Cafe Culture Magazine - Issue 60

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magazine FEBRUARY 2014 ISSUE 60

www.thecafelife.co.uk

TASTING THE LIFESTYLE OF THE CAFÉ SECTOR

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CONTENTS

Welcome!

As our news pages reveal in this issue, the sector-specific market researchers are agreed that the UK coffee shop business can look forward to a promising future, with both Allegra Strategies and Horizons observing a healthy, growing sector that is defying the economic challenges being experienced elsewhere.

Having attended the European Coffee Symposium held in Paris towards the end of last year, we report on some of the current views of those in the sector. We also turn our attention to the importance of water quality and barista skills, and encourage you to enter year’s re-named and re-launched Café Life Awards (turn to page 14 to find out more).

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 Subscriptions and Customer Service Tel: 01291 636333 E-mail: subscribe@thecafelife.co.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

CONTENTS NEWS

FEATURES

4 Caffè Nero announces a refinancing package.

26 Barista skills – opinions and views from some top baristas.

32 Wising up to water – the mainstay of most beverages that deserves greater attention.

38 Softly, softly – market trends and new soft drinks.

5 UK coffee shop market demonstrates strong growth.

6 Lincoln & York named one of the ‘top 1000 companies to inspire Britain’ 10 Bar Cake launch new brand for small independents

14 Café Life Awards 2014

44 2014 predictions – market researchers, Technomic, peer ahead into the coming year to offer insights.

EVENT REVIEWS

REGULARS

16 The European Coffee Symposium 2013

46 New products.

54 Checkout.

EVENT PREVIEWS 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

ARTICLES

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NEWS

Caffè Nero announces a refinancing package Caffè Nero has announced that it has agreed a new debt financing package.

The new debt facilities will support the business's strong growth objectives, which include pushing forward in international territories, advancing further in the United Kingdom and opening up new channels such as ‘at home’ coffee, say Caffè Nero.

The new debt package will amount to £100m of senior debt instruments and circa £150m in junior ranking debt. There will also be £25m in capital expenditure and other facilities.

The new terms will also substantially lower Caffè Nero's overall average weighted cost of capital per annum.

The Senior Debt Syndicate includes Santander, Rabo Bank, M&G Investments, HSBC and Lloyds. The Junior Syndicate consists of Partners, Avenue and Alcentra.

Gerry Ford, chairman and founder said: "The Caffè Nero brand has outstanding growth prospects. This new debt package allows us to move into some exciting new areas and to continue with our strong store growth both in the UK and abroad."

Caffè Nero is Europe's largest independent coffee house group with more than 600 stores across five countries (UK, Poland, Cyprus, Turkey and the UAE). It is a family owned business started in 1997

by Gerry Ford. Since opening the first café in 1997, it has been dedicated to creating the very finest handcrafted Italian coffee and providing a warm and relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy it.

Since its formation, Caffè Nero has had 67 of 68 quarters of positive like-for-like sales and EBITDA growth, a record virtually unrivalled by any UK retailer, claim the chain. It has also consistently won awards and accolades for its coffee quality, most recently being voted the best tasting coffee on the high street by the independent consumer magazine Which?

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Caffè Culture show to return to London’s Olympia in May 2014 The Caffè Culture show will return to London’s Olympia on 14 and 15 May 2014 for the ninth consecutive year.

Promising over 200 national and international exhibitors and 5,000 trade visitors attending across two days, the show continues to be the UK café bar market’s focal point of the year.

Visitors can expect to get expert advice on choosing the right products for their business, as well as see the latest industry innovations while sampling hundreds of premium products from larger well-known brands and independent suppliers. The show has become a must-attend for independent café owners and buyers from the high street chains, hotels and restaurants looking for fresh ideas and inspiration, hospitality businesses looking to expand and improve upon their coffee offering and new entrants to the market seeking expert advice.

Once again, it will provide invaluable business support from industry figureheads with a full programme of free seminars and live interactive food and drink demonstrations. In addition, 2014 will see the Caffè Culture Show taking a new artisanal focus, reflecting the growing consumer desires to know where their food has been sourced.

With the profile of baking in the UK rising considerably over the past few years and coffee enthusiasts becoming more demanding of the quality of baked goods, the Caffè Culture Show will feature seminar content led by Peter Sidwell of TV’s Britain’s Best Bakery. Visitors can learn about the latest baking trends and how to boost their profits by adding freshly baked products to their businesses.

Furthermore, the show will host dedicated Street Food seminars led by Richard Johnson, creator of the British Street Food Awards, who will offer advice on how vendors can capitalise on the fastest growing sector of the food industry.

The show will also feature some specific content aimed at current street food vendors or those looking to enter this lucrative sector; there is currently no event in the country for these entrepreneurs to go for practical advice so the show will answer a growing demand for sound business advice for this niche group of people.

In response to growing customer demand to know where their food has been sourced and trends for locally produced food and drink growing year on year, an area of the show, supported by The Artisan Food Trail, will be dedicated to a new artisan food market, bringing together a host of independent suppliers and producers, allowing visitors to source the very latest in locally sourced products.

Free visitor registration will open towards the end of January 2014 and for the first time the organisers will be running a hosted buyer programme to guarantee the attendance of the country’s most senior-level buyers (to find out more, visit www.caffecultureshow.com).

Coffee Leader Summit speakers announced The UK Coffee Leader Summit (26 February 2014, The Langham London) will be aiming to help decisionmakers in the sector at large understand current and future trends driving the coffee and food-to-go sectors.

The event’s speakers and panellists will include Jeffrey Young (managing director, Allegra Strategies), Nick Tolley (founder, Harris + Hoole), Jason Katz (founder, Kings Park Capital), Steve Leighton (owner, Has Bean Coffee), Peter DoreSmith (owner, Kaffeine), Emma Loisel

(managing partner, Volcano Coffee Works), Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood (co-owner, Colonna & Small’s Speciality Coffee) and Tom Hyde (owner, Brew Lab) Key conference focus points will include the new coffee consumption patterns, engaging progressive consumers, generating wider consumer participation, the emergence of premium vending, the premiumisation of the at-home segment, a new era of competition among chains and growth of ‘third wave’ cafés nationwide, say Allegra.

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NEWS

UK coffee shop market

demonstrates strong sales growth According to market analysts, Allegra Strategies, the total UK coffee shop market is estimated at 16,501 outlets and continues to show strong sales growth of 6.4% on last year with £6.2 billion total turnover.

In their latest report - Project Café13 UK the branded coffee chain segment recorded £2.6 billion turnover across 5,531 outlets, delivering impressive sales growth of 9.3% and outlet growth of 5.9%, adding 306 stores 2013, and after 15 years of considerable growth, the coffee shop sector continues to be one of the most successful in the UK economy, say Allegra.

Costa Coffee (1,670 outlets), Starbucks Coffee Company (790) and Caffè Nero (560) remain the UK’s leading brands with 54% branded chain market outlet share. Physical expansion by leading chains remains the core driver of market growth, observe Allegra (in particular, Costa added 118 UK outlets and 18% sales growth in calendar 2013).

The UK coffee shop market is robust with established and predictable coffee consumption patterns, claim Allegra, their

report showing that the UK is now a nation of great coffee drinkers. One in five coffee shop visitors visit coffee shops every day compared with one in nine in 2009, drinking an estimated 1.7 billion cups of coffee per year in coffee shops.

Coffee venues increasingly play an important social and community hub function as well as being a large contributor to UK employment and economy, with the report also revealing how successful branded chains constantly refresh their image while retaining brand values in order to engage increasingly progressive consumers.

A greater commitment to coffee credentials by the non-specialist sector, such as pubs, fast food and supermarkets has generated wider consumer participation while adding to competitive pressures, feel Allegra. Furthermore, third wave/artisan coffee has profoundly influenced operator and consumer expectations about coffee quality and store design.

The significant growth of new, corporate

backed chains such as Harris + Hoole (Tesco) signals a new era of competition, and the ‘premiumisation’ of the at-home segment and the expansion of the premium vending segments are further increasing the availability of specialty coffee, state Allegra.

Allegra forecasts the total UK coffee shop market will exceed 20,500 outlets and turnover of £8.7 billion by 2018, with 4.5% annual outlet growth over the five-year period. The branded coffee shop segment is forecast to exceed £4.1 billion across 7,000 outlets by 2018 with outlets predicted to grow at 5.2% compound and revenue at 10.0% compound over the next five years, and it is estimated that the UK has the longterm potential to comfortably host more than 9,500 branded coffee shops, say Allegra.

The future coffee shop marketplace will be shaped by further increasing consumer participation and more savvy consumers, with the desire for premium quality coffee anywhere and anytime, driving improved coffee offers across a broader set of channels, predict the researchers.

Casual dining outlets and coffee shops face a positive 2014 Casual dining outlets and coffee shops in the UK are likely to be the main winners in the foodservice sector during 2014 as consumers slowly start to regain confidence and increase their spending on eating out, predict foodservice specialist, Horizons, who are expecting the market to start to see some real growth during 2014 (although it will be slow in coming and restricted to particular sectors of the business, they caution).

“We predicted that UK foodservice would remain fairly flat during 2013, and so it was.

However, towards the end of last year forward bookings started to look more encouraging. Feedback indicated that corporate bookings for Christmas were up compared with the previous year, and the economy started to feel as if it had reached something of a turning point,” commented Horizons’

managing director Peter Backman.

“It is too early to be certain of continued improvement as consumers are still unsure about their personal finances.

The post-Christmas period, Q1, is never good for the UK’s foodservice sector as people struggle to pay for the cost of Christmas. Bad weather during January and February also stops people going out to eat.

But as we move into spring 2014 we would expect operators to see some like-forlike improvement in sales.”

Horizons believe that the first sectors of the foodservice market to see improvements will be in casual dining – where eating out costs from £10 to £20 per head – and in the takeaway and drink-in coffee sector. In particular, Peter Backman believes, the UK’s coffee outlets will continue to see sales growth as consumers seek a relatively cheap and

Peter Backman feels that the big coffee chains will be working to enhance their food offerings. easy way to treat themselves.

However, the big coffee chains are likely to look more seriously at their food offer to achieve better returns from their premises, he feels.

“The UK’s coffee market is rapidly approaching saturation point. There’s a limit to the number of new stores and new delivery concepts that can open as almost every high street in the country seems to boast a

Costa, Starbucks or Caffè Nero.

The coffee chains will be forced to re-examine and improve their food offer even further, and perhaps even their coffee offer, as the artisan specialists and patisseries start to make more inroads in the market.

Alternatively, we could see something of a price war as the big three start to compete head-on by offering increasingly cheaper cups of coffee.

“The year ahead will be an interesting one for the foodservice sector,” Peter Backman explained.

“Some recovery in sales is likely, but consumers are now constantly seeking value-formoney, good quality food and high service levels. This means that those operators who don’t match up will be abandoned in favour of outlets that do. We are now dealing with a much tougher, more discerning customer.”

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NEWS

Lincoln & York named one of the ‘top 1000 companies to inspire Britain’ UK coffee roaster, Lincoln & York, has been listed as one of the top 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain by the London Stock Exchange in its first landmark report published in association with the Telegraph.

The report lists Lincoln & York’s holding company, Elsham Wold Estates Ltd, as one of the UK’s most exciting and dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises that are ‘the lifeblood of the UK economy’. The private label roaster is one of 65 UK companies from the food and beverage sector to make the report, and the only coffee specific business (other inspiring SMEs included were Pieminister, BrewDog, JUST EAT and Naked Wines).

To be selected for the list, companies had to demonstrate excellent growth, not just in revenue, but other aspects such as employee numbers, workspace and contract wins.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have been recognised as one of the UK’s most inspiring companies,” said James Sweeting, director of Lincoln & York. “As a business, we have never stood still and it’s humbling to have had our fast growth recognised by such an established organisation. The last few years have been a time of rapid progression, both for Lincoln & York and the coffee industry in

general and this is set to carry on for years to come as we continue to develop and reinvest.”

Xavier Rolet, chief executive for London Stock Exchange Group added: “The UK has some of the most inspiring growth businesses in the world. Our report showcases some of these fast-growing and dynamic companies; the type of companies we believe will help fuel the long-term growth of the UK economy.”

Lincoln & York, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, has recently announced the opening of its second roastery for early 2014. The company is transforming the building alongside its current roastery to operate as a contingency factory and allow the expanding team to produce smaller batches of speciality coffee for customers.

Acorn Wholefood Café becomes 300th UK stockist of Marimba

Yorkshire Tea rolls into town for Casual Dining show

Acorn Wholefood Café, located in the heart of the Shropshire hills, has been announced as the 300th UK stockist of Marimba’s award-winning Hot Chocolate Melt drinks.

As a café that focuses on quality food and carefullysourced ingredients, owner Chris Bland says that he was keen to serve a premium drinking chocolate that would appeal to customers who are looking for a ‘real chocolate’ experience.

“Here at the Acorn Wholefood Café, it is all about providing customers with home cooked, quality food using fresh, ethically sourced ingredients. I want our drinks menu to also offer an experience that people will remember us for. I have been researching into premium real-chocolate drinks for some time and so when I tried a sample of Marimba’s singleorigin melt drinks, I knew this was exactly what I’d been looking for,” said Chris Bland.

Marimba World Chocolate is a chocolatier based in Suffolk, which created the Hot Chocolate Melt. Made using flakes of real single-origin milk, dark or white

Taylors of Harrogate – the selfstyled proprietor of a Proper Brew – say that they will be bringing a taste of Yorkshire to the UK’s first Casual Dining Show (26 and 27 February 2014) and showcasing their award winning blend, Yorkshire Tea, at stand U110.

John Sutcliffe, Out of Home and Convenience Controller, Taylors of Harrogate, commented: “Over four decades Yorkshire Tea has established a loyal consumer base, we’re also the only tea brand in growth in the market.

Our secret is simple – doing tea properly! We’re excited about the show and chatting to visitors about how our brand can help maximise the opportunities around tea.”

With a choice of Yorkshire Tea original blend, Gold blend, Decaf – as well as a Hard Water offering which will be sampled on stand – Yorkshire Tea says that it guarantees operators and their customers a proper taste of Yorkshire wherever they are in the country.

“Our Hard Water blend is completely unique to Yorkshire tea. Too often mainstream tea is treated as a one size fits all offering, yet those in hard water

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CAFÉ CULTURE

chocolate and subsequently blended with milk, each Hot Chocolate Melt contains the equivalent of a 40g chocolate bar in every serve; this creates a highly indulgent and memorable drinking experience.

“I can see the melts being popular throughout the year, but particularly so with winter upon us as they are a real treat to anyone looking for a warming, comforting hot chocolate – made from the finest real chocolate flakes,” added Chris Bland.

The Acorn Wholefood Café caters for many specialist diets and tastes, including gluten free, sugar free, wheat free, vegetarian and vegan and the team prides itself on cooking everything in-house, and in picking all the fruit for its fruit pies and crumbles. It also makes its own marmalade, humus, mincemeat, salad dressings and its renowned speciality hot meat pies.

areas will know all too well how it can impact on the quality of your tea – especially London – visitors will be able to taste the difference our Hard Water blend can make so come and see us for a chat and a brew,” added John Sutcliffe.

Free samples of the Rainforest Alliance certified blend will be available and visitors can learn how Yorkshire Tea can make an operation more efficient and sustainable, with the specially developed foil-less string & tag 100s pack which minimises waste and speeds up service.

Yorkshire Tea is part of Taylors of Harrogate’s one-stop shop for hot drinks which also includes a roast and ground coffee range, as well as the finest speciality teas from the very best tea gardens and estates from around the world.

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FoamMaster 800

The premuim class from Franke Coffee Systems the franke foammaster TM is the new premium class among coffee machines. is there a particular beverage you long for? the foammaster TM will easily make your wish come true from classic coffees to warm latte specialties or cold milk foam beverages. this allrounder is as unbelievably versatile in its selection as it is easy to operate.

You can quickly and easily select your beverage program on the intuitive touchscreen menu and adjust it to your needs at any time. the modern design of the foammaster TM also leaves nothing to be desired. shiny black, shaped with elegance, it is a true visual treat that gives the finishing touch to any interior.

ATTRACTIVE DESIGN Jet black, high gloss finish and timelessly modern in design, the foammasterTM underlines not only a sense of high quality but also a feeling of unburdened ease and endless possibility. the fm800 manages to accommodate its full expertise in a single unit, and its elegant style adds the finishing touch to any interior.

INTUITIVE TOUCHSCREEN NAVIGATION in a revolutionary step forward, the fm800 introduces intuitive touchscreen technology to the

world of coffee machines. this technology makes it possible to easily, efficiently and flexibly configure the operation of the device. you can assemble your seasonal beverage selection, choose between four different operating modes and conveniently load images and advertising messages.

BEST MILK FOAM QUALITY foamed milk of “barista� quality at the touch of a button: the fm800 makes it possible. with this coffee master, you can produce different milk foam consistencies at temperatures

ranging from hot to cold for the same product, creating the perfect latte macchiato or Cappuccino. the milk is foamed quickly and gently ensuring that the beverages come out just right every time.

LIMITLESS BEVERAGE OPTIONS Combined with the chocolate powder dosing unit and the flavour station, the fm800 makes it possible to prepare countless beverage creations just as you like them from classic specialties to original creations. make the

foammasterTM your own personal favorite barista who knows all the tricks and makes your every wish come true.

