large as the Antipodian maket, but there has been a lot of good advances made recently so I’m sure if you can tap into that rising market you will go great.

Question I’m after a little bit of information on machines as I’m converting an old van into a sandwich van and I’m enquiring as to the type of coffee machine that would be best to use on it. It can be powered by an invertor/gas when mobile or by a 240v supply when static. Could you help with any ideas as to what would be the best way to solve my issue?

Ms Robin Dabbs Answer There are quite a few manufacturers that supply machines for these kinds of vehicles, the major point is getting one that can look after it as well. If you have a duel fuel that’s a great option but just be aware that some engineers won’t work on gas machines as a rule. So my first point of call would be to ask if the supplier has engineers to repair the gas side as well as the normal section.

We have recently been been fitting mainly electric machines into vehicles and using a very good invertor to supply

Coffix will be exhibiting at Hotelympia (Excel exhibition centre) from the 26 February to 1 March 2012) on stand 2923. enough power constantly over a period of time. We've had to do this as quite a few sites are now refusing gas units under health and safety reasons even though the gas side isn’t even connected sometimes (strange but true).

My one thing I would advise before

installing everything in place is play around with the orientation of the equipment as quite a few customers that buy ready constructed vans comment on how they would have certain equipment placed differently for ease of use. I hope this helps, Robin.

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Soft sell SOFT DRINKS

Stocking soft drinks, and in particular natural juices, not only speaks volumes about your outlet’s fresh and healthy approach, but also enables you to tap into a greater range of meal occasions whether your customers choose to drink in, or take away.

Increased spend Stocking soft drinks which complement coffee is a simple way for café owners to increase profits, according to the freshly squeezed juice experts, Johnsons Juice Co. “If customers are offered a range of soft drinks which, as well as quenching thirst, will make their freshly brewed cup of coffee taste even better, they are more likely to make multiple purchases in a café,” explains Shirna Ferrers, category marketer for Johnsons Juice Co. “Freshly squeezed orange juice in particular is known to complement coffee, due to the pleasant combination of two strong flavours as well as hot and cold sensations. It’s also the perfect combination to wake customers up in the morning, as the zesty, refreshing taste of the juice coupled with the coffee delivers a double burst of energy.”

Café owners should ensure their soft drinks offering contains beverages known for their freshness, Shirna Ferrers adds.

“A chilled soft drinks offering subconsciously reassures customers that the food available will also be fresh and high quality,” she says. “Johnsons freshly squeezed orange juice, for example, contains 100% fruit juice with no freezing or concentrates.”

When it comes to juices, getting the orange juice offering right is essential as it is the most popular single-serve flavour, followed next in popularity by apple, reports Shirna Ferrers.

“A freshly squeezed orange juice also appeals to the increasing numbers of health-conscious consumers, as it is rightly associated with minimal processing. In an increasingly polluted world, a freshly squeezed juice drink, which contains only natural ingredients with nothing added or removed, has great appeal. A 250ml bottle of orange juice also delivers one of the recommended

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five-a-day in take of fruit and vegetables, with additional high levels of vitamin C.” Including freshly squeezed juices in your soft drinks range, of course, has the added advantage of appealing to both the breakfast and lunch market.

“Freshly squeezed orange juice has a broader appeal than many other soft drinks as it applies to multiple usage occasions,” Shirna Ferrers adds. “It also appeals to a wide range of customers of all ages, thanks to its clear health benefits and natural goodness.”

Established in 1995, Dan International (UK) Ltd is the sole marketing agent for the Bertrams range of fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies. Using only the finest ingredients to produce its top quality drinks, Dan International says that it is able to produce premium quality drinks with exceptional flavour at an extremely reasonable price.

Available in more than 17 exotic and thirst quenching flavour combinations, Bertrams has established itself within the retail, independent, snack and catering industries across the whole of the UK. Famously known for being a pioneer and innovative provider of juices and smoothies, the Bertrams factory was awarded with the highest production accreditation which is International Food Standard (IFS).

The company’s signature Pure smoothies are available in six flavours with each bottle containing one of your daily portions of fruit and available, and all in a 300ml bottle, say the company.

There is also no added sugar, no preservatives, no artificial flavours, no additives and the drinks are made using 100% fruit.

Dan International say that they recently

changed labels on all 11 juices and drinks products, and that their new labels, together with elegantly designed bottle, offer more appeal and provide strong impact and brand recognition. They have also recently announced that they are introducing a new product – a 100% pure premium apple juice, not from concentrate (cloudy). To find out more, visit www.daninternational.co.uk.

Organic and naturally made drinks are growing in popularity in the UK, with artisanal drinks being ideal for independent cafés looking to distinguish themselves from big brands and supermarket giants, confirm premium soft drinks brand, Belvoir (stocked by Cotswold Fayre, www.cotswoldfayre.co.uk).

Belvoir’s Elderflower Presse is the number one selling product in Cotswold Fayre’s soft drinks selection. In fact, their 100% natural products feature several times on Cotswold Fayre’s top ten bestselling list, report the supplier. Others on the top ten list include Fentimans’ botanically brewed, with their Victorian lemonade and Curiosity Cola being ideal for serving alongside homemade sandwiches and cakes, suggest the company.

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Nothing makes us happier at Mojo than creating delicious gourmet smoothies.

And now we want to share our passion for blending with you.

At Mojo we specialise in small batch 100% natural smoothies for delis, fine food shops and cafes. Our six blends come in handy 250ml PET bottles, and all have a gorgeous six month ambient shelf life. So now you need never worry about storage, wastage or profit loss again.

Choose from wonderful flavours that include pomegranate, acai, guava, black carrot and pumpkin. As well as the classic tastes of cranberry, mango, mandarin and blueberry.

Mojo can be sold as a takeaway product or poured over ice and served at the table. So go on, put a little Mojo back in your life today. Email smoothnation@hotmail.co.uk for free samples. Or visit www.love mojo.com

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SOFT DRINKS Another distinctive range from Cotswold Fayre is Folkington’s. This Sussex-based juice company produces pure pressed fruit juices that have unique provenance and authenticity. It sources special varieties of fruit grown in particular parts of Britain and overseas that ensures that the quality and taste of the juices are not only consistent, but also of an exceptionally high standard.

