Sammies 2022 award wins for thriving coffee shop chains.

SOHO Coffee Co. set to open at Birmingham Airport

SOHO Coffee Co. has announced that it will open its latest brand format in the main departure lounge at Birmingham Airport on 8 July 2022.

The brand will be bringing its fresh, handmade food to travellers and airport teams alike to enjoy, and offering an ideal option before travelling as well as for taking on board, with guests able to look forward to breakfast butties, giant spuds, sourdough toasties complete with the signature SOHO sauce, and freshly baked muffins. SOHO’s vegan shakes and signature triple certified coffee complete the line-up.

Richard Gill, commercial director of Birmingham Airport said: “We are delighted to welcome SOHO as a catering partner to the airport. This new coffee shop will be a timely addition to the departure lounge as we see more customers flying. Bringing SOHO Coffee Co. in as a partner complements our existing brands and ensures that our customer have choice of eateries, and takeaway options, whilst waiting for their flight.”

SOHO managing director Penny Manuel explained: “Birmingham Airport has been number one on our target list to open a Soho for some time. I am delighted that the airport shares our view that SOHO is just right for travellers looking for great food with quick service. We are a local brand well established in the West Midlands – the airport is the perfect addition to our portfolio.

“Our shared commitment to community investment and sustainability serve to strengthen our future partnership; we are looking forward to the creation of 40 plus new job opportunities and investing in the team to provide new skills and long-term career opportunities.”

Sammies 2022 award wins for thriving coffee shop chains

In recognition of their growth and positive performance during challenging times, Costa and Coffee#1 were both recognised with awards in the Café Retailer Award category at the recent British Sandwich Association Awards (“Sammies”) held at the Royal Lancaster London Hotel in London on 5 May 2022 and hosted by celebrity chef, Theo Randall.

Sponsored by Dawn Farms, the Café Retailer Award recognises the work being done by the café retailers to develop the market, with no shortlist published, but all retailers considered.

“Of the major chains in this sector, two have performed particularly well in a year that according to mealtrak data has seen the overall sector grow by 20%,” commented BSA director, Jim Winship.

“However, there have also been some remarkable recovery stories amongst the independents and smaller chains. As a result, we decided to divide this award into two. In recognition of their drive out of the pandemic, the chain award went to Costa.

“This year, we also recognised the remarkable emergence of Coffee#1 as a small chain, now part of Caffè Nero, and which has seen its sales rise by over 150% in the last year, according to mealtrak. Like Costa, they also succeeded in increasing their NPS (Net Promoter Score) over the year, according to Lumina Intelligence.”

Dawn Farms’ Bryan Murphy, Coffee#1’s Hannah McKay and Theo Randall. Costa Coffee’s Rob Lugton, Laura Davis and Judith Jerodiaconou, and Theo Randall.

Grind launch home compostable coffee pods

In celebration of World Earth Day (22 April 2022), coffee brand, Grind, launched its new home compostable coffee pods, helping to put a stop to the 29,000 single use coffee pods that end up in landfill every minute.

Although most coffee pod brands describe themselves as ‘compostable’ or ‘recyclable’, they often require industrial compost to decompose or to be collected by a local council, point out Grind, whose new pods are certified compostable at home, meaning that they can be placed in your home compost and left to do their thing naturally.

Grind say that they have made the switch simple by replacing all of their pods with the new home compostable innovation.