EASY TO CLEAN even when it comes to cleaning and care, the fm800 is unbeatable: the proven Clean+Clever system from franke ensures impeccable and simple cleaning of the device in a short amount of time. thanks to this optimal cleaning system, the foammasterTM gives you first- class enjoyment every day whilst also ensuring haCCp conformity.

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NEWS

Bar Cake launch new brand for small independents Bristol based bakers, Bar Cake, widely known for supplying their awardwinning cakes and tray bakes to the foodservice industry, have recently launched a new brand aimed specifically to cater for small independent coffee shops, cafés and catering firms across the UK, offering a high quality selection of homemade style cakes ordered online.

The range is sold under the brand of Cakesmiths, and is supported by a simple online ordering system which promises to deliver your order within 24hrs. Cakes get delivered frozen in a specially designed cool box and can either be kept frozen till needed or thawed within one hour to be ready for consumption allowing customers to use as and when required and reduce wastage.

Bar Cake is a family owned and run bakers who have been making award winning cakes and tray bakes since 2004. It was their recent move to a larger, brand new bakery in Bristol, enabled them to increase their wholesale production to the UK food service industry and launch this new brand, report the firm.

“We have long been frustrated at not being able to service enquiries received from independent operators from outside of our distribution network, and as an ex-coffee shop owner I know how sourcing good homemade style products can often be a challenge,” said Bar Cake co-owner, Tom Batlle.

“What Cakesmiths offers is a consistent high quality product range, convenience as ordering can be done at any time of day or night, and peace of mind as it will be delivered within 24hr to anywhere in the UK. We have only been launched a few weeks but already the demand has been high.”

New customers can take advantage of an introductory offer to sample a wide selection of the cakes at less than 50p a slice (visit www.cakesmiths.com for more details).

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Darlington’s and Bolling to trade as Bewley’s Coffee Limited Following the acquisitions of Darlington’s Coffee and Bolling Coffee in 2011 and 2013 respectively, the Irish and international coffee company Bewley’s has announced that both companies will trade as Bewley’s Coffee Limited in the UK from 2 January 2014.

Established in 1840, Bewley’s is one of the largest coffee roasters in Ireland and the UK and claims to be the Irish market leader in the fresh coffee foodservice and retail sectors. The company is renowned for its iconic Bewley’s Café in Dublin’s Grafton Street which opened in 1927, and serves over one million customers annually (Bewley’s also has coffee roasting, distribution and café operations in the United States, in Sacramento and Boston).

“Both Darlington’s and Bolling are successful and growing businesses, supplying the highest quality fresh coffees and service together with training and marketing support to long standing customers in the catering sector in the UK. We’re very pleased to combine these well established brands with our own to begin the next chapter of our company’s growth,” said Brendan McDonnell who heads up Bewley’s in the UK. The premium Grumpy Mule Distinctive Coffee brand (from the Bolling stable) will be retained. Corporate and business materials will otherwise begin to reflect the Bewley’s brand during 2013 with additional

brand identity elements such as company branded foodservice coffee packaging changing over to a Bewley’s branded format in the medium term.

“Apart from the name change, day to day operations will not be effected in any way. Both the London and Yorkshire facilities are being retained to service the needs of our client base. We have been extremely pleased at how the two businesses have seamlessly come together in what has been a very busy trading period for the business,” Brendan McDonnell added.

“New hires have joined since April in sales, engineering, training and administration to provide further support to our clients with the UK team now exceeding 80 people. As a merged entity our combined strength yields numerous opportunities for growth throughout the UK, and Bewley’s has and will continue to support this effort with significant on-going investment in production capability and nationwide sales and marketing structures”.

Bewley’s is a market leading provider of coffee solutions to the foodservice and retail sectors in the UK, Ireland and the US. A wholly owned subsidiary of Ireland’s Campbell Bewley Group, it has coffee roasting and distribution operations in Ireland, the UK and North America and group annual revenues of over £85 million.

New Strongholder trays from Huhtamaki Huhtamaki say that they have enhanced the design of their popular Strongholder two and four cup moulded fibre carry trays to give them enhanced benefits for both operators and consumers whilst retaining the products high performance.

Consumers will appreciate the more rounded, appealing and less ‘engineered’ design and look, feel the company, which, with its smoother, refined finish refined makes for a more attractive product.

For operators the flexibility of the Strongholder is key, point out Huhtamaki. The pockets snugly fit all available standard cup sizes from 4oz to 22oz as well as water and juice bottles, making them suitable for a huge variety

of businesses, in particular drive-thru and to-go outlets. In addition, the new Strongholder is a more compact product with reduced weight, lower profile and a smaller footprint. The enhanced design also has the added benefit to operators of ensuring that the new Strongholders have more compact stacking, take up less room and ensuring that storage space is maximised.

Strongholder carry trays are manufactured from 100% post-industrial recycled paper-board, and are also 100% biodegradable and fully compostable, making them a highly functional, quality product that is also environmentallyfriendly and with a minimised carbon footprint, say Huhtamaki.

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NEWS

Eden Springs acquires Kafevend Eden Springs, a European provider of workplace water and coffee solutions, has acquired UK coffee vending supplier, Kafevend in one of a number of recent acquisitions for Eden, and reflecting the company’s ambition to become the leading provider of coffee and water solutions in the UK and throughout Europe, say the firm.

Both Eden Spring’s and Kafevend’s customers are set to benefit from the merger, which will result in an even wider selection of services and drinks solutions, as well as a greater level of technical innovation and service.

Crawley-based Kafevend has an annual turnover of £20 million and employs approximately 100 people throughout England and Scotland. The company is one of the fastest-growing office coffee providers in the UK and specialises in the provision of sophisticated coffee solutions, supplying a range of beverages such as the Flavia brand, provided by Mars drinks.

With a client-base of corporate

SCAE announces WCE judges certification workshops SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe) are pleased to announce the first two dates for WCE Judges’ Certification Workshops.

The first workshops, which were previously run and overseen by SCAE partner company World Coffee Events, will run in Dublin, Ireland on the 5 and 6 February 2014 and in Ancona, Italy over the 13 and 14 March 2014 (for more details, visit http://www.scae.com/).

The workshops, being hosted by Bewley's Coffee (Ireland), and Nuova Simonelli (Italy), consists of the qualification tests for those interested in becoming eligible to judge in World-Level coffee competitions produced by World Coffee Events (WCE). Attendees may qualify to judge in the World Barista Championship (WBC), World Brewers Cup (WBrC), World Latte Art Championship (WLAC), World Coffee In Good Spirits (WCIGS) by passing a series of knowledge and skills tests designed to assess specific competencies.

Candidates who pass all tests for one or more competitions are awarded Judge Certification credentials for a period of two WCE Competition cycles.

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CEO of Eden Springs International, Raanan Zilberman. customers ranging from SMEs to large multinationals, Kafevend has built a strong reputation for a high quality of service and providing flexible supply options for its

workplace coffee solutions.

Chief executive officer of Eden Springs International, Raanan Zilberman, commented: “Kafevend is an exciting acquisition for us as it has vast experience in offering workplace coffee solutions, which will help us expand and enhance our current product range. Both organisations share a total commitment to customer satisfaction.

“For the past 20 years our strategy has been to expand Eden’s operations through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. The acquisition of Kafevend, which follows the purchase of Shakepeares and Garraways in the UK, will enable us to grow and consolidate our leading position within the business beverage market.”

With a network of more than 100 branches, more than 1,000 service vehicles and water sources across 15 countries, Eden Springs currently serves 500,000 offices across Europe with a comprehensive water and coffee offering.

3663 set to take growth momentum into the New Year The wholesale food distributor 3663 reports that it has witnessed a significant multi-million pound growth in sales during 2013, and that despite the fragile economic climate, the outlook for 2014 looks even more positive for them.

During 2013, the company experienced net value growth across the entire foodservice sector, both within the profit and cost channels, winning 10 major national and regional customers worth over £60 million per annum. Increased sales have also been seen within their existing customer base across all of 3663’s product categories, including its 3663 Own Brand, catering equipment, Swithenbank Fresh and Fine Foods, fresh meat and ViVAS drinks ranges.

Alex Fisher, managing director of 3663 said: “We are thrilled that more foodservice customers are choosing 3663. We believe that chefs, cooks and procurement teams are coming to us because of our strong focus on delivering partnership strategies.

“As a business we want to make our customers’ lives easier and help them to be successful. We share our customers’ passion for food and understand that they expect a great experience. Everyone on our team is driven to deliver what’s important and support our customers where and when they need it most.”

3663’s business growth comes at a time when the company has announced a second stage multi-million pound infrastructure investment, which includes bringing on-stream four new depots and updating the company’s nationwide infrastructure, multi-temperature vehicle fleet and IT systems. Money is also being spent on new technologies to improve customer service and efficiency, to ensure 3663 is able to continue to expand in-line with growing customer demand.

During 2013, 3663 has been independently recognised in a series of awards for its corporate, customer service and product credentials. Company honours have included the Federation of Wholesale Distributors’ Green Wholesaler of the Year award, two Foodservice Footprint gold awards, being named as Best Foodservice Operation by the Scottish Wholesale Association and Best Foodservice Company

by Restaurant magazine, and being selected as one of the UK’s strongest brands by Superbrands UK. Employee accolades have consisted of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors’ Best Telesales Staff gold award. Whilst product honours have comprised three Re:Fresh awards for fresh and fine foods, five BPEX awards for meat, and five British Frozen Food Federation awards for frozen products.

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PROMOTION

Q&A with

Brendan McDonnell, Bewley’s UK

2013 was another really exciting year for Bewley’s UK business – what were your highlights?

There was certainly a lot going on in 2013! The big story for us was our acquisition of Yorkshire-based coffee roaster, Bolling Coffee in April, which followed our purchase of London based Darlington’s Coffee in 2011. Bringing these great teams together allows us to accelerate the momentum of the Bewley’s brand and enables us to provide our hot beverage solutions to foodservice operators, large and small, right across the UK. Another highlight includes our Grumpy Mule specialty coffee brand taking first place in the Fine Food Digest’s 2013/14 Best Brands in the coffee category; this is something we are extremely proud of, as there was some stiff competition in our category. Grumpy Mule also received six Great Taste Awards throughout 2013; a fantastic acknowledgement of our commitment to sourcing and roasting exceptional rare and unusual, quality coffees.

We ended 2013 on a high, seeing our very strong rate of growth in the UK continuing.

Tell us more about the Bewley’s offering for foodservice operators?

Our offer comprises of everything from award winning bespoke and branded coffee blends, single origin and micro lots that can be supplied through our distinctive coffee brand Grumpy Mule. As well as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance certified and Organic coffees, we can offer best in class coffee equipment, nationwide service engineers, marketing support and dedicated barista training.

More importantly, Bewley’s total onestop solution comes with unrivalled support and understanding of the coffee business.

With our central London sales, engineering and training facility and a Yorkshire roastery, we are perfectly placed to service customers’ foodservice businesses throughout the UK.

Brendan McDonnell with Damian Blackburn (Master Blender, Bewley’s UK) What about your plans for 2014?

2014 is certainly going to be another busy and exciting year for us and we’re really looking forward to developing new business on the back of a strengthened team. In January, David Locker, formerly Sales Manager at Bunn UK, started as Head of Business Development. David is very well regarded in the UK coffee scene and his expertise on filter brewing standards and blend profiling is amongst the best in the business. (He is an SCAE Education Committee member and author of their coffee brew standards for Europe). He will be joining a team of coffee professionals within Bewley’s UK, which we feel offers both superlative expertise and industry knowledge to our existing and potential clients.

This year will also see the full integration of Bolling Coffee and Darlington’s into Bewley’s Coffee Ltd which was complete in January 2014. In time, whilst our Grumpy Mule brand will be retained, the Bewley’s brand identity will become more widely known to the UK trade as we continue to market our business to business credentials.

We are also investing significantly in our Grumpy Mule brand, with an aim to grow its presence in the UK retail sector.

We have big plans for Grumpy Mule – watch this space!

What is Bewley’s international expertise?

Established in 1840, Bewley’s is one of the largest coffee roasters in Ireland and the UK. The company is renowned for its iconic Bewley’s Café in Dublin’s Grafton Street which opened in 1927 and serves over 1 million customers annually.

Bewley’s also has coffee roasting, distribution and café operations in the United States, in Sacramento and Boston.

Bewley’s is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ireland’s Campbell Bewley Group with coffee roasting and distribution operations in Ireland, the UK and North America and Group annual revenues of over £85 million.

If operators want to know more about what Bewley’s can do for them, they can simply get in touch with us on +44 1484 852601, or info@bewleys.co.uk.

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NEWS

SHORTS Costa named nation’s favourite Costa has been named the Nation’s Favourite Coffee Shop by Allegra for a fourth consecutive year with 48% of an independent consumer panel naming the chain as their favourite coffee shop after Allegra published their annual Project Cafe13 UK report for 2013. The figure had also increased by almost 10% on last year’s result and the coffee shop chain increased its popularity in the London region, with 38% naming Costa as their favourite coffee shop (an increase of 7% on its previous year’s figure). The coffee shop was also considered the most ethical coffee shop brand in the UK. Recycling recognition for Brita Brita UK has been awarded the National Recycling Star in Gold - the highest sustainability rating possible - and has reduced its landfill waste to 0%. National Recycling Stars are awarded by the E2B Group to businesses who show an ongoing effort to reduce their waste year-on-year. The water filtration experts were assessed on their waste management activities over the past year including recycling, increasing awareness within the company and involving employees in the overall improvement process.

New mini chocolate brownie pieces Following significant investment at its site in Dolgellau in North Wales, speciality inclusions manufacturer, Nimbus Foods Ltd, has launched mini chocolate brownie pieces which can be incorporated into ice cream and desserts to give either a folded in experience, or simply added as a topping.

The product has been designed with a crumbly texture to achieve a soft gooey eating experience in frozen and chilled high moisture products, say the company.

Peros launches new catalogue Fairtrade specialist Peros has launched their new catalogue for 2014. Much more than just a product guide, say the firm, the publication aims to offer essential reading for foodservice operators throughout the UK looking to enhance their CSR credentials through responsible sourcing (the catalogue is available in printed format or online at www.peros.co.uk).

Featuring many new products, services and ideas, the latest catalogue also features case studies, background information and useful facts to help operators make the most of the fair and ethically traded products.

Manchester entrepreneur, Gary McClarnan, and Yvette Fielding.

Yvette Fielding’s thirst for proper tea leads her to Manchester Yvette Fielding has chosen the Manchester Cathedral Visitors Centre to realise her ambition of creating the ultimate tea drinking experience.

A household name thanks to her global TV work including presenting Blue Peter at the age of just 18, Yvette Fielding open the doors to her Proper Tea at Manchester Cathedral tea rooms in December.

Proper Tea at Manchester Cathedral will provide Northern tea fans with a twist on the traditional British pastime by its focus on quality loose-leaf teas, homemade food crafted with local produce. The venue will serve a menu of showstopping cakes, afternoon teas, hearty stews, soups and sandwiches in unique surroundings.

“I have been a tea fanatic for some time and wanted to give my hometown a truly unique offering. I hope the cosy yet contemporary atmosphere we’ve created at the Cathedral will appeal to the tea lovers of the north west and beyond,” commented Yvette Fielding on the launch.

A team of well-travelled tea experts has been recruited to be able to offer recommendations on

over 100 tea blends which will be brewed to enjoy on site or packed into tins for customers to take away and enjoy at leisure. The seasonally changing menu is being provided by local suppliers, including the use of herbs and honey grown and harvested in the Cathedral grounds.

The tea room seats 54 covers, with further seating available outside in the warmer months.

Proper Tea’s launch coincided with a Special Eucharistic Celebration on 8th December to mark the Re-dedication of the Cathedral following extensive repairs and re-ordering undertaken this year. Proper Tea will add to the mix of amenities already there, which include a shop and meeting rooms.

Proper Tea at Manchester Cathedral will become the flagship store for The Proper Tea Company, a loose-leaf tea brand set to launch in Spring 2014. The business is a joint venture by Yvette Fielding and her long-term friend, Manchester entrepreneur, Gary McClarnan who is the owner of the Northern Quarter’s (Manchester) hugely successful Teacup restaurant, Bonbon Chocolate Boutique, and a number of other ventures.

New Dr Weigert cleaning tabs for coffee machines Dr Weigert (UK) Ltd has developed and launched neodisher® CM tabs, a new cleaner for the barista market for specific use with coffee and espresso machines. neodisher® CM tabs have been formulated for the regular cleaning of all coffee and espresso machines, and are both easy to use and fast cleaning, reliably removing stubborn materials such as coffee oils and tan residues, claim the company. neodisher® CM tabs are also odourless and tasteless as they are manufactured from oxygen –based

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bleaching agents.

“We are a nation of coffee-lovers and this sector has seen strong growth for a number of years. At Dr Weigert we work with a lot of baristas who require a cleaning product for their machines that is both quick and simple to use. Coffee and espresso machines are expensive and are often at the heart of the ambiance of a coffee house,” said Alan Abbatt, general manager for Dr Weigert (UK) Ltd. “It is therefore important that they are maintained not only from a hygiene

perspective but also to ensure the aesthetic appeal of the environment is not lost. The new CM tabs from Dr Weigert guarantee an all-round excellent clean and feedback from users has been extremely positive.”

Certificates of food compliance and material compatibility are readily available on request, say the company (www.drweigert.com).