Exotic Lulo, Guanábana and Mora are set to be the new ‘must try’ fruit drink flavours in the UK beverage market, claim their supplier Juna, by offering consumers a taste of the South American Andes. These new flavours, together with Mango, make up an innovative range of all-natural nectar fruit drinks from Euro-Colombian start-up company, Juna.

Targeting both retail and food service sectors, Juna offers a unique taste experience appealing to the more cosmopolitan, health-conscious and adventurous UK consumer with the fruits used in Juna’s drinks bringing intrinsic health benefits with high vitamin, protein and fibre content, say the company.

“Juna is about going for the new, the exciting, the exotic – satisfying the human need for variety and discovery,” says Juna co-founder, Christian Kaufholz. “We want to break away from the same old tones of apple, orange or banana, which form the basis of close to all fruit drinks which dominate the shelves today. Juna offers UK consumers something totally new.’

Through its drinks Juna also seeks to

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make a positive impact on the communities growing the fruits for its products, opening new markets for small farmers and their families in Colombia, so five pence per bottle sold will go towards the Juna Project, designed to strengthen fruit grower associations in remote areas of the country.

German-Colombian couple Christian Kaufholz and Angela Arévalo founded Juna in January 2010 and they and their small team have spent a total of three years developing the range and a supply chain from the farmer to the high street in Europe. Colombia’s impressive variety of exotic fruit has been the inspiration behind Juna.

“Colombia’s fruits are in many ways like Colombia and its people - refreshing, colourful and yet to be discovered by the world,” says co-founder Angela Arévalo.

The drinks are already listed at selected independent eateries and food stores in Brighton and London with December 2011 seeing Juna being sold at eight Birley’s Sandwiches locations across the City and Canary Wharf in London. Juna’s entry into the UK market follows a successful launch in Germany last year.

Juna means ‘parcel of land’ in Sáliba, one of over 60 native languages still spoken in Colombia today. For thousands of small farmers in Colombia their Juna represents their home, their physical and spiritual link to nature and their primary source of subsistence and economic independence.

Juna drinks are available in 250ml recyclable PET bottles with biodegradable labels. RRP from £2.10. They are 100% natural and do not contain any artificial flavours, colours or preservatives (www.junafruits.com).

Rimon 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice which was launched in the UK last year is available through The Health Store and other selected wholesalers, is another eye-catching exotic option. A premium quality, not from concentrate 100% pure juice, it is sourced exclusively from Israeli pomegranates, and is higher in antioxidants than other brands, recording an average of over 5000 µmol TE/g in recent independent ORAC tests, say its makers.

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12 *'1&#" ', , ,2#0, 2'-, * '+'2#" '1 2&# 1-*# + 0)#2',% %#,2 $-0 2&# #020 +1 0 ,%# -$ $03'2 ," 4#%#2 *# (3'!#1 ," 1+--2&'#1 1',% -,*7 2&# $',#12 ',%0#"'#,21 2.0-"3!# '21 2-. /3 *'27 "0',)1 , ,2#0, 2'-, * '+'2#" '1 *# 2- .0-"3!# .0#+'3+ /3 *'27 "0',)1 5'2& #6!#.2'-, * $* 4-30 2 , #620#+#*7 0# 1-, *# .0'!# 4 '* *# ', +-0# 2& , #6-2'! ," 2&'012 /3#,!&',% $* 4-30 !-+ ', 2'-,1 #020 +1 & 1 #12 *'1&#" '21#*$ 5'2&', 2&# 0#2 '* ',"#.#,"#,2 1, !) ," ! 2#0',% ',"3120'#1 !0-11 2&# 5&-*# -$ 2&# +-31*7 ),-5, $-0 #',% .'-,##0 ," ',,-4 2'4# .0-4'"#0 -$ (3'!#1 ," 1+--2&'#1 #020 +1 $ !2-07 '1 5 0"#" 5'2& 2&# &'%&#12 .0-"3!2'-, !!0#"'2 2'-, 5&'!& '1 ,2#0, 2'-, * --" 2 ," 0" &# 1'%, 230# 30# 1+--2&'#1 0# 4 '* *# ', 1 2'1$7',% $* 4-301 # !& -22*# !-,2 ',',% -,# -$ 7-30 " '*7 .-02'-,1 -$ $03'2 ," 4 '* *# ** ', +* -22*#

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SOFT DRINKS The RRP is £3.99 a bottle and there are special introductory offers available to relevant wholesalers and retailers (for trade enquiries, contact info@moshel.co.uk).

UK distributor, Moshel Ltd (www.moshel.co.uk), explain: “The high antioxidant capacity of Rimon is the main reason we have focused on distribution in the health trade. In addition, the authentic, ‘freshly squeezed’ pomegranate taste and premium ambient glass packaging, with up to one year’s shelf life, make it a particularly attractive offering to health store customers who are also discerning about quality and dislike wastage.”

Rimon 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice is produced exclusively by the Nachmias family in the Galilee Mountains of Israel.

The family are dedicated to being the experts and authority on pomegranates, having started with using years of fruit farming experience to cultivate a new super fruit pomegranate that is rich in antioxidants, sweeter and deeper in colour than most pomegranate types.

From orchards 870 metres above sea level with a cool climate and basalt-rich soil that enhances the ripening process and superior quality of the pomegranates, they harvest their distinctive fresh pomegranates and look after all aspects of production of pomegranate juice, wines and oils. Not surprising then the Nachmias family adopted the Rimon brand name, as this is the Hebrew word for pomegranate Hand-picked pomegranates are taken from the orchards straight to the family’s pressing and bottling facility, which is on the same estate in Upper Galilee. This means that the family controls the quality and integrity of all aspects of juice

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production, and people in the UK can be sure that the product they enjoy is exactly the same as the juice drunk every day by the Nachmias family, say the company.