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NEWS

Exclusive Discount Fuel Cards for Café Society members Refuelling benefits for members Café Society members can now enjoy savings of up to 5p per litre on diesel and petrol, and up to 10p per litre at motorway pumps, with a free no-obligation fuel card from leading independent fuel card agent The Fuelcard People.

The Fuelcard People offer a range of cards which include commercial rate fuel cards valid at 7000+ pumps nationwide, including BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco, Tesco, Morrisons, The Co-operative, Gulf, Pace, Emo, Murco and Moto forecourts, as well as the Diesel Direct (Keyfuels) and UK Fuels networks.

Savings With a fuel card from The Fuelcard People, you enjoy fixed weekly pricing, which can be up to 5p per litre less than pump prices, and up to 10p per litre savings at motorway pumps. The gap between refuelling and direct debit payment means up to a fortnight’s interest-free credit, and your fuel purchase paperwork is replaced by a single weekly invoice, saving administration time.

Service The Fuelcard People will help you to choose the best fuel card for your particular needs, from the UK’s widest range, rather than

pushing you towards a pre-decided product.

Then, if you ever need to talk to them, you can call your dedicated account manager directly, rather than an anonymous call centre operator. Outside office hours, you can access your account details online 24/7.

Security All fuel cards provided by The Fuelcard People are protected by PIN security. If a card is lost or stolen, it is completely useless to anyone else, as it is tied to a specific driver or vehicle. It can only be used for refuelling, removing the possibility of unauthorised purchases, which can happen with credit cards.

Additional services Alongside the savings, service and security a fuel card can bring, The Fuelcard People offer a range of additional services to enhance your fleet management, including eServices, MileageCount and CO2Count.

Online account management system, eServices, allows you to take control of your account 24/7. Here, you can view detailed transaction information, order and cancel cards and view your card details.

For those wanting to monitor mileage, MileageCount calculates accurate, HMRC-

compliant MPG reports for your fleet, including the split between business and private mileage costs, and also helps you meet your Duty of Care obligations.

Members can also benefit from CO2Count, which allows you to monitor and reduce your fleet's CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions whilst supporting CO2Count’s environmental partner, Cool Earth.

Find out more about the range of benefits available, including • Reduced card charges for all members • No advance payments, non-usage fees, contracts or obligations – only pay for the fuel you use.

• Fixed weekly prices, meaning savings of up to 5p per litre off the national average pump price and up to 10p per litre at motorway pumps.

• Over 7000 refuelling locations nationwide.

• Motorway and supermarket refuelling available • Additional fleet services products available, including free online account management, mileage capture and emissions monitoring services.

Visit www.discountfuelcards.co.uk/ cafesociety/, or call 0844 808 2102.

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AWARDS AY TUESD 23RD 2014 MBER E SEPT t the A TES M E IRA M I STAD U ball

Sponsored by Bel UK and Café Bronte

al Foot (Arsen b) Clu

Supported by Café Culture magazine, The Café Society and The lunch! Show

Awards 2014

CAFE CULTURE

magazine www.thecafelife.co.uk

TASTING THE LIFESTYLE OF THE CAFÉ SECTOR

In 2014 the Café Society Awards are being renamed and re-launched as the Café Life Awards and will run alongside the highly successful lunch! Show, which takes place at the Business Design Centre, Islington on 23rd and 24th September, 2014 – just a mile away from the awards venue, the highly prestigious Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club.

Taking place on the first evening of the show, the Café Awards Dinner will combine relaxing after-show entertainment with the presentation of the Café Life Awards, now in their fourth year.

ABOUT THE AWARDS The Café Life Awards (formerly the Café Society Awards) aim to recognise excellence and encourage innovation in the important UK café and coffee bar sector.

Judged by panels of professionals from the industry, the awards are intended to inspire by example, by highlighting those involved in the sector who are pioneering and leading the market, whether in the development of new products or the creation of excellence in the High Street.

The closing date for nominations is 1st July 2014 THE AWARDS The Café Society Award - This is a lifetime award which may be presented to an individual or organisation that the judges consider merits recognition for the contribution they have made to the development, growth and prosperity of the café/coffee bar market.

How to enter: Entries should state the name of the individual, or organisation, being nominated and the reasons why they deserve such recognition – entries should be no more than half an A4 sheet of text.

The Café Design of the Year Award - aims to encourage good design practices in the sector. This award is aimed at those who are responsible for developing new concepts in the High Street. Gold Awards will be presented to all those who the judges consider achieve sufficiently high standards they consider merit recognition. The judges will be looking for designs that are innovative but commercially viable – providing an attractive and comfortable experience for the consumer.

14 FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE

How to enter: Entries should comprise a short explanation – no more than half an A4 sheet of text – giving details of why you think this business deserves an award.

Entries should include details of the aims behind the design and how these have been achieved. Entries may be accompanied by photographs.

New Product (non food) of the Year Award – aims to encourage the development of new products (including equipment) for the market, from furniture to coffee equipment and packaging.

In this category the judges will be looking particularly for products that have real innovation value for the café/coffee bar market.

How to enter: Entries should comprise a short explanation - no more than half an A4 sheet of text - giving details of why the product is innovative and deserves an award. It is important that entries provide data to support success in the market.

Entries should be accompanied by product literature and photographs.

The Café Food Award - aims to encourage the innovation and development of food products specifically for the café/coffee bar market, whether these are made in-house or by specialist suppliers. The award will be divided into two sections -one for savoury products and one for sweet products.

How to enter: Entries should comprise a short explanation - no more than half an A4 sheet of text - giving details of why the product is innovative and deserves an award. It is important that entries provide data to support sales success in the market.

Entries should be accompanied by product

literature and a photograph. Those products short-listed for this award will be asked to provide samples for judging.

The Café Beverage Award - aims to encourage the innovation and development of beverages specifically for the café/coffee bar market, whether these are made inhouse or by specialist suppliers. The award will be divided into two sections – one for hot drinks and the other for cold.

How to enter: Entries should comprise a short explanation - no more than half an A4 sheet of text - giving details of why the product is innovative and deserves an award. It is important that entries provide data to support sales success in the market.

Entries should be accompanied by product literature and a photograph. Those products short-listed for this award will be asked to provide samples for judging.

Café/Coffee Bar Chain of the Year - 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. A business with over 10 operating sites is considered to be a chain. The judges will be particularly keen to recognise businesses that consistently set and maintain high standards, from the quality of the products they offer to the friendliness of staff. All those short-listed in this award will be visited by an independent judge who will report on factors such as atmosphere, facilities, cleanliness and product range as well as customer service.

How to enter: Entries should consist of no more than half an A4 sheet of text giving details of why the business deserves an award. Details of the success of the

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AWARDS business should be included. Entrants should also provide a list of sites, at least one of which will be chosen at random for a visit by an independent judge. Entries should be accompanied by supporting literature..

Independent Café/Coffee Bar of the Year This award aims to recognise the work being done by entrepreneurs in the industry to develop successful independent café/coffee bars. A café/coffee bar business is considered to be independent with fewer than 10 outlets. Gold Awards will be presented to all those judged to merit recognition.

The customer experience will rank highly in the judging of this award, particularly in relation to atmosphere created and the standards of service and product range offered. All those short-listed in this award will be visited by an independent judge who will report on their experience.

How to enter: Entries should provide no more than half an A4 sheet of text giving details of why they think the business deserves an award. Details of the success of the business should be included as well as photographs showing the frontage, customer area and serving area while operating. Entries may be accompanied by supporting literature.

The Café Sandwich Challenge – comprising four separate competitions, this award aims to encourage the development of

sandwiches (whether made in-house or bought in) that have been developed specifically for café/coffee bar market.

Those entering this challenge will be asked to nominate a drink to compliment and accompany their sandwich.

The entries for this award will be judged at the lunch! Show on the day of the Awards dinner, with sandwich makers asked to make up their creations for sampling by a panel of professional judges. There will be a special £500 prize for the entry judged to be the best across all the competitions.

Entries will be judged on presentation, taste, innovation and commercial viability.

How to enter: Entries can be submitted for one or more categories. In each category entrants are asked to create a new sandwich recipe using a specified ingredient and to select a specific beverage to accompany the product. Initially recipes (and details of the nominated beverage) should be submitted with a short (no more than 100 words) explanation of why the beverage and sandwich complement each other. Those shortlisted in each category will be invited to present their entries to the panel of judges.

For more information on the competition categories please email Pam Sainsbury at pam@jandmgroup.co.uk The Tea Deal Award Although coffee tends to have the highest profile in most cafes and coffee bars, tea is also served by many outlets and there is recognised to be a good

opportunity for outlets to capitalise on the British tradition for afternoon tea by promoting a Tea Deal (a meal deal for teatime).

How to enter: To enter simply put together a tea time combination, with a price point, and submit it to the panel of judges. A tea deal might typically comprise tea, a cake and one other product (savoury product, sandwich, wrap etc.) packaged at an attractive promotional price and presented in such a way as to enthuse customers.

Those shortlisted for coming up with the most originally but commercially viable options will be asked to make up their products for presentation to a panel of judges (and visitors) at the lunch! Show.

The ‘Award Qualifying Period’ is 1st March 2013 to 30th June 2014 Please make sure your entry arrives before the closing date.

All entries will be treated in strict confidence and only seen by the Café Society Secretariat and the judging panel.

All judges will be bound by a confidentiality agreement.

Your entry can be sent by post or email to Pam Sainsbury at The Café Life Awards, C/o The Café Society, Association House, 18c Moor Street, Chepstow NP16 8DB- Tel: 01291 636341 - Email pam@cafesociety.org.uk.

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES – 1ST JULY 2014

THE CAFÉ LIFE AWARDS 2014 DINNER BOOKING FORM I would like to book ..................places/tables at The Café Life Awards Dinner at the Emirates Stadium, London on Tuesday 23rd September 2014 at a cost of £195+ VAT per person (£1850 + VAT for a table of 10) including three course dinner and wine. All bookings must be accompanied by the appropriate remittance. Cheques can be made out The Café Society. For Credit Card payments please complete the form below. No refunds can be made if cancellations are made within 20 days of the event and any cancellations before this time will be subject to a 25% cancellation charge.

Contact Name: ........................................................................................................................................................................................

Business Name:......................................................................................................................................................................................

Address: :................................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Tel. No. :………………………………………………………………………….Email: :...........................................................................................................

Credit Card Payments: Type of card (Visa/Mastercard)......................................................................................Card Number:…………………………………………………

Security code (last 3 digits on back of card) ...............Expiry date: ................Name on card:...................................................................................

Signed by:......................................................................................................................... Date: ............................................................

Please send to: Pam Sainsbury, The Café Society, Association House, 18c Street, Chepstow NP16 5DB. Fax 01291 630402 or email to pam@cafesociety.org.uk

www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 15

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM

European

Coffee Symposium

Paris 2013

The theme of the recent European Coffee Symposium, held in Paris, was that the “future is now”. In fact, Paris was a very good example of this, pointed out the event’s organisers, Allegra, with France’s capital now rivalling other cities in Europe and France itself being home to over 550 branded coffee shops.

Latest insights from Allegra’s Project Café13 Europe report Managing director of Allegra Strategies, Jeffrey Young, began the symposium with an overview of the latest Café13 Europe report, as well as drawing attention to the fact that next year, the event will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, where according to their latest data, there is a thriving market.

In his 15 years of producing market research reports on the sector as a whole, Jeffrey Young said that he was still astounded by the nature, growth and development of the coffee shop market, and the fact that we now have a European coffee shop market that totals over 14,400 outlets; one that is growing at between three and four per cent a year in an economic environment that is going through tough and challenging times.

“This industry continues to out-trade the broader economy,” said Jeffrey Young. “Filling a gap and a need, a human need for somewhere to go and that is now a market that’s in excess of €15 billion turn-over in Europe, making it a very substantial industry that experienced 3.7% growth in 2013.”

Turkey was, in particular, a very surprising market, if not a hidden gem, Jeffrey Young went on to add, having displayed the fastest annual growth (19.5%). The UK remains the largest market, followed by Germany (the main European players still being Costa, McCafe, Starbucks and Caffè Nero).

Having polled over 500 coffee sector

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CAFÉ CULTURE

executives for their views on how they are currently finding the market, Jeffrey Young reported that they had indicated that the trading environment is improving after there having been a difficult five to six years. 62% of those surveyed (compared to 52% in 2012), were feeling more positive about the sector. A significant number were also more optimistic about the future, with a very big increase in the type and level of expectations of the sector.

When asked what they felt the key trends are, the growth of speciality coffee came out top, followed by increasingly knowledgeable consumers, particularly in the UK market (a trend that is also now being seen in France). At the same time, there are challenges of course, namely costs which are increasing in gravity as an issue.

Competition too is also a major challenge, but this, Allegra feel, can only be good for the industry as a whole as it helps to drive up the quality, increase standards and encourage people in the industry to push themselves more.

In identifying what is critical to success these days, Jeffrey Young reported that their research had shown that the quality of the coffee is a much more important aspect these days (and not just the artisan input, but the nature and quality of the coffee itself ), due in no small part to the fact that consumers are increasingly more knowledgeable. In addition, a good location, good service levels and being a good venue for families, also impacts upon success.

On the topic of European market growth, Jeffrey Young reported that he predicts the number of coffee shop outlets in Europe to total 16,376 by 2016, there being a three tier performance model at play consisting of strong multinational chains, independent artisans and focused national chains. At the same time, there is increasing decline of weaker, traditional chains.

Chains such as the Sweden-based Espresso House were put forward as what’s good and successful right now, with Jeffrey Young suggesting it was a business to take note of because of its high quality product and good training ethos. Coutume in Paris and the Tolley family’s Tesco-backed Harris+Hoole in the UK were also put forward as ‘ones to watch’ for similar reasons.

There is a complex set of demand factors that shape the nature of the market in each European country, stated Jeffrey Young, and that therefore all needed to be considered carefully before entering that market. This means asking what the existing café culture in a country is (in France, the penchant for the petit noir, for example, a short espresso-style coffee drink bought for pennies, but that enables a customer to linger at a café for a while), the nature of the population and open mindedness of its consumers, as well the factors impacting upon supply (competition, investment and entrepreneurship).

One of the big trends at play, felt Jeffrey Young, is the improving economic situation, but consumers are savvier

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CUSTOMER VALUE STAIRCASE Value

ON OTI DEV LE STY LIFE E ENC ERI EXP E VIC SER T DUC PRO FEE COF

Customer engagement Coffee The quality of the ‘commodity’ itself.

Product Not just ‘a coffee’, but supplied in many ways (cappuccino, latte, espresso) Service The feeling of value added to the basic product offered.

Experience The nature of the whole environment and service level combined, and what it delivers.

Lifestyle Is it part of, and built into the way of life of consumers?

Devotion The ultimate aim? How do we get to a point of complete customer loyalty?

www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk

these days. There is also something of a north-south split in Europe, he reported, with tough trading conditions. Speciality coffee, however, is reaching out into many more areas, available in a greater array of ‘every day’ environments offering greater access to consumers, he observed. Customer expectations are high, and once used to something good, more and more customers do not want to go back. Premium vending is set to be a major trend for the future, predicted Jeffrey Young, as it increases convenience for customers.

The ‘fourth wave’ – the science of coffee – is a 15 to 20 year trend that is currently at different stages in different countries, reported Jeffrey Young. France is in the midst of the first and second wave (traditional/established coffee shops), where the UK is experiencing the second and third (the second stage equating to the branded chains and it being a lifestyle choice, and the third wave being the broadening artisan coffee scene). The fourth wave is a longer term trend that takes longer to have effect, but that will have a profound impact on everything in the sector, suggested Jeffrey Young, and ultimately it was essential, and would involve looking at everything in the supply chain (the agronomy, coffee species, transport, the roast, equipment and technology and knowledge, for example).

Water quality and the provenance of milk are also set to become special factors to focus more on, feel Allegra, and are perhaps areas that have been forgotten about, certainly milk, felt Jeffrey Young. Water in particular is going to become more and more important to the food chain as a whole, and when you consider that it constitutes 98% of a cup of coffee, its role should not be underestimated.

Also of note, was the increasing focus on coffee in the home (Nespresso, for example), with many large operators now getting into the home market with machines and capsule systems. Payment systems, and the impact of technology, means that there will be a lot to come in this area too, and the building of loyalty (particularly, individual shop loyalty within, say, a wider brand) will be key in order to genuinely engage with consumers. There is now a need to “deliver wanted benefits, not the ones we think they (consumers) should have”, asserted Jeffrey Young who concluded his presentation by putting forward a business model called the Customer Value Staircase to illustrate what factors are likely to be relevant to future success.

FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 17

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM The transformation of ‘petit-noir country’ In his presentation to the symposium, Nicolas Riche, CEO of the successful, and growing, French coffee shop chain, Columbus Café & Co, talked about the tradition of the ‘petit noir’ in France, but also noted how things are steadily changing there, and how the coffee shop market is changing from essentially a non-descript product offering to a wider range of speciality coffees. At the same time, this is being accompanied by a greater expectation on the part of consumers for good service and better quality when out.

Nicolas Riche himself started out in the pharmaceutical industry before setting up his own business called A La Carte (a fast food concept built on pleasure, quality and freshness). He also founded the Carrefour Group.

In 2007 he joined Wagram Finances as a president of board and chief executive officer of Columbus Café which operates 65 coffee shops in France with a forecasted growth of 15 per year.