Rimon 100% Pomegranate Juice is available in 275 ml ambient glass bottles, which is a smaller size than other pomegranate juice packs. But as a discerning juice drinker knows, less can certainly mean more! Because of the quality, unique properties and purity of the Rimon pomegranate juice and its high antioxidant content, the content of one bottle delivers the perfect individual serve of healthy juice. Both the trade and consumers also benefit in terms of storage space and no wastage.

In independent taste test research of 200 consumers responses confirmed that Rimon was liked by people appreciating a drier, crisper and sharper tasting pomegranate juice, report the company.

The juice appeals to people with a more discerning and educated palette, who prefer the authentic and natural taste of pomegranates rather than sweeter juice in other words, a sophisticated pomegranate juice for adult tastes. Its depth of colour, rich and ‘freshly squeezed’ appearance was also commented on, reflecting the quality of the pomegranates and the purity of the juice.

Rimon 100% Pure Pomegranate juice in 275ml glass bottles is not being offered to multiple grocers, and so provides independent wholesalers and retailers with an exclusive and distinctive product.

Sporting links In the year that Olympics will be coming to the UK, big name brands with sporting links could prove to be a profitable item for outlets to stock up on.

The soft drinks manufacturers, Britvic and PepsiCo, have announced that they are repositioning the Gatorade brand as the sports nutrition range of choice for athletes with the launch of its G Series Pro range, supported by a new Game Changer marketing campaign.

The series comprises of a complete choice of nutritional products to help athletes ‘Prime, Perform and Recover’ ahead of, during and after exercise, and the new range will help specialist sports retailers, leisure and sports clubs mangers capitalise on the growing sports drinks sub-category, say the two companies, currently worth £270m according to Euromonitor figures, of which Gatorade has a 3.3% value share.

The launch of the G Series Pro range and its new Game Changer campaign is a big step in the brand’s evolution, moving the brand from sports hydration to sports nutrition. The campaign will target the health and sporting press with print and online advertising for G Series Pro, Gatorade will be aiming to maximise the launch with eye-catching POS. Outlets will be able to get hold of bespoke chillers, posters, shelf talkers as well as freestanding pop up shelves to hold product and small units for the till-point areas to help visualise Gatorades latest new product development to consumers.

G Series Pro 01 Prime is a pre-game fuel is a liquid in a convenient and functional 118ml pouch that provides real carbohydrate energy to be taken 15 minutes before activity. G Series Pro 02 Perform is available in both powder format and ready to drink, the product offers consumers a blend of fluids to help rehydrate, replace sweat loss and fuel working muscles. G Series Pro 03 Recover is ideal for use 30 minutes after activity, the liquid helps support muscle recovery and replace electrolytes lost during workout or competition.

“Retailers should be stocked up to take advantage of the increasing consumer demand for sport drinks, particularly in light of the exposure sport and exercise will receive in the build up to this year’s summer of sporting events,” says Jon Evans, head of Gatorade marketing at Britvic.

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Recipe Idea Parma Ham and Caramelised Red Onion Valentine’s Tarts CREDIT: Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma Photography and Reportage: Steve Lee Recipe: Jocelyn Barker Food Styling: Sue Ashworth

❤

❤❤ Ingredients 150g (8 oz) ready rolled puff pastry, 1 egg, beaten, 2 medium red onions, 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 4 slices Parma ham, fresh rosemary, 50g (2 oz) feta cheese, 1 fig, salt and pepper Method Start by making the puff-pastry cases. Unroll the puff pastry and cut out two x12cm squares. Using a sharp knife, cut heart shapes from the two pastry squares and score ∏ cm from the edge of the hearts, around their perimeter. Prick the inner heart with a fork and brush the pastry with beaten egg, season with cracked black pepper. Place on a baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for 10 minutes, until beginning to brown.

Take the pastries out of the oven and use your knife to trace the line that was scored before cooking. Very carefully, peel off the top of the inner heart to leave a heart-shaped pastry case.

To make the filling, finely slice the red onions and fry in olive oil until golden. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, stirring until the onions have caramelised, and season to taste with salt and cracked black pepper.

Tear up a slice of Parma ham into the base of each tart.

Share the caramelised onions between the tart cases, sprinkle with fresh rosemary and chunks of feta cheese and return to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.

Whilst the tarts are cooking, quarter the fig and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with the remaining balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and season with cracked pepper.

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PROJECT CAFE11 EUROPE REPORT

Market

insights

At the Berlin Coffee Symposium, Allegra Strategies’ MD, Jeffrey Young, revealed some of the findings of the latest Project Café11 Europe report. This yearly survey canvasses the opinions of key decision makers and participants in the coffee shop sector at large in order to better understand the state of the market, the mega trends at play, the role of the artisan independent, as well as the sector’s future growth potential.

Three horse race?

As a backdrop to his presentation of the year’s market insights, Jeffrey Young highlighted the relevance to today’s business landscape of three philosophical questions that need to be asked in the right order.

Namely, who am I (what kind of business am I in?), where am I going (what’s my strategy?), and who’s coming with me?

Not knowing the answer to any of these questions, particularly in today’s competitive climate, risks going to the wrong place with the wrong person, he warned, when business is in fact all about partnerships, both internally and externally – something which the branded coffee shop chains are all focusing heavily on.

“It has been a difficult couple of years for the global economy, particularly in Europe,” said Jeffrey Young, “but by our definition, the branded coffee shop sector is now approaching 12,000 outlets. The UK has the highest growth rate in Europe at present – over 8% from 2010 to 2011 - with Germany catching up, followed by Spain, France and Poland.

“The overall growth across Europe has been 6.8% in really difficult times with 748 stores in the last year. This is testament to the opportunities that are out there, and the new world we’re creating, but also to the companies out there who are delivering what they are doing.”

Currently, the scope of Allegra’s research does not cover Russia or Turkey, but they intend to do so. Costa (1444 stores by October 2011) is currently the largest branded chain in Europe, followed by McCafé

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(1326 stores by October 2011), and then Starbucks (1253 stores by October 2011), and all equating to a 34% market share.

Caffè Nero is in fourth spot with 460 stores and a 4% market share, according to Allegra, but relative to it size, when compared to the others, this UK based chain has added an impressive number of stores (31) to its head count over the past year.

“It’s becoming a three horse race at the top branded end of the market,” said Jeffrey Young, “but we expect to see more growth from the others. Pret A Manger, for example, are moving into Paris very shortly.”

Caution Allegra’s canvassing of the sector’s movers and shakers found that most feel it’s a difficult but positive market place and landscape to be in when compared to last year, but as the industry is naturally optimistic, Jeffrey Young advised taking this view with a pinch of salt, pointing out that as it’s currently very challenging out there, the short-term expectations are for things to get slightly more difficult.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” he added.

“None the less, there is a vein of optimism although 17% (as opposed to 13% last year) expect things to deteriorate. In the UK, even though we have the Olympics, those surveyed consider 2012 as potentially a very tough year. In many markets, for example Spain, Greece and Italy, things have been quite uncertain, and things could get much worse on a European level due to the debt crisis.

“There’s concern over consumer spending

across most markets, but overall there’s a concern that consumers are pulling back.”

Coffee connoisseurism As has become traditional over their 13 years publishing market data on the sector, Allegra had identified a list of the most significant trends that they feel will have impact in the near future. Growth of speciality coffee/coffee culture remained top, with the rising cost of living having risen from position five to two in terms of being felt to be the most important consumer trend affecting the market.

“In the UK food prices have increased by more than 10%, well above the standard rate of inflation,” said Jeffrey Young. “Everybody has to eat, so spending more money on essential items. There’s been a big squeeze, and the risk is that consumers are pulling back.

“Luckily, coffee has become such a daily treat, it’s embedded into our lives and that’s part of the reason why this industry is near recession-proof, because it is a lifestyle product.”

Allegra also feel that the growth in ‘coffee connoisseurism’ – customers becoming obsessed by, and more knowledgeable about, coffee over the past three to four years – is the most interesting trend they’ve seen gathering momentum, with consumers now showing a far greater interest in the coffee, the quality, taste and flavour profiles.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Jeffrey Young.

“Coffee’s getting much more interesting, satisfying the needs of customers that are becoming more complex.”

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PROJECT CAFE11 EUROPE REPORT

Success factors and challenges So what makes a successful coffee shop?

Good location was still ranked top by those surveyed, followed by the quality of the coffee served and now – a new entrant to Allegra’s list – the service level. At the same time, innovation and exciting food menus have also started to rise up the ranking of which factors gave the greatest impact upon the performance of a coffee shop.

Key challenges to be faced included, as always, high rents, but then if location is so important, you have to pay a high price (rent) for a good location.

Rising foods costs were found to be a real concern for both suppliers and operators, posing the question of could such costs be passed on to consumers? In the case of the rising cost of coffee, Jeffrey Young felt that it was something to do with rising demand for higher quality coffee, as higher quality robusta coffees were not rising at quite the same rate as the quality arabicas, he had observed. This, he felt, could have something to do with the fact that all the big coffee chains were now demanding higher quality, and as it takes a while for new coffee (ie. crops) to come on stream, his hunch was that this situation will continue for some time.

All surveyed were agreed upon the fact that there was definitely still growth potential for the branded chains, but that there was increasing talk of the artisan/independent operators having an important role to play in continuing to grow the share of customer spend in Europe.

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Mega trends The artisanal, ‘third wave’ continues to be a mega trend across Europe. “It’s very obvious how much of an impact it’s having on the chains themselves,” said Jeffrey Young. “There’s greater barista expertise now, it’s a more prestigious job as consumers become more aware and interested in quality coffee.

“Following on from that, there’s been outstanding growth in coffee at home.

Nespresso are leading that. Clearly consumers have had great out of home experiences that they want to replicate at home, so we see extremely strong growth of high quality traditional espresso machines, as we do in the pod machines. A major, major market.”

Traceability and sustainability are issues that are not going to go away, and that are ever important, and something that needs to be embedded in business by working with companies who understand how to implement traceability so that consumers know where their coffee comes from (Square Mile Coffee Roasters, for example, being famed for being able to say exactly which farm a particular coffee has come from).

There is also growing internationalism, and the fact that things are becoming more global is evidenced by brands such as Costa who have gone from being UK-centric to being a global player. This is something that is likely to be mirrored across the world, feel Allegra.

Cities are becoming ever more international, but the sector needs to be aware that the majority of opportunities will come from outside Europe, and not just the BRICs countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), but from a whole host of other large, emerging markets (Latin America and the Philippines, for instance).

An ageing population, certainly in Europe, is another factor to contend with, although the populations of emerging markets are very much younger. Today, 29% of the worldwide population is over 55 years old as social, technological and medical advancements enhance life expectancy, meaning that the ‘grey consumer’ controls most of the wealth.

Social media and technology will have a greater role to play, and will be very important, and hard not to take notice of.

Allegra themselves achieved a high response rate to their own consumer survey, taking just a few weeks to amass some 60,000 online responses using an onlinebased information gathering tool.

A store’s nature and environment is likely to be of growing importance and so should also not be underestimated (McDonald’s McCafé being a good example of how a change in environment brought about a

transformation). In other words, coffee shops are not just a place to have a coffee, but socialise and do a whole host of other things, such as work, or relax, as well as have a ‘coffee experience’.

Artisan role When you step back and look at the basic role of the coffee shop, it’s a place to drink a coffee, eat, relax, enjoy and socialise, and is mainly about human interaction. People do not simply go into a coffee shop to have a coffee, feel Allegra.

“It is about the coffee, but it’s also about a binding force, a warm energy that enables us to gather round, like a campfire in a way,” said Jeffrey Young. “I spend a lot of time in Costa, Starbucks, typing up my work. I could be doing that in an office. Why I am doing that? Because I want to be around people and ultimately, human interaction is a strong, drawing force.”