Created in 1994, Columbus Café was the first coffee shop chain in France, offering a dynamic environment of trendy staff and customers together good quality products. In answering the question “are we really a bear” (the company’s logo being a bear), Nicolas Riche reported that in 20 years, since 1994, they had opened 63 outlets in France, Switzerland and the Middle East. Up until 2010, they had gone through some ups and downs, perhaps because the French customer was not ready to leave the old, traditional coffee shop concept and

embrace the new.

French customers were used to having their breakfast at home and their lunch seated in a restaurant, with nothing to compare to the coffee shop offering of today. However, since 2010, something has been happening, felt Nicolas Riche, with Columbus Café ‘over-performing’ in the market and opening 19 outlets in 2012 and 15 in 2013. What could this be attributed to? Customer change? The market? The company’s staff?

The market in ‘petit-noir country’ is difficult to explain and translate, felt Nicolas Riche. Yes, a petit-noir was a coffee drink similar to an espresso, but it is a term used more frequently in France than espresso, so if it is more popular, what is it really? A slang expression that’s only used out of home, he suggested, and also a metaphorical term used to describe, request or suggest going and meeting up for the lowest priced beverage in order to have a seat in the café. Thus, it acts as an access product for teenagers and students who want to stay together, and who will often order a petit-noir, but never even drink it. So it can be thought of as a French customer habit, useful for when you are waiting to meet up with someone, and need to place an order for something so as to be able to remain at the café and occupy a seat.

So in effect it is an invitation to share a drink, a social custom and social ‘actor’ that could in fact be anything from a beer to an espresso or coke, but is in essence a poor quality product with no added value

A UK brand in France Costa’s Stephen Holloway (MD of Costa in France) and Jim Slater (MD in the UK) gave a joint presentation on the topic of ‘the future – it ain’t what it used to be’ which started with a video featuring future predictions gathered together from yesteryear.

“The simple fact being,” said Jim Slater,

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Representing the event’s home territory, Columbus Café & Co’s CEO, Nicolas Riche, talked about ‘petit noir country’. and a lack of know-how from the bar-man, and moreover no service. The fact was, he said, when you order a petit-noir in France, you ‘bother’ the bar man. Yet, a petit-noir is still a non-negotiable product in France that’s still sold everywhere.

Nicolas Riche then went on to ask pose the question ‘what do French people drink, and is coffee at home as popular as it is outside?’ The answer was a resounding yes, with French people, per capita, drinking more coffee at home than the US, Australia, UK and Spain. In fact, in 2011, 82% of coffee consumption took place at home (compared with 70% in the UK). To back this up, he showed two television commercials to demonstrate just how seriously coffee brands are taken and viewed

by French consumers.

In mentioning the popularity of Carte Noir (the leader in the French retail home consumption market) and Nespresso coffee brands in the home in France, he observed how these premium beverages are in fact the opposite to the petit-noir, but that are now, in turn, part of the very reason

“as industry leaders and opinion formers in the world of coffee, we are competing for the future.

“All of us are living through the most intense period of change there has ever been when it comes to consumer trends, technology and society in general. There have never been more changes and we just have to get to grips with how these changes will affect our industry and equally

why so many consumers in France are now seeking out, if not expecting, better quality coffee when in the out of home environment so as to match what they are used to at home.

As for the French customer, they are complex but always romantic, he said. They love to eat, but also like to share a moment ‘all together’, with 93% of French people in a survey he quoted saying that they consider lunch as a benefit if they share it with someone else. In the same survey, 88% considered themselves to be gourmands – namely people who loved, and were generous with, good food as a way of life.

French people are educated in good food and good coffee, and so now expect to be able to get both ‘anywhere’. They are, he proposed, looking for emotion, a social place in which to go and be, quality and the availability of good products to share with friends. And such a place where all this could be found was a coffee shop.

Coffee shops were ‘solutions’ for young people, families and working people, he concluded, with Columbus Café’s own approach being to supply a safe, secure place with quality food ‘to go’ and beverages, as well as be a trendy place in which to be. This, he believed, was why Columbus Café had been performing so well in particular since 2010.

importantly, how we can actually effect these changes.

“Corporate history is littered with the corpses of companies of big businesses and big brands who’ve not kept up with trends, who’ve not listened to the likes of Jeffrey and who’ve fallen by the wayside and failed, and I would like to think that all of us are better than that and all of us can continue adapting and creating new trends

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM for the future.”

In 1995, Costa was acquired by Whitbread, having gone on to represent what had become a vital and highly successful ‘mixed model’ approach of equity stores, franchise stores (franchise or joint venture) and Costa Express (located in places where it was not feasible to have a shop), the business’s over-riding aim to make quality coffee the ‘norm’. The brand was thriving because it was both good at finding properties and scaling its business, claimed Jim Slater.

“Costa is owned by Whitbread – one of the 39 companies in the FTSE 100 that is still there today and was also there 50 years ago, meaning that 60 companies have fallen out of the top 100 companies,” said Jim Slater. “And that’s because Whitbread has been pretty nimble, moved with the times, and with the trends.

“What we’re good at is operating lots of coffee shops, finding the right properties, building the right properties and scaling the business. I think we’d all like bigger, more profitable businesses. Over the years, Costa’s operational standards, its property buying skills and its international expansion have been effective, reflected in this year’s Allegra award. There are four strategic pillars to our success, namely top quality, great service, best in store environment and brilliant sweet food.

“It’s all about the mixed model. Equity stores (owned totally by Costa), franchise stores (where there is a relationship with a franchise partner or a joint venture partner), Costa Express, and dealing with a mixed set of partners such as Shell and Compass, without whom Costa would not be the brand it is today. The mixed model is really very important to Costa, as is the attitude we’re trying to create towards coffee in all our markets,” added Jim Slater before showing a brief film that showed how the UK nation has been exposed to coffee through advertising.

In his personal view, however, such advertising had served to make coffee too special and too unobtainable, which was something that was not necessarily doing the industry as a whole a favour.

“What we should be doing is making sure coffee’s consumed more frequently.

Yes, its quality is good, but there is a need to get away from it being a hyper-special occasion, increase the frequency of consumption and force the consumer to want quality by making high quality coffee the ‘norm’ , not something special,” said Jim Slater.

The move towards high quality, handcrafted, barista-made coffee is a global phenomenon, felt Jim Slater. Taking the UK by way of an example, back in 2008, the primary factors influencing buying

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Costa’s Jim Slater. behaviour was firstly convenience, followed by staff friendliness, followed by quality, he said. All three of these factors are still key, he explained, but there had been a dramatic change in that quality was now rated above staff friendliness, although staff interaction was of rising importance.

The quality move was now a massive trend, he believed, and one that a lot of people present at the symposium had started.

Costa had been innovative, he suggested, with the introduction of its loyalty card, new products such as the flat white, new retail products and new store formats, and Jim Slater liked to think that Costa and its ilk had been responsible for improving the in-store environment so that the stores are not just treated as a place to get coffee, as this would help to create longevity in the business.

To achieve this, they had focused on coffee quality, with Jim Slater saying that the brand always knew they made great coffee, but that they didn’t always talk about it, so this aspect had now been brought to the front and centre of UK customers’ minds, and not least via some controversial media space that involved taking the message to television screens and dramatising the work of the barista.

More recently, they had moved away from a functional product platform and started talking about emotional involvement in the brand, explained Jim Slater (namely the personal service and staff interaction, both of which are becoming more important).

Jim Slater then posed the question ‘where would customers drink if the three major brands were near each other’, before reporting that Costa had grown in market share from 31% to 39% between 2008 and 2013, Starbucks from 22% down to 17%, whereas Caffè Nero had remained the same at 11% market share. This increase in their market share was due to the fact that they had increased convenience (they had opened more stores) and made sure

current customers were delighted and wanted to come back.

It was also important that you took continuous steps towards innovation and improvement, felt Jim Slater, by trying new things. They wouldn’t all work, but some good things such as new technology (for example, their loyalty cards were working well by getting people to try new things and be more adventurous), new products including retail, in-home ones, as well as new store formats to push the boundaries of design (their latest drive-throughs, for instance).

In addition, they had got involved in vending, Costa Express having been a key, strategic aim and investment for the future, with vending being recognised a major future opportunity and a way of locating coffee in a place where it would not be feasible to open a shop.

“Costa Express is a smart coffee bar for a smart, technical world,” said Jim Slater, who went on explain how it utilises an Intelligent AIM suite that is able to understand what type of customer is standing in front of the machine, and then offer some options that might be appropriate for them in the form of a ‘digital barista’ that helps predict your cravings.

The software even allows Costa to see where certain items are selling well, and so increase availability, as well as enable them to save on operational cost (there are currently 2500 Costa Express machines in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and have been on test in five countries).

“We are on a mission to save the world from mediocre coffee,” said Jim Slater.

“And we don’t see a problem in taking it into places such as hospitals and offices.”

In talking about their move into France, Steve Holloway explained why they had selected France for their first ever multichannel international entry since 1971 when Costa was founded and the first time they had gone into a new country using

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM their own investment.

They had considered three macroeconomic strategies – Europe was still a great place to do business as it was economically still strong (being the second richest region globally), the French loved coffee (consuming twice as much as UK consumers) and the branded coffee market in France was currently pretty small (compared to their home market of the UK, it is still tiny). Thus, Costa felt that there is a gap in the market in France which they can fill.

Cultural change was also now happening in France, and was gathering pace, Steve Holloway reported, and so Costa wanted to be a part of it. It seemed to be true that there was now less time for Parisians to have a long lunch break, and so the demand for food to go with the arrival of chains like Pret A Manger and Columbus Café was now more prevalent, with Costa confident that they can play a part in the cultural change taking place in France and take some of the market share.

“As a result of this macro-economic and strategic thinking, we believe that we can replicate the UK model in France,” explained Steve Holloway, who went on to outline their three-pronged approach to exploiting the market (equity/equity investment or company-owned stores, franchising and Costa Express which is now also active in France and which they plan to grow in parallel with their stores).

“But of course, theory needs to be backed up by operational excellence ,” Steve Holloway continued. “We need to make sure we deliver a compelling proposition to French consumers, and that they want to come and visit, time and time again.”

Thus, their entry into the French market (where they currently have four stores) was marked in the form of one ‘inspired by London’ theme, and so a London bus and taxi were used in the promotion of the brand in Paris, touring and serving up Costa coffee, as well as helping to promote the brand.

Their proposition is based on four key pillars, Steve Holloway added. Namely top quality coffee served by well-trained baristas, the delivering of great service every single time via friendly and wellmeaning baristas who make the customer feel at home (UK staff having gone over to France to help bring the Costa ‘DNA’ to life), the best store environment (based on their Metro design but with a cosy twist to make the ambiance warmer, as well as free Wi-Fi and newspapers etc) and brilliant sweet food sourced from across Europe in order to offer the widest selection available anywhere in the world and displaying it innovatively.

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Allegra European Coffee Awards 2013 winners More than 350 senior executives from across the coffee and food-to-go sectors gathered for a night of industry celebration on 27 November at The Hotel Pullman Montparnasse. Award winners were honoured during a prestigious black tie gala dinner and ceremony, featuring very special guest host comedian Marcel Lecont and music by Midnight Jazz.

COUNTRY AWARDS Best Coffee Chain – France Winner - Columbus Café Runner up - McCafé 3rd Place and Highly Commended Starbucks Coffee Company Best Coffee Chain – Benelux Winner - Doppio Espresso Runner up - Coffee Company 3rd Place and Highly Commended - Le Pain Quotidien Best Coffee Chain - Germany, Austria & Switzerland Winner - Starbucks Coffee Company Runner up - Balzac Coffee 3rd Place and Highly Commended McCafé Best Coffee Chain - Nordic Region Winner - Espresso House Runner up - Stockfleths 3rd Place and Highly Commended - Joe & the Juice Best Coffee Chain - Southern Europe Winner - Costa Coffee Runner up - Caffè Nero 3rd Place and Highly Commended - Caffè Pascucci Best Coffee Chain - UK & IE Winner - Costa Coffee Runner up - Harris + Hoole 3rd Place and Highly Commended - Pret A Manger EUROPEAN AWARDS Best Coffee Chain Europe Winner - Costa Coffee Runner up - Espresso House 3rd Place and Highly Commended Starbucks Coffee Company Best Independent Coffee Shop – Europe Winner - Workshop Coffee Co. Runner up - Johan & Nyström 3rd Place and Highly Commended Espressofabriek Best Forecourt Operator for Food & Coffee – Europe Winner - Autogrill Runner up - BP M&S Simply Food & BP Wild Bean Café 3rd Place and Highly Commended - Shell Deli2go Most Ethical Brand – Europe Winner - Caffè Pascucci Runner up - Starbucks Coffee Company 3rd Place and Highly Commended Costa Coffee

Best Coffee Roaster – Europe Winner - Tim Wendelboe Runner up - Square Mile Coffee 3rd Place and Highly Commended Solberg & Hansen AS Best Equipment Supplier- Europe Winner - La Marzocco Runner up - Nuova Simonelli 3rd Place and Highly Commended - La Cimbali Best Food Supplier – Europe Winner - Erlenbacher Backwaren GmbH Runner up - Delifrance 3rd Place and Highly Commended Vandemoortele Best Non-Coffee Supplier – Europe Winner - Monin Runner up - Beyond the Bean 3rd Place and Highly Commended Happy Cups INDIVIDUAL AWARDS The following persons 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 Nicolas Riché, CEO, Columbus Café & Co. Andrew Tolley, Co-Founder, Harris + Hoole Peter Van Eijl, Founder, Dopio Espresso Jonathan Teoh, Founder, Dopio Espresso Johan Damgaard, CEO, Johan & Nystöm Nana Holthaus-Vehse, CEO Barista World Steve Leighton, Managing Director, Has Bean Coffee Lifetime Achievement Award Piero Bambi, La Marzocco

La Marzocco’s Piero Bambi was the proud recipient of the event’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM McCafé Also representing the ‘local’ market at the symposium was Annabelle Jacquier, head of project McCafé, and in answering the question of what was the nature of a McCafé, she pointed out that although in essence a simple question, it could often be difficult to express the answer.

However, what defined a McCafé was that it is not a coffee shop on its own, but rather belongs to McDonalds – “thinking its best, and bringing the rest”. The concept had been launched some twenty years ago in Australia, then ten years ago in Europe, including France, having now managed to reach the full speed of development and so managed to become a real brand in its own right. Currently there are nearly 2000 McCafés in Europe with Germany being the biggest player.

In some countries, all McDonald restaurants have a McCafé, whereas in other countries, just some have a McCafé, but a McCafé is always located within a McDonalds restaurant, explained Annabelle Jacquier, and in France they hope to reach a total of 200 McCafés in 2014.

They select their locations very carefully, based on three criteria – the business potential (so they look at the restaurant’s turnover and how many people live, shop and work around it), the operational level of the restaurant (because it is not possible to handle a new concept if you don’t already handle the original concept well), and thirdly, and most importantly, the willingness of the franchisee and team to invest money, time and energy, as it is very demanding to install a new concept.

However, in France, more than the number of units, McCafé has become a real brand in its own right. A year ago, reported Annabelle Jacquier, only a third of French people knew about McCafé, but this awareness has now been increased by 15% so that half of French people now known about McCafé, claim the brand.

In addition, there was now a clear understanding of the McCafé proposition due to very well perceived tangibles – the product offer (variety, quality combined with a very accessible price), the backing of a corporation and the nature of the place (far away from the fast food environment, and a place for a ‘McCafé moment’, morning or afternoon).

Consistency of execution is also very important, as if you want to build a brand nationally or globally, you need to have a very consistent execution.

Their product offer is a balance between basic and original products because McCafé is a daily treat in which

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you can find some ‘never seen’ products.

Often their sites are in quite remote locations, Annabelle Jacquier pointed out, where the likes of frappes and latte macchiatos are trendy and novel. Thus, as they have a variety of product offer, they can target and attract a variety of users from quick morning breakfast to afternoon tea, and from end of meal treat to business meetings.

“Since we play on the European stage, it’s interesting to notice that the key brand drivers are different from eastern to southern Europe,” observed Annabelle Jacquier. “In the east, customers are more attached to the place, ambiance and décor, and tearoom atmosphere. In the south, France included, people are more sensitive to the product, the taste, the expertise.

“But what is true throughout Europe is the way McDonalds and McCafé complement each other, the type of food you can find, the imagery around it, and why you go there, for the efficiency and experience.”

To summarise, the real asset of McCafé was the quality for money it offered, felt Annabelle Jacquier. Who else sold a 100% arabic Segafredo espresso made using the legendary coffee machine, served in china with a handmade buttered croissant from Chateau Blanc baked on the premises, for €1.50? Quality for money was key, as their promise/objective is to offer a special McCafé moment for everyone – families, young adults, elderly people and business people at any time.

Their strategy centres around where they build and select their sites, opting for motorways, airports, train stations, city

centres, malls, where there are captive market places. These, reported Annabelle Jacquier, were the places where McCafé performs best, and currently they are able to open from 15 to 20 units a year.

What is also key is the balance between basic and original products, and the seasonal variations they bring in four times a year, as well as what they described as their own ‘DNA’. Any product entering their product range needs to nourish the virtual circle of quality of ingredients and products, and operational considerations, and all for an accessible price.