But in the artisan store where there’s craft made coffee, at the risk of being contentious, Jeffrey Young suggested that these are the places to have really great coffee, eat great food and experience sublime enjoyment. It should be a unique experience, somewhere to learn about coffee and explore by seeing the roasting taking place, for example.

“This is not just the world of the artisan, but all of us, by setting the tone, trends and headline of the market,” said Jeffrey Young, who also added a note of caution. “We need to respect the achievements, the system and structure and capabilities of the chains, as well as identify and learn from the artisans. That’s the opportunity.”

Referencing managment guru Tom Peters’ rules of failure – success leads to arrogance, arrogance leads to complacency, complacency leads to failure – Jeffrey Young warned the industry not to rest on its laurels.

Future prospects Allegra see a promising future, predicting a compound annual growth rate of 5.4% across Europe over the next three years, and exceeding 13,000 outlets by 2014.

The market is more and more competitive, with challenger international brands such as Costa on the rise and further artisan influences expected (an increase in micro-roasting is anticipated across Europe, and could be the next ‘big thing’).

An increase in quality, not just the coffee, but the packaging and environment, is predicted too, as well as greater innovation, increased communication and the rise of the coffee fanatic who has greater knowledge and appreciation. Against a background of greater integration and partnerships, this will lead to the fourth wave, suggest Allegra – the science of coffee.

FEBRUARY 2012 CAFÉ CULTURE 47

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PROJECT CAFE11 EUROPE REPORT

Berlin is home to a diverse range of artisan independents.

ALLEGRA STRATEGIES EUROPEAN COFFEE AWARDS 2011 Nominations were made by more than 300 senior industry peers who took part in the Allegra’s European Coffee Leader Survey in August/September 2011. The category winners were announced at the European Coffee Awards and Gala Dinner at the European Coffee Symposium 2011, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Berlin on Wednesday, 23 November 2011.

Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain - France & Switzerland Winner: Starbucks Coffee Company Runner up: McCafé Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain - Germany & Austria Winner: McCafé Runner up: Starbucks Coffee Company Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain – Italy Winner: Espressamente illy Runner up: McCafé Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain - UK & Ireland Winner: Costa Coffee Runner up: Caffè Nero Highly commended: Starbucks Coffee Company

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CAFÉ CULTURE

Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain – Europe Winner: Costa Runner up: Starbucks Coffee Company Highly commended: McCafé Most Ethical Company - Europe Winner: Starbucks Coffee Company Runner up: Costa Coffee Highly commended: Matthew Algie Best Coffee Equipment Supplier - Europe Winner: La Cimbali Runner up: La Marzocco Highly commended: Franke Coffee Systems

Most Innovative Brand - Europe Winner: Nespresso Runner up: Keep Cup Highly commended: Beyond the Bean Best Roaster - Europe Winner: Square Mile Coffee Runner up: Solberg&Hansen AS Highly Commended (joint): illy and Lincoln & York Best Independent Coffee Shop – Europe Winner: Monmouth Runner up: ST ALi UK Highly commended: Kaffeine INDIVIDUAL AWARDS The following people were recognised at the awards ceremony for their contribution to the coffee

industry in their country, or across Europe.

Outstanding Contribution to the European Coffee Industry Recognised: Heinz Trachsel, former Swiss National Coordinator, SCAE Paul Stack, operations director, Marco Beverage Systems Johan Ekfeldt, owner, Johan & Nystrom Coffee Roaster Elaine Higginson, managing director, United Coffee Steve Penk, commercial director, La Spaziale UK Lifetime award Alf Kramer, first president of the SCAE

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Youri Vlag of training company and coffee supplier, Limini Coffee (www.liminicoffee.co.uk), tackles some of your questions and queries about your own barista skills, and offers some top tips to help you make high quality beverages.

What is the purpose of tamping?

Tamping is all about achieving an even extraction. Correct tamping ensures an even flow of water through the coffee and even extractions are extremely important when you are looking to extract the best flavour from your coffee.

There are two big factors that make tamping good or bad – level-ness and pressure. The more level you tamp, the more even the water is forced through the coffee. Uneven tamping results in more pressure on one side causing uneven extractions. There is a big debate on how much pressure to use for tamping, some people will measure it on a scale and express the pressure in pounds. What we can all agree on is that an even, consistent pressure is very important. There has to be enough pressure though to ensure that the puck of coffee is completely compressed and solid.

How can we make our tamping easier for our coffee shop?

The more you learn about tamping, the more you might get scared about it as espresso coffee is very sensitive. In a commercial environment such as a coffee shop or restaurant, your main focus should be on serving the customer. The more time you spend on tamping, the less time you have to serve your customers.

There are now automatic tampers that take the guesswork away. Automatic tampers should ensure that you have a perfectly level tamp and a consistent pressure. There are various automatic tampers, some better than others. Look for one that makes your life as easy as possible.

La Spaziale, for example, have designed an automatic tamper which is designed so it will always be level and gives the same pressure each time. The edge of the tamper rests on the top of the group handle and therefore creates a perfect level tamp.

There are also tampers which are connected to grinders. Some are okay, and some are rather badly designed. Just keep in mind that you are looking for a tamper

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TALK

Barista talk

RISTA A B

If you have a barista-related query that would like answered, then please email clare@jandmgroup.co.uk, or write in with details of your name, location of your café and question to Café Culture, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow, NP16 5DB and Café Culture magazine will endeavour to source a reply for you!

that gives you level tamping and a consistent pressure. And do yourself a favour and throw away the plastic tamp that you get delivered with espresso machines.

Isn’t an automatic tamper taking away all the skill of the barista?

Yes, they do. Being a fantastic barista is not just about tamping though. It is about so much more, and most importantly about serving the customers the drink they want and doing this in the best way possible. If an automatic tamper is making the life of the barista easier then this is great, as it allows the barista to focus on the customer.

In places where you have over 10 baristas working and maybe some parttime staff it is even more important. In an ideal world every staff member is extremely passionate about brewing espresso and takes great care in tamping, but let's face it, there are many places where people want to serve absolutely delicious coffees yet

they need to achieve a consistency with the least amount of hassle and so automatic tampers can really help to achieve this.

Are automatic tampers for everybody?

No, definitely not. But they are perfect for many coffee outlets.

What is your experience when teaching people with tampers?

We teach people to tamp manually, and to tamp with an automatic tamper. The first thing we notice is the consistency. An automatic tamper makes it very easy to start pulling shots straight away. We use grind on demand grinders that give consistent doses and espresso machines that have pre-set volumes. Throw in an automatic tamper and it makes life a lot easier and faster. It simply means that people can start pulling shots almost straight away and this is very useful. We then later talk more about tamping in detail.

What else can you tell us about tamping?

Be careful with tapping the group handle with a tamper to loosen up coffee grinds that are stuck to the sides. This tapping can cause cracks inside the puck and result in channelling.

Also ensure that you have the correct tamper size. Most machines will need a 57mm diameter tamper, others might need a 58mm or 53mm tamper. It is very important you have a perfect fit.

And start with a dry and clean basket.

The better you tamp, the less blonding you will get (blonding being when the extraction turns light in colour, when it should in fact look brown - it is the result of water finding a way through the puck of coffee and not extracting properly).

FEBRUARY 2012 CAFÉ CULTURE 49

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EVENTS

A celebration of coffee in the UK UK Coffee Week 2012 (23 to 29 April 2012) is the nation’s largest charitable celebration of coffee, providing a unique opportunity for the coffee and foodservice industry to collaborate and elevate the profile of the sector while giving back to an extremely worthy cause.

Multiple events and opportunities It will incorporate in-store cause-related product offerings and activities, a national media programme and public events, including the London Coffee Festival which celebrates the city’s thriving coffee and gourmet food scene. Throughout the week money is raised for Project Waterfall (a charitable initiative delivering clean water projects in African coffee-producing countries).

Getting involved in the UK Coffee Week 2012 programme and the London Coffee Festival will present opportunities to demonstrate your company’s ethical credentials and, together with peers, help leverage this vibrant sector.

The London Coffee Festival The London Coffee Festival is UK Coffee Week’s flagship event, and aims to be the nation’s most inspiring and dynamic celebration of coffee and food culture.

This year, over 12,000 coffee and food lovers, professional baristas, coffee shop owners and top decision-makers will attend the event being held from 27 to 29 April 2012 at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane (tickets are available for purchase online at www.londoncoffeefestival.com, with 50% of

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the proceeds going to Project Waterfall).

The Festival will feature artisan coffee and gourmet food stalls, tastings and demonstrations, and live entertainment in the uniquely themed zones – Hyde Park, Shoreditch, Soho, The Lab and The Growing Community. Exciting new displays for 2012 include The Showroom, The Roastery, The Tea Garden, The Chocolate Factory, The Street Food & Artisan Markets, and the popup The True Artisan Café where baristas from some of the best independent coffee shops included in 2012 The London Coffee Guide will serve signature drinks and showcase their skills.

The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe UK Chapter (SCAE UK) has partnered with the Festival this year to host the UK Barista Championships (UKBC) 2012 finals on 27 and 28 2012 April and the Brewers Cup on 29 April 2012. The top scoring barista will be crowned UK Barista Champion 2012 and will compete in the World Barista Championship in Vienna, Austria from 12 to 15 June 2012. The UKBC will attract leading figures from the coffee shop trade and coffee fanatics alike.

The Festival will commence with the Trade Day on Friday, 27 April 2012, with the introduction of The Trade Day Experience

where trade visitors will have the opportunity to enhance, personalise and add value to their visit through a series of workshop, seminar and product tasting appointments and other VIP experiences.

An Espresso Martini launch party will open the show to the public on the Friday evening, setting the tone for the actionpacked weekend of amazing coffee, food, art and music (for further information visit www.londoncoffeefestival.com).

UK Coffee Week Over 2,700 coffee shops participated in the inaugural UK Coffee Week 2011 (including Costa and Caffè Nero, and highly esteemed independent cafés such as Flat White, Sacred and Kaffeine). Industry suppliers that also supported the programme included Lavazza, Solo Cup, and Square Mile Coffee Roasters.

In coffee shops customers were invited to donate 5p to the price of their coffee. A staggering £100,000 was raised through corporate and consumer donations, and the proceeds from the London Coffee Festival ticket sales. UK Coffee Week 2012 plans to be bigger and better, and raise a minimum of £220,000 for Project Waterfall to continue the great work currently being undertaken in Tanzania, say Allegra.

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EVENTS Coffee shops, food outlets and industry suppliers of all sizes are being encouraged to sign up and become involved in the programme. All registered venues will be listed on the UK Coffee Week web site allowing customers to find and support their nearest participating store. The week will also include two exciting new fundraising initiatives, The Big Challenge and Coffee@Work.

Getting involved

The Big Challenge (15 April 2012) To launch UK Coffee Week, a sponsored 10 kilometre (6.2 miles) walk carrying up to 10 litres of water for five kilometres along the River Thames will take place. The Big Challenge represents the daily struggle of fetching water by women and children in rural Africa. More than 1,000 participants are expected to complete the walk. Collectively this will cover 10,000 kilometres (6,214 miles), the distance from London to Tanzania where Project Waterfall is currently providing communities with clean water. The Big Challenge provides an ideal opportunity for a company or team day out, or is a fun way for friends and families to enjoy a scenic walk around the River Thames, while raising awareness and funds for a very worthy cause.

■ Provide prizes for competitions within consumer and trade press to increase brand awareness

Coffee@Work (throughout UK Coffee Week) Coffee@Work allows workplaces across the nation to get involved in UK Coffee Week.