McCafé used to be an island in the restaurant, said Annabelle Jacquier, because they wanted a dedicated crew for it and to deliver a particular customer experience, but now they had built bridges to it with the restaurant environment, going to the customer at the end of their meal, taking a coffee order and bringing it to them. They have also integrated it with a kiosk order system and at the front of the counter so you can order both types of product at the same time.

Good customer communications was also playing a part in the popularity of McCafé in France with billboard advertising helping to re-enforce the quality for money message. 10% of orders are usually attributable to the presence of a McCafé, but in motorway or train and airport locations, this rises to between 20 and 30%, and Annabelle Jacquier added that the presence of the McCafé brand had now helped to improve the overall perception of McDonald restaurants as a whole in a positive way.

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM Culture eats strategy for breakfast In his presentation, John Nylen (COO of Espresso House in Sweden) detailed how he had been in the coffee business for ten years, starting out as a barista and going on to do everything there is to do in operations, having become a store manager followed by a district then a regional manager, and now COO (chief operating officer). As a result, he was able to use his detailed knowledge in his current role, and was still as much a barista as a COO, he revealed.

When a store manager, it was possible to compete with the store next door, or down the street, to try and be better, and as district manager, you could focus on the next district. As regional manager he had wanted to make sure he was running the best region, he explained.

Then, when he got full responsibility for all the stores, “what am I going to do now?” he asked himself. What am I going to compete with?

And then it came to him via Espresso Warehouse’s vision – “to deliver world class coffee experiences to world class guests” - in the form of taking the organisation forward to try and beat the world.

When he first joined the company, there were 21 stores, whereas now there are 145. They have their own bakeries and only serve single estate coffees, employ 1400 baristas and serve approximately 34,000 customers a day. They aim to continue to open 20 to 30 stores in a year in Sweden and Norway, and be a dominant player in the region.

The opening of just one store requires a big effort, he reminded, in the form of location sourcing, permissions, creating the ambiance, music, furniture, machines etc, but they had now managed to perfect this.

However, the one thing that made the biggest difference between making it

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or not when opening a new store was the people, he insisted. It is a store’s people who are meeting guests every day, all the time, he pointed out, and these are the very people who carry the brand of the coffee shop in their hands. Many in the symposium’s audience already knew how to run a coffee shop, but essentially what was required was a team of people who get on well, have fun and enjoy each other’s company.

“We all know that if you have fun at work, you perform better and so deliver a better cup of coffee, a cleaner coffee shop and a high service level,” said John Nylen. “And if you can combine that with the store concept, then you know you can get satisfied guests which means returning guests, which means growth and in turn profitability.”

Such a return meant that you were doing something right, felt John Nylen, and therefore keeping the circular model of the whole concept spinning. The right people were need ‘in the wheel’ right from the beginning, he added, particularly people who like people and people who other people liked. A high energy level is also required for working in a high tempo environment. Therefore, Espresso House is not so concerned about what type of school you went to, or your earlier experiences, but rather personality and attitude, as they can then teach how to make a good espresso.

To help them achieve success with their ‘wheel’, they look to their values which had been defined and created by their store managers – the guest always comes first (and when their trainees responded to this with a ‘this is selfwritten/obvious’ look, they knew they had the right person), a love of initiative and responsibility (they depend on these as every day there are situations in store

that require these approaches to solve them) and an ability to enjoy work while creating profitability as in the end it is the guests and profitability that take the business forward.

Their organisation looked like any other company’s organisation, outlined John Nylen, but then placed emphasise on the importance of decentralising responsibility throughout the company. The owners of the company need to feel able to be proud of the business by understanding what drives the culture, and how the training and systems work.

They had 150 entrepreneurs working in their business and internal recruitment and promotion was a very important part of their success with 80 of their store managers having started out as baristas. As a result, these store managers were the most

important part of the whole business, and if they were good at their jobs, then everything else ‘fell in to place’ as they had grown with the culture of the business and helped to grow the organisation.

In deploying decentralised responsibility, the store managers would ‘put pressure’ on all in their teams to divide responsibilities and get involved by doing things, and taking the initiative. It was better to attempt 10 tasks and achieve five, than attempt three, and achieve only one, suggested John Nylen, who added that it was important to use staff and the resources around you. The more people knew about the values of the company, the more they loved Espresso House and got to know how it works.

Store manager success could be attributed to two things – being in control of

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EUROPEAN COFFEE SYMPOSIUM the numbers (you can’t manage what you can’t measure) and a need to be able to create a good working environment and take care of the people involved so that they liked each other and performed well (a culture that “eats strategy for breakfast” said John Nylen).

The fact was that Espresso House has to rely upon speed of decision-making,

and so they focused more on action and execution of ideas than their creation and planning. Often it was the case in business with lots of employees that there was a lot said, but little done! But in Espresso House, they want people to act and take responsibility and ownership, as well as credit. They liked people to just get on and do things, assuming they knew what had

to be done, the emphasis being on action, action, action. The money and value of the company was in its people, felt John Nylen, so the prestige lies in its people, not in its offices or job titles. Their future vision would centre round being culture-driven, and keeping good people by allowing them to have responsibility and take action.

What a difference a year makes After taking part in last year’s symposium, held in Amsterdam, Paris-based Australian, Tom Clark (founder and co-owner of Coutume Café) reported on how the French market, and in particular in Paris, had developed in the intervening year. 2013 had been a dynamic one for this own business, he reflected, and that now consisted of three stores.

The French marketplace had been evolving quickly in recent times, he felt, with lots of new coffee shops and roasteries starting out, and in part due to a significant shift in consumer culture, he suggested.

There was now a more open-minded consumer in France, one prepared to opt for more than simply always a ‘petit noir’.

Consumers were even open to the idea of acidity as part of an espresso to reflect its terroir. There had also been an upward trend of sales through a boost in takeaway, although this was still far off the levels to be found in the US, UK and Australia. However, takeaway is on the increase.

Tom Clark had also seen an increase in the retail coffee bean sales because of the success of domestic coffee machines, and in particular bean to cup machines, accompanied by upward sales in accessories too such as pour-over and grinders. At the same time, as the market had grown, the highly educated coffee consumer in France had become more demanding, expecting great product and service each time. There was much room for error than say, two years ago, felt Tom Clark, and a need to execute well. This had also infiltrated into the general hospitality industry in restaurants, bars and hotels in that customers were now demanding better quality coffee in these environments too, and so these outlets are more open to investing in quality beans and machines.

There had been lots of café openings in Paris, Tom Clark outlined, with many new concepts such as gluten-free, vegetarian and specialist bakery concepts too, including one called Frog Leg based in a surf shop!

Consumer culture is changing in France, where a definite shift in the habits of consumers had been seen, not only with coffee-lovers, but those curious about latter and other aspects. As a result, people were

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now going out of their way to seek out quality coffee, explained Tom Clark, even if that meant skipping their local brasserie and going down the road to a new coffee shop.

People were now making the extra effort to go and discover the new coffee shop scene.

Coffee shops themselves were also filling that niche and creating a strong community within each individual shop between customers and staff, and customers and other customers, and this is an important aspect to café culture in Paris.

Coffee shop visits had also now become a daily routine, felt Tom Clark, who had observed in his own business that customers would initially visit for brunch on a weekend, then on week days, until they started visiting daily, and meaning that it had become a daily routine to seek out quality coffee. The reasons behind this shift were down to a supportive media, he added, from bloggers to mass media, and there was a high level of interest from France and elsewhere to help spread the culture. The speciality coffee community had been active itself in education regarding terminology, flavours and aromas, he pointed out. This flourishing scene now means that consumers have more accessible options. It has also impacted positively on the speciality coffee community by re-enforcing links and supply. It was still a niche sector, felt Tom Clark, so they still help each other out and collaborate, sharing cuppings to determine which coffees to purchase together and exchange ideas, and so therefore very transparent about the sourcing and selling of coffee. And this working together continues in the form of events such as the Barista Bash and attendance at the World Coffee Event held in Nice, a sign that the French market has indeed opened up.

Challenges in the French market, said Tom Clark, included the consumer and the preconceived notion of the petit-noir (which just serves to take up a table) and is traditionally also associated with robusta, a legacy of French colonial plantations perhaps. The labour market in France had not changed much, in fact it had got worse, he suggested – cost of employment was exceptionally high due to social changes

and recent overtime tax exemption being abolished so that the idea of the 35 week had been re-enforced when in reality, he felt, that was untenable in the world of hospitality. A lack of flexibility when it came to work contracts was still the ‘norm’ and there were still difficulties in changing staff members.

The wholesale market had developed in France, observed Tom Clark, with customers requiring quality there too, yet still not prepared for the extra level on many aspects such as training and equipment investment as there is a need to culturally shift the consumer base and this is not about to happen overnight. Long established customers are not about to immediately understand why an espresso has been changed in terms of its texture and taste etc.

It takes three to four months to achieve this, suggested Tom Clark, and it was not easy if a restaurant was worried about losing existing customers.

Tom Clark concluded by outlining what challenges he felt new entrants to the French market would face, and how mindful they would need to be of the market’s dynamics. Namely, that French consumers have a strong sense of community, and the need to be local, and support home grown brands. The relationship factor is also important as the French customer places importance on their relationship with their coffee shop owner, barista, roaster etc.

Foreign entrants would therefore need to think about how they would foster that relationship.

The flip side of coffee knowledge and education in France was that the consumer now expects more and more, so new entrants could struggle to get traction, cautioned Tom Clark. If they were not really bringing the right product, he was not sure there would be a future.

Over the next five years, Tom Clark identified the major trends as being an increasingly flourishing and accepted speciality coffee shop sector, a French public continuing to expect more in terms of product, delivery, service and transparency, but a petit-noir segment that would continue to persist (it requiring a major generational shift for this to alter).

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In order to offer some advice and insight for current and budding baristas, we canvassed the opinions and experience of a number of baristas and coffee training specialists for their views on what’s required to be a top barista.

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BEVERAGE MAKING Training combined with knowledge "At Paddy and Scott’s our approach to training is forever evolving and paramount to the quality of our coffee,” says Gareth Davies, head barista and associate account director from coffee company Paddy & Scott's. “We are moving further and further away from traditional process driven training. We have found that by just teaching baristas what to do, they understand what buttons to push, but they do not understand why they are pushing them.

“We want our baristas to feel confident, proud and passionate about our coffee and feel like the expert who understands the craft of making the perfect coffee. We have just launched our Paddy & Scott's academy at the London School of Coffee, where a three hour course covers all the elements required to fully understand how you extract expresso and texture milk. Once these foundations are in the hands of a committed barista, it then comes down to practice.

“We teach our baristas to understand every stage of the process, why we use the best practices and the consequences when deviating from the ‘rules’. The problem with bad coffee is it looks very similar to good coffee, and therefore we teach baristas to correctly critique coffee and solve issues based on taste. This allows the barista and the client to take ownership of their coffee serve. Talking from personal experience the best example of this is grinder adjustments.

I was always trained not to touch the grinder as this was the responsibility of the coffee supplier, I now know that being a barista unable to adjust a grinder is like being a chef unable to sharpen a knife, it’s fundamental to the process and to the craft!”

John Broad (barista training and development manager for Ringtons Beverages, the business-to-business division of British tea and coffee merchant Ringtons), who is responsible for barista training for clients of the 106 year old, family-run business, says that he is passionate about making sure clients have the knowledge to make the best cup of coffee possible, also cites the right training as being key to success.

“The best way to become an expert barista is through training. Training coupled with practice is the only way to ensure baristas have the best grounding to not only feel confident in what they are doing, but to also ensure they have the necessary skills to produce the best quality drinks possible – which in turn keeps customers coming back,” says John Broad.

“However, to be most effective, the training must be tailored to an individual business so that baristas get the very best out of the training and are equipped to fully

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understand their own coffee offering and the equipment they use themselves to produce it.

“Although there is a wide range of espresso equipment on the market, which are usually operated in a similar manner to one another, specific training is needed on each machine to get the very best out of it and ensure machine longevity.”

Training can be done either on-site at a customer venue or in a specially designed training facility like the Ringtons Beverages training room, point out the firm. To minimise the chance of a reduced quality coffee being served, espresso equipment often now have tools such as turbo steam wands, on demand grinders or Perfect Grinding Systems (PGS). The skill of a barista is in then knowing how each operates and how to get the best out of the tools to further ensure top quality coffee.

“An understanding of the different machinery options on the market allows baristas to make the best decisions on how to produce the coffee a customer wants, and if necessary, where to invest in the future to ensure they can deliver the range desired,” John Broad continues.

“Increasingly equipment is becoming more and more advanced – for example espresso machines fitted with PGS continually monitor the espresso extraction (usually after every five shots) and automatically recalibrate the grind size when needed. Although technological advances reduce the likelihood of serving a poor quality coffee, to remain on top of their game the best baristas need to be aware of developments and seek opportunity to test new machines. Changing trends also mean it’s important to keep up to date with industry news and regular training can help with this.

“Espresso equipment knowledge should include espresso extraction, flavouring coffees, milk foaming, latte art, cupping coffee, operating coffee machines and grinders and machine maintenance and cleaning.

“Of course training doesn’t just include machine operation; increasingly customers are interested in where their coffee originates from, so to make a real impact on the customer it’s important to have understanding of the background to the products sold.”

To be a first class barista, knowledge should include the history of coffee - the origin of products and how this affects the taste of the bean and coffee selection (blending, roasting and grinding) – agree Ringtons. In addition it’s also important to understand the impact water temperature and pressure has on the extraction process, feel the company. And needless to say, understanding the milk foaming process is

essential to authentic cappuccinos and latte art.

Taste the coffee “A tour of coffee roasting and packaging facilities can also greatly boost knowledge and understanding of the production process,” adds John Broad. “For instance, changing roasting temperature and length of roast greatly influences the final taste and flavour, so a fine balance of the two brings out the very best. Ringtons recently reprofiled its full coffee range to ensure it offers the best range possible and a lot of this activity involved dropping the temperature and increasing the roasting time of the range to bring out a better taste.

We aim to ensure that customers can taste the flavour of our coffees rather than the way in which they were roasted.

“And finally, a top tip for making sure you’re the best barista possible is to taste the coffee! After all, how can you know when you’re doing it right when you don’t know how it should taste? Flavour profiling and tasting a number of coffees can help with understanding the different flavours behind the coffee and which bean is best for different purposes.

“Coffee can be compared to wine in that beans, like grapes, from different origins, have different tastes and flavours which influence the overall taste of the final product. A good barista should know the influence on the bean from the growing environment and the difference in flavours between Arabica and Robusta beans. They should also be knowledgeable on how acidity, sweetness, bitterness, water pressure, dosage and temperature affect a coffee and the overall taste.

“Such knowledge will allow baristas to advise on the best coffee to suit a customers’ preference, and it will allow them to answer any questions they may have, and this experience allows them to spot problems too. Tasting also builds understanding of how much additional ingredients such as milk and syrup need to Ringtons’ John Broad in the firm’s beverages suite.

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Q&A

Sean Fowler (coffee taster and assistant buyer at Lincoln & York and one of Europe’s youngest Q graders) What top tips would you recommend to baristas to help improve their skills?

Spend as much time with other baristas as possible. Making drinks alone you will only progress so far. Making drinks with another person who is capable of giving expert feedback is far more valuable.

Entering competitions is another good way to hone your skills to the highest possible standards. The age old adage of ‘practice makes perfect’ can never be ignored - the more shots you pull the better you are going to be.

What are the specific skills that baristas tend to lack? How can they work on these?

The ability to stand back and critically look at yourself and assess your current level of skill and what it would take to reach the next level is a talent in itself. In an industry as rapidly changing as the coffee world, it is crucial to always try and push skills and learning as far as possible.

I found it incredibly useful to receive feedback on drinks making from those who had great experience. I discovered that I learnt far more quickly by being critiqued by a fellow barista on each drink and the steps taken to make it.

Inexperienced baristas will commonly slip up on milk techniques.

Creating the perfect cappuccino, latte or flat white all comes down to the milk.

Getting the fundamental basics right time and time again will give anyone a solid foundation before embarking on creating latte art masterpieces. Don’t forget as well, first impressions count and consumers will always judge a coffee on how it looks.

James Sweeting (director and Q Grader at Lincoln & York) How will investing in training pay off for a business as a whole?

In a competitive market, improving coffee quality is a key tool in ensuring repeat custom. Well trained staff will deliver consistently better drinks and this should improve sales and customer loyalty.

At Lincoln & York, we run a number of barista training courses at our roastery in North Lincolnshire including the City & Guilds Barista Skills course.

Café operators always leave with the confidence they need to not only make hot drinks well, but to talk about coffee with passion and sincerity. As the consumer becomes more and more interested in the story behind their coffee, it’s a skill every barista should have.

”

be added to coffee to produce a desired result. Plus it’s a good excuse to try a whole load of coffees!

“To be the best barista it is important not become complacent so baristas should constantly strive to develop skills and learn.

Baristas must have a clear passion for coffee, be methodical and be consistent in the way they work which is essential in a busy café environment to producing the best quality tasting drink possible every time.”

A career and a business opportunity University graduates Matthew Carr (left main picture), 23, and Sam Fletcher (right main picture), 24, from Leeds, made sure that they left university with an instant career in their hands by starting their own mobile coffee business – The Barista (www.thebarista.co.uk) – after work placements in Australia.

Sam Fletcher was working for an events company, and Matt Carr for Santos Coffee, and both had come across the high standard of service with coffee companies in Australia. So, with their love of coffee and management skills, they decided to bring this idea back to the UK and start their own barista training business.