Employees from participating workplaces will be encouraged to make a minimum £1 donation for hot beverages made at work

Operators can:

Suppliers can:

■ Make donations on behalf of consumer purchases, such as coffee or coffee & cake deals, encouraging customers into stores

■ Make customer donations on specific products, proven to drive sales and showcase ethical credentials

■ Invite customers to add a voluntary 5p to purchases

■ Hold an event in-store (e.g. barista workshops, coffee tastings) to celebrate involvement and encourage customer visits ■ Sponsor UK Coffee Week or provide programme support funds, allowing 100% of all consumer donations to go directly to Project Waterfall. In return, companies will receive positive exposure within the industry

■ Donate prizes for competitions within trade or consumer press that will increase brand awareness and promote involvement in UK Coffee Week ■ Sponsor UK Coffee Week or provide programme support funds, allowing 100% of all consumer donations to go directly to Project Waterfall. In return, companies will receive positive exposure within the industry ■ Encourage staff to take part in The Big Challenge or Coffee@Work ■ Join the festivities at The London Coffee Festival

■ Encourage staff to take part in The Big Challenge or Coffee@Work ■ Join the festivities at The London Coffee Festival ■ Sell Evian bottled water and a coffee together for a special price with part of the proceeds being donated to Project Waterfall during the week. The initiative will unite colleagues and help give back to the countries that provide the coffee beans used

for this daily fix. 100% of funds raised through Coffee@Work will go directly to Project Waterfall.

UK Coffee Leader Summit 2012 to look beyond coffee “The UK coffee shop market continues to exceed expectations by growing significantly in value and outlet numbers.

More than 600 new coffee outlets opened in the UK during 2011. As consumers gain more opportunity to consume quality coffee through more outlets, they are increasingly making it part of their lifestyle,” says Jeffrey Young, managing director of Allegra Strategies, organisers of the UK Coffee Leader Summit.

“Coffee shops provide more than just a cup of coffee. They are a place to eat, drink, socialise and relax. In these challenging economic times, consumers seek affordable treats to maintain a feel good factor in their lives.”

According to Allegra Strategies recently released ProjectCafé11 UK Report, further market growth is predicted. However, rising consumer value expectations is a long-term

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factor shaping purchasing behaviour and branded chains will need to ensure they offer high quality products, especially authentic food and compelling environments.

On 29 March 2012, 300 senior executives from across the UK coffee shop, food-to-go and food-for-now sectors will meet at Allegra’s UK Coffee Leader Summit 2012 to share and gain latest market insight and look to the future for the industry.

Entitled Coffee & Beyond, the summit will address key themes and trends shaping the marketplace, including the ‘Fourth Wave’ - the science of coffee, the impact of micro-roasting on the industry and future for coffee brands, food and food concept innovation and development, barista culture, achieving staff passion, engaging consumers, the rise of nonspecialists and key ethical issues such as

direct sourcing.

An exciting speaker line-up is planned, with presentations from innovative operators including St ALi UK, Allpress Espresso, Caffè Nero, Workhouse Coffee, Gelato Mio and industry experts including the Coffee Community, the University of Hertfordshire and Allegra Strategies.

The event will take place at London’s Millbank Tower. In addition, Allegra’s tailored Supply & Innovation Day will take place on 28 March, offering an exclusive forum for leading operators and key suppliers to meet face-to-face to explore and present new product innovation and supply chain opportunities (delegates also have the opportunity to join one of the Study Tours to experience London’s leading and most innovative new coffee and food concepts). For further information, visit www.ukcoffeeleadersummit.com.

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NEW PRODUCTS

Fashionable London Italian deli/restaurant selects QED ‘Azur’ coffee shop system

For movers and shakers – not spillers As the pace of day-to-day living continues to speed up, International Paper has introduced to the market a new hot cup lid that has been specifically designed with the movers and shakers of this world in mind. The lock-back dome lid comes with the tab closed to ensure that you get to drink your coffee, not wear it.

Keeping with the trend of ‘drinks on the go’, this latest

lid has been manufactured with the primary aim of preventing spillages. The lids are easily opened with one hand and stay securely locked back while the beverage is enjoyed. The lids give a reassuring ‘snap’ sound when applied, confirming a secure fit. They will fit a selection of cup sizes and are available in black and white (visit www.ipfoodservice.co.uk or call 01606 552537).

Foodservice product – Topbrewer causing Twitterati excitement Causing an internet twitter is Scanomat’s beautifully designed Top Brewer bean to cup coffee making concept that can conjure up a coffee via an iPhone app. Following a soft launch at Caffè Culture it kicked up a storm of frenzy at the recent HOST show in Milan before becoming the talk of YouTube with a ‘host’ of followers globally.

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Subsequent hits there and on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking websites for Scanomat’s Top Brewer are now nearing the impressive 150,000 mark.

Public imagination has clearly been captured by the clever, technologically advanced Top Brewer and it is obvious coffee addicts can’t wait to see it in action!

The iPhonehacks.com site suggests: “Perhaps your local coffee shop will install a team of TopBrewers and let you order your coffee drink just the way you like it from your iPhone or iPad while you stand in line to pay for the beverage.” (call 0800 032 7581 or visit www.scanomat.co.uk).

Glasgow-based QED supplies a distinctive range of coffee shop display systems, refrigerated counters and storage refrigeration. The company recently supplied and installed modular serve-over counters to the new Valentina Fine Foods delicatessen, coffee shop and restaurant in the fashionable Notting Hill district of London.

Valentina Fine Foods is a traditional family business offering fresh produce and own label groceries, with four

outlets in London and the Home Counties. The new Notting Hill Gate location includes a fifty seat restaurant, with traditional Italian menu and adorned with classic Italian motorbikes suspended from the ceiling. The sweeping curves and dark wood veneer of the Azur system perfectly complimented the vintage Italian look and feel of the shop and restaurant (visit www.qualityequipment.co.uk or call 0141 779 9503).

Golden double for pre-cooked sausage A new product from Snowbird foods enjoyed huge success at the recent British Pig Executive (BPEX) Foodservice Pork Sausage of the Year awards, being presented with four awards, including two coveted golds.

The new product, a Gourmet Lincolnshire made to a fabulous traditional recipe, has a meat content of over 75%, is fully cooked and frozen in the factory. The supreme sausage won gold in the BPEX categories for Traditional Pork, and Innovative Pork sausages, silver in the Best Pub Pork

Sausage class, and a bronze in the section for a Legendary British Banger.

Its was also named as a finalist in the Traditional Pork sausage category, one of just 15 from the 281 entries to be selected for presentation and tasting at the grand final at Butchers Hall, London (call 020 8805 9222 or visit www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk).

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Introducing

Vouchercloud Café Society members can now take advantage of a great new marketing tool following agreement between the Café Society and Vouchercloud, rated the UK’s leading consumer voucher app by the Sunday Times, Sun and Daily Telegraph with over 1.3 million downloads.

Promotions Vouchercloud enables businesses to run voucher promotions over mobile phones, providing consumers with an instant incentive visit their outlet. Furthermore, because it is localised, even individual cafés and coffee shops can use it as a means of promotion – and you can change the promotions from weekto-week, month-tomonth or even day-today. You can also control how many vouchers each person gets with each voucher campaign as well as how many in total can be redeemed. With every redemption you also receive a digital receipt.

For the consumer, the apps are free to download, free to use and deliver a fantastic range of money-saving offers from popular national brands, such as Odeon and Vue cinemas to Debenhams, as well as local businesses.

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Using GPS technology, Vouchercloud instantly identifies the deals nearest to where the consumer is located when they are out and about. Alternatively, they can choose any location they will be travelling to in the UK to check out what’s on offer.

Food, drink, entertainment, leisure, travel professional services and shopping – they're all there, with new ones added every day. So there is a real benefit.

User friendly Vouchercloud is also extremely user friendly and using the app is as easy as 1, 2, 3…

1) Consumers simply browse for an offer by category or using the search facility.

2) Then they read the terms and conditions, and 3) When in store, press the USE VOUCHER button, show the next screen when paying and press SHOW CODE when prompted to do so.

The voucher use is then recorded through the system.

Benefits In setting up an arrangement with Vouchercloud, the Society has agreed a 12.5% discount for members off the annual rate for a business to use the system. For a small café, this brings the annual cost down from £199 + VAT to £174 + VAT. Any members wishing to take up this offer (or get more information on it) should contact Tony Lorimer at the Society on 01291 636333 (tony@cafesociety.org.uk) to obtain the special discount code.

FEBRUARY 2012 CAFÉ CULTURE 53

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INDEX

Café Society Suppliers Index Beyond the Bean Ltd. Unit 6, Cala Trading Estate Ashton Vale Road, Ashton Vale Bristol BS3 2HA Contact: Paul Maxwell Tel: 0117 953 3522 Fax: 0117 953 3422 Email: info@beyondthebean.com Web: www.beyondthebean.com Café Boutique 25 Dale Road, Stanton by Dale Derbyshire DE7 4QF Contact: Greg Campher Tel: 0800 028 3175 Fax: 0800 471 5205 Email: hello@cafeboutique.co.uk Web: www.ipanemaespresso.co.uk Coffix Unit 25 Hill Lane Close, Markfield Leicester LE67 9PY Contact: Glenn James Tel: 01530 242800 Mobile: 07790 402144 Email: info@coffix.com Web: www.coffix.com

Edgcumbe Tea and Coffee Co Ltd. Wicks House, Ford Lane, Arundel West Sussex BN18 0DF Contact: Alice Rendle Tel: 01243 555775 Email: sales@edgcumbes.co.uk Web: www.edgcumbes.co.uk

Rapido Coffee Services The Garden House, Sugnall Eccleshall, Stafford, Staffordshire ST21 6NF Contact: David Wiggins Tel: 01785 851348 Fax: 01785 859388 Email: sales@cappuccino-rapido.com Web: www.cappuccino-rapido.com

Erlenbacher Backwaren gmbh Wasserweg 39, 64521 Groß-Gerau GERMANY Tel: +49 6152 / 803-0 Fax: +49 6152 / 803-347 Email: erlenbacher@de.nestle.com Web: www.erlenbacher.com

Sugar & Spice The Old Bakehouse, Bakers Yard Ardington OX12 8PS Contact: Martin Popple Tel: 01235 835194 Fax: 01235 862212 Email: info@sugarandspicebakery.co.uk Web: www.sugarandspicebakery.co.uk

London School of Coffee 2 Princeton Mews, London KT2 6PT Contact: Gayle Reed Tel: 0208 4397 981 Email: info@londonschoolofcoffee.com Web: www.londonschoolofcoffee.com

Technomic Inc. Knowledge Center, 300 S Riverside Plaza, Suite 1200, Chicago, Illinois IL 60606 Contact: Patrick Noone Tel: +01 205 991 1234 Fax: +01 205 980 3770 Email: pnoone@technomic.com Web: www.technomic.com

Nelson Catering Equipment Unit 1, Rowley Industrial Park Acton, London W3 8BH Contact: John Nelson Tel: 0208 993 6199 Email: john@nelsoncatering.co.uk Web: www.nelsondishwashers.co.uk

United Coffee 2 Bradbourne Drive , Tilbrook Milton Keynes MK7 8AT Contact: Elaine Higginson Tel: 01908 275 520 Fax: 01908 648 444 Email: info@firstchoicecoffee.com Web: www.unitedcoffeeuk.com

magazine SUBSCRIBE NOW CAFÉ CULTURE is published six times a year and currently distributed at the promotional subscription price of £55 per annum (£95 outside the UK).

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Business/Company Name: ................................................................................Address: .......................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................Post Code: .......................................................................................

Tel No: ............................................................................................................Fax No: ................................................................................................ email:..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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I enclose a cheque for £55 (£95 outside the UK). Cheques should be payable to Café Society and returned to: Café Culture, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow NP16 5DB or contact Tony Lorimer on 01291 636333 or email on tony@cafesociety.org.uk Alternatively, if you wish to pay by credit card, please enter your details below.

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Pennine Tea and Coffee Ltd, 6-8 Hall Street, Halifax, quote West Yorkshire, HX1 5AY ccf

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