So what’s required to become a top class barista?

“The main requirement to become a great barista is having a passion for coffee. After all, coffee is not just any ordinary hot drink there is so much more to it! Not many people are aware of its different origins and processes, the size of the industry and also of the number of factors that go into producing a perfect cup,” says Matthew Carr.

“I have always been very passionate about it all; from keeping an eye on the latest industry developments all over the world, to technological advances in espresso machines and grinders. There is always something new to learn or try out, and with coffee being a very personal thing, there is always going to be fuel for discussion about it too.

“I’m a firm believer that if you are passionate about something, you will do well in it. If you take an interest and have the drive and want to learn more, you have all it takes to become good at anything.

Having that desire to learn about coffee will lead you to expand your knowledge. This passion can then be put into practice.”

Why is learning certain skills fundamental to serving good coffee?

“I believe the main skills necessary to become a great barista are a knowledge of the coffee industry and the different products you are working with, and also the

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OPINION

Tim Sturk (training manager and coffee specialist at BaxterStorey, a UK-based independent work place catering company) Get training We feel it’s important that anyone handling coffee in our business has the necessary training to ensure our products go above and beyond customer expectations. This is why we set up our Barista Academy in 2009.

Since then, we’ve had over 2,000 staff members complete our Barista Level 1 course, which includes understanding the history of coffee, the coffee bean journey, the importance of quality milk, machine maintenance, recipe management and customer service. This training gives our baristas a foundation in coffee that immediately puts them a step above the average barista and allows us as a company to more than compete with the high street.

The four pillars of great coffee Coffee comes in all shapes and sizes with a myriad of flavourings on offer. In our training we go back to the basics by focussing on the four pillars of great coffee.

ability to be able to correctly use the equipment and ensure the customer gets the best experience they can,” Matthew Carr outlines.

“A good knowledge of the art of coffee making is a key aspect in creating a fantastic cup, every time. There is no set brew recipe that all types of coffee follow, so baristas need to adjust the brewing methods.

“Some varieties need to be ‘pulled’ tighter (less water should pass through the coffee) to bring out the best of the flavours.

Others need to be ‘pulled’ longer. This is just one element that should be taken into consideration. Other things that must be

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1. Use fresh products Keep your coffee as fresh as possible and only grind what you need, when you need it. Store unground beans in original bags that are resealed or in an airtight container and put in a cool dark place. Never store the beans in the fridge or freezer.

2. Keep your equipment clean It’s vital to keep your machinery clean. You shouldn’t be reusing an espresso handle that has old grounds in it or using a steam wand that is caked in dried milk that has been left baking. If you wouldn’t drink it yourself, why should your customers?

3. Use great milk Milk must be fresh and cold. Do not leave milk sitting out on counters for extended periods. Use a clean, cold milk jug for every drink you make and do not reuse previously steamed milk.

4. Provide fantastic service It’s important to serve coffee with a smile. All customers deserve to enjoy the best coffee experience we can offer them and that means delivering excellent service as well as fantastic coffee.

Never serve a bad cup of coffee Never knowingly serve a bad cup! We live in a fast-paced world with fast-food take-outs and food on the move, so it’s easy for baristas to get caught up in the madness and therefore rush their coffee making by cutting corners. Consumers understand the meaning of quality and are demanding better from us and this expectation will only grow. We find that the majority of our customers are willing to wait for a better cup of coffee when given the choice, so we encourage our baristas to take the time needed to prepare first class coffee every time.

”

thought of are the actual temperature of the espresso machine, the amount of coffee in the basket (per shot) and the coarseness of the coffee. Then it is just practice to ensure a perfect cup is being served every time.

“The quality of the products used is also very important. This all comes down to the confidence baristas have in the products they are working with. One obvious product is milk, and soy milk in particular, which I believe not many baristas are keen on using. It may be because it requires patience and some time to get used to it.

We use Bonsoy all over the world and I (and a lot of our baristas) cannot recommend it

more. It’s all down to the ease of use.

Bonsoy doesn’t separate or clog, so it’s easier to get the right consistency you are looking for. It has an almost perfect ‘stretch’, meaning it is a dream to pour and make patterns with. A lot of other soy milks can separate easily which leads to baristas not giving soy milk the respect it deserves as they find it too much of a challenge.

“The ability to use the equipment is also key. You could have the best equipment in the world along with the best coffee, but without the appropriate skill on how to operate it, you could end up with a terrible cup. The knowledge of, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of the machine are crucial. Regular cleaning of your espresso machine is a must otherwise the quality of the coffee it produces will deteriorate significantly.

“Customer experience is key in running a successful business, it is also a part of the art of making and enjoying coffee. Baristas should always be welcoming and create an environment where everyone can enjoy their coffee. Customer service along with a beautifully crafted coffee is a winning combination for any café.”

How have you helped coffee businesses?

“At The Barista we have helped out a few established cafés and also new coffee shops looking for coffee experts to share their knowledge with staff. It is possible to learn a lot about coffee from reading and conversing, but there is no better learning method than getting behind an espresso machine with someone who can help you produce great coffee and teach you skills and knowledge that you can then pass on to others. Practising will really help you improve the quality of the drinks you are serving and your confidence in the products you use.”

A studio for baristas and bartenders The skill of the bartender is a long recognised aspect of Italian culture in particular, and showing just how important the need to be able to mix and create distinctive drinks has now become here too, is the opening of Monin UK’s state of the art studio in the heart of Shoreditch, London.

This new, educational venue is enabling bartenders and baristas from across the country to try the entire product range using the very best equipment and ingredients with Olivier Monin (president and owner of the global company), having paid a special visit to the UK to officially open the Studio in early November last year. Visitors are able to make every drink imaginable using Monin’s range of premium syrups, sauces and frappe powders – from cocktails and coffees to smoothies, milkshakes, frappes and more, say the company.

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James Coston, Monin UK brand ambassador at work in the Monin Studio London.

Monin itself has been in the business of making authentic, natural syrups at their Bourges headquarters since 1912, having racked up several international quality awards accordingly. Distributed in the UK by Bennett Opie (www.b-opie.com), Monin syrups have come to be used throughout the catering industry in coffee houses, hotels, restaurants, bakeries and bars to create cocktails, speciality coffees, hot chocolates and milkshakes (the company currently has a portfolio of over 100 flavours available in more than 100 countries worldwide).

Based in buzzing Hoxton Square, the Monin Studio London has been designed with the trade in mind, and so offers highend finishes and professionally-designed bartender and barista stations, plus a stylish conference area (it is the 54th such facility to open, joining a global network of similar Monin sites in leading cities around the world, report the firm).

“The Monin Studio London is the perfect showcase for the flexibility of our product range. Baristas and bartenders are our greatest ambassadors, and I always admire their creativity and passion for our brand.

Now they have a dedicated space to experiment and develop their drinks menus in one of the cocktail capitals of the world,” said Olivier Monin at the launch.

William Opie, managing director of Bennett Opie Ltd (Monin’s sole UK distributor), added: “As well as a hub of innovation and creativity, the Monin Studio London is intended to be a valuable resource for our customers to use. We’ve already hosted a number of seminars and workshops for various commercial partners, and we’re looking forward to welcoming even more visitors to the Studio in the future.”

The Monin UK team designed the studio with their customers’ specific needs in mind,

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kitting it out with top-of-the range equipment from companies such as Hamilton Beach, Food Solutions Ltd and Libbey Glasswear, plus a wide range of premium spirits from partners including Stoli Vodka, Pernod Ricard and Speciality Brands, and cocktail garnishes supplied by Bennett Opie Ltd (if you are interested in visiting the Monin Studio in London, contact James Coston, Monin UK’s brand ambassador at jcoston@b-opie.com).

taste tests and develop new ideas with the added advantage of a meeting area with digital support for presentations.”

Why did they take this step? (at this time) Monin has a wide range of clientele across the UK - from the largest high street coffee operators to some of the smallest artisan coffee roasters. It became clear to us that our role as ‘supplier’ should not just be to sell syrups, but to offer a complete support function to our customers. Monin has a team of beverage directors located in key markets around the world, so we are uniquely positioned in the industry to offer knowledge to our partners, and identify and share new trends as they are developing.

Is there more emphasis on the role of bartender or barista, or both?

Monin is about serving the drinks industry.

Innovation is at the core of the business, and if there are trends and innovation that can be transferred, Monin will be at the forefront. The studio is uniquely placed to identify the areas of activity that could be used within either segment. Baristas and bartenders are our greatest ambassadors, and it is their passion and creativity that makes Monin such a string global brand.

The facility is for the use of any one of our partners (or potential partners), regardless of the side of the business they’re in. Retail, wholesale, coffee shop, mobile operator or any of the numerous food and drink operators we work with – all are welcome.

The great thing about the Studio is that everything is brand new and top of the range, so as well as experimenting with the Monin product range, baristas can try out some equipment that they may not have had the chance to use before.

What are the aims of the studio?

To share our knowledge of the coffee industry and allow baristas to try our entire product range in a professional, stylish environment. It is a bespoke, professionallydesigned facility where we can help people develop their skills and identify the correct beverage solution for their business.

For example, you might be a coffee shop owner who is interested in selling milkshakes and smoothies over the summer months. However, you may not be sure of the best ingredients and methods to use.

We could look at your requirements and budget and help you develop a menu of drinks using our Monin Frappe powders and fruit purees, which will increase customer spend and grow your GP. Who has visited and benefitted from the facility so far?

Costa, Caffè Nero, Pret, Puccino's, Pitcher & Piano, Maxwells, Welcome Break, Paul, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and SSP Brands, as well as our individual wholesalers (coffee and on trade), and several smaller independents in both fields.

What do people have to say of the facility so far?

Sara Carter, Caffè Nero’s marketing director, told us: “We’re seeing a growing demographic of young, fledgling coffeedrinkers, and it is important that we can innovate and react to new trends as quickly as possible. The Monin Studio London provides us with a very convenient space to exchange ideas within our product and marketing teams, and is also a great venue for our managers and maestros to carry out

Do Monin plan to open others elsewhere?

The Monin Studio London has been massively popular so far and we’ve had some great feedback, but there aren’t any plans to open another UK site just yet. It’s something we could definitely look into in the future though, if there is a demand for it.

Does it cost anything to attend?

There is no charge to visit the studio and use the facilities, but it can be hired out for private events for a nominal fee.

Is any form of qualification offered?

Not yet, but it’s something we’re looking into for the future!

Olivier Monin cuts the ribbon to open Monin Studio London

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Brita’s ‘tea test’ illustrating the difference between filtered and non-filtered water.

Wising up to

water

Whether you want to improve the quality of your coffee and tea – of which water is the major part (up to 98% according to Brita) – or showcase your ‘green’ credentials and add value to the nature of your bottled water offering, it is now widely accepted that water is deserving of far greater attention than perhaps has traditionally been the case.

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WATER Differing requirements “Water quality is important to consider when you’re creating hot beverages for two reasons. Water has a profound effect on the finished drink quality and you’ve got to treat water correctly in order to protect your coffee machine,” says Gary Norwood, business account manager at Brita Professional.

“The problem we face is that if you talk to service suppliers and equipment manufacturers it’s all about minimising scale and protecting and maintaining machines. With coffee roasters and baristas it’s about the taste and finished drink quality the consumer will experience. What needs to happen is for a better balance between the two – you need to consider both drink quality and equipment performance to offer a great consumer drinking experience. In the same way a customer won’t enjoy a cup of coffee if it tastes awful, they also won’t be able to make a purchase if a machine is down due to scale or some other technical reason.

“There’s also a perception that you only need a filter in hard water areas, but this is not the case. It doesn’t matter where in the UK you are you will need a filter of some sort fitted to your coffee machine. You will still need to remove unwanted tastes, odours and particles that can be present in the water and, if in a hard water area, to remove the carbonate hardness that will damage your coffee machine when the water is heated. For example, if you’re on the West coast of Scotland you will have very soft water which some operators think they don’t need to treat. They will do, but they only need a good quality activated carbon filter, which will remove anything in the water that affects the taste of the coffee and particles as well.”

To ensure the quality of your coffee is consistent you need to get the engineer who is installing your coffee machine to do a simple test on the water to establish what type of water you have, advise Brita, as then they can match the result with the correct filter type and size, and then set the correct bypass on the filter for the local water hardness. Once the initial installation is done the filter needs to be exchanged at the correct interval (i.e. just before it becomes exhausted) to ensure consistently good coffee is produced and the equipment does not fail due to scale buildup.

"Water filtration works - as long as it's the right size and specification for your local water and is exchanged at the correct time. At the end of the day it’s reliable, tried and tested technology, which has been successfully used in the UK for more than 20 years. In my opinion, the out of home market for hot beverages can only improve

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if operators can create a unique drinking experience for customers that makes their purchase tasty and worthwhile,” adds Gary Norwood.

A question of taste “The importance of water should never be underestimated because it fundamentally affects the quality of our beverages, both hot and cold,” explains Paul Proctor, managing director of EcoPure Waters (www.ecopurewaters.com).

“Operators who spend a great deal of time and effort in sourcing the very best tasting, single-origin coffees, the top teas and infusions, and the finest cordials for

their customers often forget the key role that their main ingredient - water - can play in influencing the taste of the final beverage.”

The taste of mains water varies greatly from region to region and, to some extent, even from day to day within the same premises, point out EcoPure. It will be affected not only by the water supply into the building, but also by internal factors such as ambient temperature and in-house pipework.

“While the mains water in the UK should always be safe to drink, the taste will often be tainted with ‘chemical’ nuances which can easily be detected by even the least

Adding value Artis, a supplier of cutlery, tableware, glassware and barware, has a range of new bottles, jugs and carafes that offer opportunities for operators to present filtered or tap water to table in a stylish and ecologically responsible way. The challenge, feel Artis, is to find a way to present water to the table, thereby adding perceived value to a humble glass of so-called ‘Adam’s Ale’.

A decade ago, branded bottled water menus were de rigeur, whereas now consumers are usually content to drink filtered tap water, if not for environmental reasons then for financial ones in these frugal times.

Overall, there is a significant ‘out of home’ increased demand for filtered and tap water, instead of branded mineral waters, and in addition, point out Artis, government rulings now mean that it is a legal requirement for any establishment serving alcohol to provide free of charge water to their clientele, in turn meaning that operators need to think about how they serve it.

Artis’s range of water vessel choices include modern and classic carafes, to jugs and re-usable bottles with caps, lids or swing caps, offering exciting opportunities for branding and personalisation (and offering an

obvious brand-building/environmental benefit of re-using branded items time and again, suggest Artis, who can also provide a comprehensive in-house branding service).

Artis currently has five styles of bottle, including the new 71cl ‘hydration’ bottle with glass lid priced at £5.95 each (other bottles include Oslo, Indro, Flip Top & Tall Black Cap), in a choice of sizes (36cl, 50cl and 1l priced from £2.33 each). New this year, are two designs of acrylic carafes with pouring lids (capacities from 0.6L to 1.5L), ideal for outdoor venues or events (from £4.67 each). In addition to the extensive range of existing jugs and carafes, there are the recently launched ranges of Prestige handmade jugs (from £14.37 50cl), new Indro carafes (from £2.49 50cl) and the new Atelier Prestige crystal carafe, in four sizes (the full range of bottles, carafes and jugs can be viewed in the online Artis catalogue at www.artis-uk.com/downloads).

Artis water vessels can help to ensure that filtered/tap water has perceived added value.

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WATER

Water debate The whole topic of water – its quality, perception (both in the industry and with consumers) – was debated recently by representatives of the sector (including Brita, Eversys, Franke, McCafé and Mercanta) at a dedicated roundtable event organised by Brita Professional, and held at Allegra’s European Coffee Symposium.

It was initially acknowledged that water itself was often overlooked, yet it was a major part of hot beverages and was increasingly likely to come under the spotlight even more due to consumer demands for increasing quality.

“Our customers are starting to persuade themselves about the importance of water,” said Anthony Spruce, head of international accounts for Brita Professional, in kicking off the debate and asking whether or not water was a key ingredient in coffee. “It’s easy – you can’t have a cup of coffee without water. People understand that, so it would be straightforward if water everywhere produced great coffee. Unfortunately it doesn’t. European and US water regulations ensure its safe and potable, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for coffee or of a consistent standard.”

Anthony Spruce then went on to explain how water had become identified in terms of three different types – hard, soft and high in salts – and in turn meaning that there couldn’t necessarily be one solution to suit all coffee operators.

“Water has always been seen as the enemy – a source

of scale. It causes more issues than it resolves, so you have to deal with it effectively,” added Martin Morrell, corporate sales director at Eversys. “We have clever technology which tells the operator when the filter needs changing. This guarantees the machine is protected against scale, works efficiently and ensures the final taste too.”

Peter Meutsch, director of sales Europe for Franke, expressed the view that customers were primarily after machines that looked good, and that it was harder for them to understand that water quality needed attention too, it not simply being a case of ‘if everything looks clean and clear on the outside, that’s fine’.

Thus it was acknowledged that more education of consumers and operators in the industry was required, with Mercanta’s Raphael Prime, also expressing the nature of the challenge baristas faced in terms of consistency and being able to work with water that was too soft, or too hard. In both cases, it could have the potential to ruin coffee, he pointed out, so more awareness of the whole issue was needed. Indeed, McCafé’s operations director, Bert Rudolph, felt that both the brand’s customers and franchisees knew very little about the water aspect, and as a company it was hard for them to ensure consistency as every machine manufacturer had its own system and water supplier equating to different procedures and requirements.

The question of how to educate was then posed, with

refined palate. Similarly, water from the tap can be cloudy because it contains small air bubbles in suspension or other impurities which can affect the clarity and taste.

Particularly hard water can also produce a bitter, metallic taste, lead to a ‘scummy’ drink and leave a mineral residue which can cause problems in machines and on equipment,” Paul Proctor continues.

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Brita having carried out consumer tests to see if they could detect and appreciate the used of filtered water in a positive way. Martin Morrell suggested that perhaps some sort of kite mark to denote a certain quality of water was required to evidence the fact that an operator was using the ‘correct’ water. The whole question was, suggested Peter Muetsch, how to make ‘visual’ the fact that a good cup of coffee was good to taste. In response to this, Brita drew attention to their tea test, where the difference the use of filtered water made was clearly visible in the colour of the tea.

Jeffrey Young felt that it was currently a big ask to expect consumers to start understanding water quality when they had only recently got to grips with ‘liking’ a coffee and then ‘liking specific characteristics’ of a coffee.

Advanced consumers were likely to be interested, but it would be a while before consumers at large were educated. Many consumers were attaching reasons to why they liked certain coffees to the machines used etc, so there was more to be done in terms of explaining that the water quality used too had an impact.

James Nicholson, MD of

“Any adverse tastes in the mains water can be transferred, and sometimes magnified, in the final beverage. This is especially true with teas and infusions, which are often drunk with no other added ingredients, so the quality of the water alone has to carry the delicate, precise tastes and aromas without adversely affecting them. And with tea, which is often

Franke, drew attention to the problems of ensuring consistency of supply, pointing out by way of example that when London ran out of water, it shipped water in from Scotland or Sheffield that was dramatically softer than the regular water used in London.

The discussion concluded by looking ahead to the future of coffee, with water being acknowledged as having a significant role to play and the participating companies indicating that they were now poised to up the level of their communications and education of consumers and customers in this respect.

“It (water) needs to play a big part in the love and preparation of coffee to ensure overall consistency. Next year (2014) we will have a campaign which underlines this and communicates the importance of water. This will be on POS, packaging and adverts,” said Rudolph Bert.

James Nicholson added: “I can see the benefit of letting the consumer know about better water – commercially it would mean we could sell more coffee. But, whether this will work outside of the artisan coffee shops in the mass market, who knows? Only time will tell.”

brewed and served in crystal-clear, glass vessels so the visibility of the brewing process becomes part of the overall sensory experience, it’s vital that the clarity of the water is second-to-none.”

It might be thought, feel EcoPure, that the more robust taste of coffee can put up with slightly more variation in the taste and clarity of the mains water, particularly when

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WATER other ingredients, such as milk, are often added to the final beverage. However, coffee experts work hard to perfect the finest beverages through painstaking bean selection, roast parameters, grind combinations and brew techniques, so it is important not to let this all go to waste by allowing poor quality mains water to adversely affect taste in the cup.

“There is also a consistency issue. The taste of your bought-in coffee beans will have been carefully determined by ‘cupping’ elsewhere in the country probably using water filtered for consistency and purity. Therefore, to have any chance of precisely replicating that flavour, it is important to use a similarly filtered and consistent source of water,” adds Paul Proctor.

“For these many reasons, it is recommended that filtered water is used to make the highest quality teas and coffees (and cordials, infusions and soft drinks too). A plumbed-in, mains water filtration system can ensure that pure, great-tasting water is consistently produced, whatever the quality of the mains water and wherever the location in the country. As a result, teas and coffees will taste just as they should, day after day. If you care about offering the best tasting beverages, it makes sense to use only the highest quality water.

“An additional benefit of the filtration system is that the water it produces can not only be used for making other beverages, but can also be served as drinking water for your customers to consume in-house. This presents a practical, sustainable and cost effective alternative to environmentally-unfriendly bought-in bottled water. The chilled still and sparkling water can be served in elegant, reusable glass bottles, which can be house branded if required, providing an important additional revenue stream.”

Protecting your coffee machine “The quality of drinking water in the UK is specified in the European Union’s Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) and in England and Wales this is regulated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The directive is very specific about microbiological and chemical composition but interestingly states that taste and odour should be ‘acceptable to consumers’,” points out Carl Bjorkstrand, managing director of Cimbali in the UK, a multi-award winning coffee equipment manufacturer.

“There is no doubt that the composition of water will affect the taste of coffee. The extent to which various dissolved solids and their concentration exactly play out against the different taste sensations has always caused some debate. The water specifications required to give the expected taste for any given coffee is probably best left to the coffee roaster. Where Cimbali can offer some insight and advice is in how to protect a coffee machine from scale buildup.”

In particular, Carl Bjorkstrand reveals, coffee machines with steam boilers are inherently vulnerable to scale build-up due to the fact that their high temperatures encourage the deposit of scale, and then this scale can lodge in various components causing blockages, and if your business is located in the south east, midlands, north east or East Anglia - which are known to be hard water areas - then the problem of scale build-up is intensified. In addition, descaling machines is expensive and often requires the machine to be taken off site, the boiler treated with acid de-scaler, and the replacement of many parts such as the heating element and level probes.

“There are a number of water treatment systems on the market. Principally cartridge systems, sodium water softeners and reverse osmosis systems,” continues Carl Bjorkstrand. “Whichever system you

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choose there will be a number of factors to consider and weigh against each other – cost, effectiveness, corrosiveness of output water, waste water, taste, capacity and environmental considerations.

“At Cimbali, we favour the use of sodium water softeners because we believe they offer the best compromise of all these considerations. However, whatever system you choose, we can share with you some of our experiences when maintaining water treatment systems.”

Capacity “All systems have a defined maximum capacity and it is important to size them correctly to avoid running out of treated water or paying too much for an over specified unit. A double espresso cappuccino uses about 150ml of water which for a busy machine servicing 200 drinks per day would equate to only 30 litres per day. But be careful – water usage could 50% higher than this if you take into account water for Americanos, tea and machine cleaning,” cautions Carl Bjorkstrand.

“We have even found cases where staff are using the coffee machine hot water to fill buckets for floor cleaning! In order to know exactly how much water is being dispensed by a coffee machine it is vital to fit a water meter. We recommend individual water meters for each machine that are non-resettable and count up because the water usage history is never lost.”

Water hardness “It is surprising how many people do not test the hardness of the water entering their coffee machine,” adds Carl Bjorkstrand.

“There are some regions of the UK that do not have hard water such as the Lake District and Scotland and if you are happy with the taste and odour of the local supply, save some money and do not fit a water treatment system.”

Installation “Often water treatment systems are located at the back of an under counter cupboard and are soon are obscured by cleaning materials, paper cups, ingredients and so on. It then is all too easy to forget about routine exchanges and maintenance,” Carl Bjorkstrand continues.

“It is also worth reviewing water treatment for the whole operation. It makes sense to consolidate the water supply to all machines that require scale-free water such as dishwashers, steam ovens and water boilers.”

Systems “Scheduling service and maintenance is vital. It is not unusual to service the water treatment system every six months or so.

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WATER With such a long gap between each visit it can be difficult to incorporate this in the daily operating routine of a business. Water treatment should have the same status in the business diary as significant events like boiler inspections and equipment preventative maintenance visits. It is all too easy to forget about water treatment service because the damage being done by scale is unseen until it is too late,” Carl Bjorkstrand concludes.

The key to good tea “Water, equipment, presentation and the grade of tea are all essential ingredients in the perfect cup. Get all these right and you have a winning formula,” says Ahmed Rahim, CEO of Numi Organic Teas.

“The ideal type of water for tea is spring water, which contains some minerals.

Distilled water should always be avoided.

Filtered tap water is the next best thing for allowing the flavours to develop. If you have to use tap water allow it to sit for a few hours so the heavier impurities can settle to the bottom and then use only the top half.

Only heat the water to just below the boiling point. Tea is delicate so you do not want to shock the leaves and damage the taste by having the water temperature too high.

“Glass or porcelain pots and cups make for the best presentation and give the best drinking experience. For the best flavours you need to look at high-end premium teas.

These can be steeped for longer and allow deeper, complex flavours to develop without the bitterness that comes with lower grade tea.”

Quooker (www.quooker.co.uk) the originator of the 100°C boiling water tap, says that it has recently toasted a new collaboration with independent, multi-award winning tea business We Are Tea (www.wearetea.com) in the only appropriate manner – over a piping hot cuppa.

Stephen Johnson, managing director of Quooker UK, teamed up with We Are Tea founder Darren Spence at the recent Home London show at Earl’s Court, agreeing to work in collaboration at exhibitions and on joint marketing activity this year to promote both the great British cup of tea and the importance of serving it using 100°C boiling water.

The two were present at the ‘Geezer bar’, a tea-bar cum exhibition stand being manned jointly at shows throughout the UK

by Quooker and the team from British designer Nick Munro (www.nickmunro.com), whose range includes contemporary tea and coffee pots.

“Having your water boiling is the only way to make the perfect cup of tea. The quality of the tea you drink deserves nothing less and, by replacing your kettle with a Quooker, not only are you improving

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the quality of what you drink, you are also improving your energy efficiency and water consumption and minimising the risk of accidents from kettles,” says Stephen Johnson, MD of Quooker UK. “Around 165 million cups of tea are drunk in the UK every day and many of them are not made as well as they should be. For black tea, water should always be boiling at the moment of impact and it’s always best to use water that has been freshly boiled as the Quooker provides,” adds Daren Spence.

The Geezer bar showcases both Nick Munro designs and a Quooker Fusion tap, part of Quooker’s Nordic range, plus a second Quooker boiling water tap which the partners believe will be needed to keep up with the demand for hot drinks (We Are Tea’s loose leaf teas are available as 50g or 100g refill packets or 50g or 100g reusable tea caddies as well as its biodegradable

whole-leaf teabags. Its range includes a wide variety of black, oolong, green, white, infusion and super teas).

Daren Spence, managing director, We Are Tea (left) with Quooker UK managing director Stephen Johnson at the recent Home London show at Earl’s Court.

A reverse osmosis-based solution With a SGLP2 –BL Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System from diversified technology company, 3M, it could be potentially possible to save thousands of pounds a year on scalerelated maintenance and equipment replacement costs, claim the company.

Their Reverse Osmosis filtration System provides two water qualities for specialty coffee and flash steam applications, which means that only one filtration is required for all the back-of-house catering equipment typically found in a professional kitchen – from steamers and combi ovens to ice machines, bulk coffee brewers and espresso machines, say 3M. Needless to say, these are all often expensive pieces of equipment to buy and maintain, so the elimination of multiple filtration units presents significant cost and time savings.

“When water is heated or converted into steam, it leaves impurities behind, such as hardness minerals. These impurities cling to the solid

surfaces they come into contact with, and over time, can build up and cause problems, such as increased downtime, inefficient operation causing higher energy costs and unsightly hard scale build up,” explains Katherine Barnicoat, senior marketing executive at 3M Purufication.

“The SGLP2 Water Filtration System works by forcing raw water under pressure through microscopic pores in the synthetic membrane. At the same time, larger dissolved solids and heavy molecular weight contaminants are continually flushed away as reject water. Filtered water travels between the double-sided membrane until it reaches a centre core, which then delivers the product water to the equipment or storage tanks. Minerals may be added into the water for recipe-quality taste, while straight reverse osmosis water can be fed to a steamer oven.”

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softly softly The market “According to Nielsen, the overall soft drinks market is worth £1.7 billion. In the ‘Drink Now’ category, sports and energy drinks account for 38.6% of the overall market, Colas 20.3%, flavoured carbonates 14.0%, juice 9.9%, water 10.7% and ‘good for me’ 3.1%. Soft drinks within the impulse channel are in growth at +3.5% and sales of soft drinks run at about three times those of crisps/snacks,” observes Joanne Sexton, procurement manager at food and beverage procurement company, Acquire Services.

“With regard to Acquire’s customers, the market is dominated by CCE and Britvic. The top selling CCE products being Coke Classic, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke and Fanta and for Britvic they are Pepsi, Juicy Drench, Tango and 7Up. Amongst other products Lipton Ice Tea is showing 75% growth year on year, and Mountain Dew (+28%) is also performing well albeit from a smaller base.”

Health is now a key driver of soft drink sales growth, report Acquire, with health as the main reason for people choosing a drink having doubled in 15 years, claim the firm. Research also suggests that buying a healthy drink is four times more important to consumers than it was eight years ago. In recent years there has also been an increasing demand for healthier soft drinks with many manufacturers reducing sugar content and taking out additives accordingly.

“The general trend in the market is towards energy drinks and these are set to overtake colas in the general market before too long,” Joanne Sexton continues. “Early on, athletes were the primary target but today the majority of energy drinks are targeted at teenagers and young adults (18-34) due to this generation’s on-the-go lifestyle and receptiveness to advertisements for these products.

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From rivalling the alcoholic beverages of pubs and casual dining outlets, to providing a reliable source of healthy options, a café’s soft drinks menu needs careful attention. It can be used to reflect the style, consumer base and regional location of your business, whether that be in the form of a commitment to some of the big brands, or local sourcing.

“The popularity of energy drinks among the younger generation was evidenced early on by 34% of 18 to 24-yolds being regular energy drink users (Mintel 2009). The marketing and branding of energy drinks reflects the market these companies are targeting and also explains why they use crosspromotional tactics to reach their consumer base. These tactics would include integrating their product with extreme sporting events as well as advertising their products in connection with popular music icons.

“The target market for energy drinks is broadening, however, as new products are developed in an effort to reach niche sub-markets and differentiate themselves from their competition. Such sub-markets include energy drinks just for woman, body-builders and extreme sports enthusiasts. Other energy drinks are targeted toward athletes such as Lucozade Sport and Revenge Sport which play up their advertised ability to increase physical performance and reduce fatigue in high-endurance sports.

Others promote the unique qualities that make them stand out from the rest such as being all natural, organic, or glutenfree, as well as diabetic or vegetarian friendly.”

“Soft drinks are increasingly popular as a means to diversify menus in a simple and cost effective way. They also appeal to a wider audience, from young children through to seniors. Therefore to stay competitive, cafés must offer a wide A Soda Splash.

range of soft drinks that suit customers of all ages and entice them inside,” adds Steph Goldie, brand manager for DaVinci Gourmet.

“Capitalising on customers’ desire to try new flavours is important. 60% of consumers want to see new flavours and try new drinks every 60 days; therefore rotating a menu helps cafés meet this expectation.

“Over the last few years, milkshakes and smoothies have grown in popularity and are now essential items on drinks menus. Milkshakes have infinite taste combinations and for example, operators can blend DaVinci Gourmet sauces (available in Chocolate, White Chocolate, Caramel and Strawberry), with milk and ice cream for a rich, creamy shake.

For extra excitement, add crushed biscuits, sprinkles, whipped cream or DaVinci Gourmet desserts sauces, and give the shake a suitable name with tasting notes. This will allow cafés to charge a premium for these beverages.”

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New ways to serve “Smoothies offer a refreshing alternative to traditional soft drinks and DaVinci Gourmet Smoothie Mix simply blended with ice can be combined with flavoured syrups to create unique beverages,” suggests Steph Goldie. “A smoothie recipe which has great flavour as well as visual appeal is the Peach Sunset Smoothie. Using DaVinci Gourmet Peach Smoothie Mix, drizzle DaVinci Gourmet Grenadine syrup over the top creates a sunset effect. Also garnish smoothies with fresh fruit or drizzle sauces around the glass before serving to create extra charm.”

“It is crucial for any outlet to stock a well-rounded range of soft drinks, juices and smoothies if they intend on attracting a variety of custom,” agrees Guy Cooper, managing director at drinks equipment company, Mitchell & Cooper.

“Juicing in particular is a huge trend in the market right now, and running parallel is a significant shift in consumer attitudes, which has seen consumers take favour with nutritious produce over more calorific counterpart snacks and meals, as well as undertaking more physical activity. In effect, the health benefits of smoothies and juices are becoming increasingly attractive to today’s consumers, and in turn, this

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market has becoming increasingly attractive to operators across the UK. When your offering is advantageous to your clientele, you’re instantly thought of as customer-conscious.”

By using juicing equipment that preserves the quality of the nutrients in the fruit and vegetables, operators can promote their menu as one which can provide the ultimate health kick, feel Mitchell & Cooper, who point out that their Omega Masticating Juicer from Bonzer (www.bonzer.co.uk), for example, is a super-efficient piece of equipment that uses a Low Speed Juicing System to produce the healthiest juice possible from the fruit and vegetables you want to juice.

“Well-presented creations will effectively increase sales, too,” adds Guy Cooper. “The Bonzer Zip Zester, for instance, has been designed to remove the zest from a variety of fruits quickly and easily, utilising a precise and delicate process that preserves the skin’s natural oils. Use the Big Twist Blade to create ribbons of colour, or opt for the Microblade, which is ideal for adding a citrus kick.”

To add to the authenticity of their offering, cafés should also look at adding fizz to the fruit juices they’re making, feels Guy Cooper, and which is a great way of attracting children to healthier options and appealing to their parents.

“Whilst big brand cola and lemonade drinks are popular amongst the younger generation, parents often regard them as unhealthy and therefore look for alternative options,” continues Guy Cooper. “Adding fizz to fresh fruit juice is a new way of serving soft drinks to this demographic. Simply fill a Bonzer Soda Splash with your choice of juice, shake with a CO2 charger and serve the perfect personalised beverage to a discerning young drinker. Better than just adding sparkling water to a fruit cordial, the Soda Splash adds bubbles to a range of liquids, making your offering simply unique.”

Called Frecco, a new way of delivering hot and cold beverages has been recently introduced to foodservice and hospitality operators, offering an all-natural and intensely flavoured alternative to fruit teas and cordials in a convenient and no waste format, claim the firm.

A Frecco is an individually frozen taste explosion of fruit, herbs and spices offering a premium yet affordable alternative for both the hot and cold beverage menu. They are made from all natural ingredients, carefully crushed and blended to form intensely flavoured purees. Each Frecco is then frozen in single serve portions to lock in the flavour and natural goodness, and each contains a real fruit inclusion to add visual appeal.

By just adding water, the burst of flavours and aromas are released. Served hot, they can be an alternative to fruit infusions and teas which often disappoint on taste, while served cold with ice, they are a refreshing and less sweet option to cordials or other soft drinks. Extremely versatile, they can also be also used for ‘mock-tails’, or as a base The Frecco concept helps to deliver a burst of freshness in a soft drink format.

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Thoughts on juices and smoothies from a small, local ‘indie’…

“We opened our first juice bar in Whitstable on 1 April 2011 (we wanted to choose a date to remember!), and had a great three years selling freshly-pressed fruit juices and pure-fruit smoothies there. A couple of months ago, in December, we moved five minutes up the road (literally) and opened the Whitstable Produce Store – it’s much bigger and our original juice bar fits neatly into one corner,” says Stephen Jones of Whitstable Produce in Whitstable, Kent (www.whitstableproduce.co.uk).

“We prepare all our juices and smoothies to order so don’t add stabilisers or bottle them. Alongside our own juices, we sell bottled apple juice, cider and cider vinegar from nearby Little Stour Orchard – our longeststanding suppler. We also use their apples for juice in season and buy from local people when the harvest is good.

“Focussing on juices and smoothies has given us the chance to observe some interesting changing trends over time – and now, to see whether a change in location and environment has affected what we sell. Here are some of the things we’ve observed.”

• Buying fresh juice is easier almost anywhere than it is in the UK (our American, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Russian visitors have all commented on how few places here serve fresh juice, and for cocktails, especially when it might not be practical to use expensive fresh fruit juices.

With over twelve in the range, you can choose from Wild Berry, Cranberry, Ginger & Lemon, Spiced Apple or Traditional Mulled Wine to serve hot, while flavours such as Iced Coffee, Mocha, Traditional Cloudy Lemonade and Strawberry

•

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the fact that we have specialist juice bars, whereas at home they tell us that every corner shop has its own juicer!)

Our most popular juice is undoubtedly carrot, apple and ginger, followed by orange juice.

Men love berry-based smoothies (possibly). Or (more likely) men buy the berry one because it’s the first smoothie on the list!

Men also love the mechanics of juicing. They’re the ones who want to talk about juicers, blenders and the fact that our blenders (Blendtec) can be seen on YouTube tackling chunks of wood and mobile phones. And, yes, lots of people tell us that they have juicers but washing all the parts means they don’t use them.

Most children are creatures of habit.

Once they’ve chosen a smoothie, they tend to stick to it. ‘Specials’ are for grown-ups. And unlike in many other areas, small girls don’t automatically want pink smoothies!

Green juice (for us at least) has come into its own since we moved. More veg on offer in the produce section seems to inspire people to try vegetable juice – and once they try, they love them. People who used to say “Nice? Really?” now come in daily for the veg special.

Lemonade, are a refreshing alternative, perfect served cold over crushed ice.

All drinks are available in two formats for ultimate convenience and to minimise wastage. Where individual drinks are required such as behind a bar, in a café environment, or even on an out of hours room service menu, then individually wrapped single serve portions are the

By blending organic vegetables, fruit, extra virgin olive oil, almonds, garlic and spices with mountain spring water, the essence of the healthy Mediterranean diet has been freshly captured and bottled at source in the form of recently-launched ¡Cho!, in turn responding to the growing trend for contemporary Spanish cuisine and Tapas’.

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perfect option. ‘Naked’ Freccos, or unwrapped versions are also available, and are ideal when you want to be able to quickly take as many Freccos as required, without the need for unwrapping.

“The Frecco is an exciting new development within the foodservice market, and is a totally unique concept for drinks that offers the maximum convenience with the minimum of fuss or waste,” explains Sian Ellingworth, business development director at Frecco Food & Beverage. “Made in the UK at our new state of the art factory, we have worked with our resident chef to ensure that all our recipes deliver on taste, as well as have that visual appeal by including real fruit pieces. The freezing process allows us to capture all the natural goodness and flavours of the fresh ingredients, producing an explosion of flavour that is unrivalled on the market today.”

Available from Love For Local (www.love4local.co.uk), the individually wrapped Freccos are available in boxes of 20, 40 or 100 and are priced from £0.60 per unit delivered, while the Naked Freccos are available in 1kg bags containing 40 servings, priced £21.00.

Water "When a guest visits an establishment, everything about that venue helps them to form an opinion about it. From the food, beverages to customer service this all plays a part in creating a memorable and enjoyable experience.

Out-of-home dining is not a cheap exercise and it is therefore important that café owners make the out-of-home experience unique and good value for money - and value does not necessarily mean cheap!” comments Matthew Orme, director of the branded bottled water company, Wenlock Spring.

“There is no point in cafés serving quality food and drink and then providing a retail brand of water - which may run the risk of adverse price comparisons.

Exclusivity needs to remain constant across the complete drinks category.

Provide brands that are not sold in the major multiple retailers so that guests can be served something that they would not normally enjoy at home.”

Wenlock Spring says that it is dedicated to working within the hospitality sector, being only available from delivered food and drink wholesalers and so resulting in brand exclusivity. Their presentation is contemporary yet classic, complementing modern and traditional settings, feel the company, and the water itself is

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SOFT DRINKS completely British - bottled at source in Shropshire by an independent, familyowned company.

“The glass bottles are also made from the lightest weight glass in England and caps and labels are also sourced from within the UK," points out Matthew Orme.

"Bottled water should be positioned next to carbonated drinks, within impulse chillers and next to take-away food.

Choose a brand that is on-trade specific a brand that is dedicated to your sector.

With water that is responsibly sourced, such as Wenlock Spring, the consumer can see exactly what they are paying for and know the mineral content within it.

Bottled water provides the consumer with quality of taste and freshness every time. Present your spring water with the same pride as you do with other beverages - include descriptions of the spring water on your drinks lists. If your guests are fully informed of the story and provenance behind the spring water, they are more likely to request it!”

Child-friendly "There is much discussion currently about a healthy approach to children's menus when dining out, and this extends to drinks,” says Matthew Orme. “One of the suggestions is offering tap water on arrival to children but this is unlikely to be embraced readily by operators as it removes the opportunity for a sale, with the provision of free tap water.

Supposedly free tap water, is not free to the restaurant or café as there are staff costs involved with serving, clearing and washing-up and then also the need for special child-friendly glasses (allowing for potential breakages), provision of straws - and general mess with children, glasses and straws all combined!

“If healthiness can be balanced with potential sales, operators are more likely to make steps to change. Just as parents are lobbying for children's meals to be smaller portion sizes of adult choices, the same should be true for the soft drinks

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offering. Bottled water is an integral part of the adult soft drinks range - which means that bottled water should also be a choice for children too. This is where I believe the 250ml sports cap bottle from Wenlock Spring can solve a challenge for operators. A healthy, completely sugarfree drink but still in a bottle. When dining out, children enjoy the novelty of a bottled drink. The restaurant or café still makes a sale that the parents approve of,

the child enjoys the drink and a margin is made. Often in a children's menu, whether eat-in or take away, a bottled beverage is included and water will be a cheaper option than other soft drinks allowing for increased margin on the meal offering."

Children's nutrition will be hugely important to new product development in the food and drink industry in 2014 according to 91% of respondents to an independent online survey of 148 people in the UK conducted by www.foodanddrinktowers.com, claim Happy Monkey (www.happymonkeysmoothies.com), the company behind Happy Monkey Smoothies (Strawberry & Banana and Orange & Mango) with no added sugar, no sweetners, no preservatives, no bits and 100% pure fruit.

In September 2013, the company also launched Happy Monkey Milkshakes in handy portion-sized Tetra Pak cartons (these school-approved chocolate and strawberry variants are currently sold in Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons stores nationwide and will be stocked in Tesco this year).

New launches Pret A Manger kicked off 2014 with the introduction of a host of new fresh and

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SOFT DRINKS exciting juices and snacks, including two nutritious vegetable juices and a new super smoothie. Their Green Goodness (RRP £3.49) is packed with cucumber, celery, apple, lime, ginger and spinach, and their Beet Beautiful (RRP £3.49) features beetroot, apple, carrot and ginger. Their latest Super Smoothie (RRP £3.99) is made from apple, pear, avocado, cucumber and spinach. Pret reports that it uses technology known as HPP (High Pressure Processing), which means any spoilage bacteria is removed from the freshly pressed fruit and vegetables, but all the nutrients, flavour and colour remain.

Weight Watchers® Soft Drinks began the New Year by launching a nationwide marketing drive, designed to encourage trial of the range during the ‘New Year, New You’ weight-loss resolution period.

There is a new listing for its Blackberry and Apple 500ml RTD (introduced to the drinks portfolio in July last year). Weight Watchers Soft Drinks range offers low calorie 500ml RTDs (ready to drink) in unique flavours such as Brazilian Orange, Mango and Watermelon and Blackberry and Apple, which are both available through the convenience and grocery channels. The RTDs have no added sugar and a ProPoints® value of 0 per 500ml serving, say the brand.

Fairtrade specialist, Peros (www.peros.co.uk), has developed and launched a range of fruit juices under the

Peros’s latest range of Fairtrade fruit juices.

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new brand name Truly Fruity. The whole Truly Fruit range is Fairtrade, say Peros, containing 100% natural fruit juices, as well as one of your ‘five a day’ in every bottle. There are no preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, and the bottles are 100% recyclable, add Peros. The products, which should ideally be chilled at the point of sale, also have the benefit of a long shelf-life and ambient storage.

The range comprises four flavours – Orange, Apple, Apple & Blackcurrant and Tropical - supplied in 500ml clear PET recyclable bottles in cases of 12 (two of the flavours, Orange and Apple, are also available in 330ml glass bottles, supplied in cases of 24). The juices are also available in bulk for use in dispensing machines.

Ruudz Ltd (www.ruudz.co.uk) says that it is delighted to announce the launch of Ruudz - a brewed, malt-based, non-alcoholic drink for adults based on traditional brew styles and flavoured with spicy, evocative ingredients for the more adventurous palate. 100% natural, with no alcohol and no added sugar, Ruudz offers satisfying flavour without being sweet or bland, claim the company, and also has around half the sugar of sweet soft drinks and fewer calories than beer.

The malted barley comes from Europe and the chilli, ginger and chiretta, (a native Indian herb traditionally used to stimulate digestion and liver activity, thought to boost the immune system) are all sourced from Asia. The water is

sourced from the Mendips and is bottled in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. A 330ml serving of Ruudz contains roughly 80 calories and 17g of sugar compared with 139 calories and 35 grams of sugar for the same size serving of Coke and its price is comparable to that of premium bottled beers.

Consumer interest in the energy value of milk’s high protein content and yearning for creamy indulgence in beverages has led to a growing interest in premium flavoured milks with real fruit content. UK companies have led the way with recent examples including The Lake District Dairy Company’s Frumoo strawberry & blackberry and raspberry & blueberry smoothie-style milk shakes from First Milk; Dairy Crest’s Frijj raspberry jam doughnut and honeycomb chocolate swirl milkshakes, as well as Shaken Udder with its chocolate orange milkshake.

"The Lake District Dairy Company’s Frumoo is exactly what consumers are asking for – great tasting, wholesome new flavour solutions to a category currently awash with artificial flavourings and UHT products,” says First Milk marketing director David Young.

“Consumers find Frumoo is not only refreshing to taste but, in terms of nutrition, the product is free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, as it contains fresh British milk and real fruit. We think these factors appeal to current fans of the ready to drink on-the-go drinks options, but also people who consider themselves to be

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SOFT DRINKS

more food conscious, who are looking for great-tasting, nutritious food produced sustainably."

Packaged in PET bottles from Leeds based, injection and blow moulding specialist, Esterform Packaging, parents also find that Frumoo is a great solution for kids as the 230ml bottle fits inside perfectly inside a lunchbox (in summertime Frumoo can be frozen beforehand, keeping the lunchbox cold and everything fresh).

Drinks company, Belvoir, regularly introduce new varieties to their range,

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tapping into consumer trends, such as nostalgia and ‘premiumisation’, which play to the brand’s strengths. 2014 kicked off with the launch of Elderflower Presse Light 75cl, with more new products due to launch later in the spring, say the company.

The three best sellers for Belvoir in the café sector are currently the 250ml glass bottles of elderflower pressé, raspberry lemonade and ginger beer. The success of the Belvoir ginger beer has been positively impacted by the increased popularity of alcoholic ginger beer that has had a ‘halo’ effect on regular ginger beer sales in general, report the company. Another ‘retro’ variety taking off for Belvoir is their new Cherry pressé, which launched in 2013 and is made using real pressed Morello juice and lightly sparkling Belvoir spring water (this taps into the growing trend for nostalgia and ‘favourites from your childhood’).

Belvoir (www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk) has recently launched its Elderflower pressé and Raspberry Lemonade in a 250ml

can format to cater for outlets that hanker after the Lincolnshire based company’s products but cannot stock them in glass bottles.

“For some time now we have been approached by potential customers keen to stock our brand but who are limited by not being able to accept glass bottles.

Our 250ml bottles have a quirky elegant shape that make them firm favourites of cafes and delis, however food-on-the-go operations don’t find glass the best format. We have therefore developed our lovely little can that offers convenience but with a premium feel,” says Belvoir’s MD, Pev Manners.

The complete Belvoir Fruit Farms range comprises 15 different cordial varieties, 14 different presses, two punches and two different cans, including organic and nonorganic. All are still hand produced on the family farm in Lincolnshire, say the company, and are available from wholesalers such as Peros, Café Deli, Miko Coffee, Lee & Fletcher, R&S Distributors and many more.

FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 43

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TRENDS

2014

predictions US-based researchers, Technomic (www.technomic.com), provide their clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and on-going research on all aspects of the food industry. The researchers have recently announced their ‘top ten’, US-influenced restaurant trends for 2014, as well as their expected top five UK trends for 2014.

An interesting year ahead From proteins to politics, Technomic has looked ahead into the coming year to offer insights to the future of the restaurant business, saying “keep it real and keep it local”.

Topping the list was customers’ desire to know more about what they’re eating, part of a continuing trend of increasing consumer sophistication about food in general. Pickled, fermented and sour foods are tickling tummies, snacking-and-sharing may be on the rise, and some restaurateurs in the US at least, are throwing caution to the wind and spouting off about politics, never mind the possible backlash from the other side of the partisan fence.

Technomic’s consultants and editors, who made site visits, conducted interviews with experts, surveyed operators, consumers and chefs, and evaluated the restaurant scene in cities around the U.S. Here are their top ten findings.

Convince me it's real Consumers want assurances that what they're eating is real—in every sense of the word. Today's menus describe

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items far more thoroughly, listing not only the ingredients but also where they came from and how they were prepared.

Local sourcing is more important than ever, but beyond that is the idea of being true to place; if the restaurant positions itself as authentically Italian, for instance, it must use ingredients sourced from Italy and/or prepared using authentic Italian methods.

Pushing the parameters of proteins Rising commodity costs for beef mean (of course) that chicken will be big again in 2014. However, the latest protein star is pork—appearing in regional barbecue items, in Hispanic and other ethnic fare, in charcuterie and as pulledpork sandwiches. Also getting time in the spotlight are lamb and game meats, from duck to bison. Beyond meat, look for creative center-of-the-plate egg dishes as well as vegetarian alternatives, from mushrooms to beans to soy-based products like Gardein and Chipotle's Sofritas.

Return of the carbs Starches are staging a comeback—from ramen to buckwheat noodles to pasta

made with unusual ingredients.

Rice bowls (and jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice) will be big, in part because of continued fascination with Asian fare and in part because of an association with healthfulness. Look for more in the way of flatbreads, wraps and all kinds of artisan breads, including healthy whole-grain varieties. Waffles as a base or side make traditional savory items like chicken seem edgy.

Creamy, cheesy, high-fat goodness The demand for healthier eating is real, but so is the backlash. We'll see even more cheese melts, pasta with creamy sauces, fried appetizers and sides, and oddities like doughnut-based sandwiches.

Don't take super-indulgent items too seriously, though; outrageous LTOs like Wendy's nine-patty burger are crafted more for social-media buzz than for eating.

Pucker up Forays into less-familiar ethnic cuisines, from Korean to Scandinavian, are partly responsible for growing interest in pickled, fermented and sour foods. Korean kimchi as well as pickled onion, jalapeño, ginger,

radish and more are showing up everywhere from ethnic eateries to burger joints. On the beverage menu, the trend is seen in sour cocktails as well as new flavour combinations with sour notes—a reaction to last year's candy-sweet drinks.

Day for night Consumers are less likely to eat according to a three-squaremeals schedule; they nosh, skip meals, eat breakfast for dinner and vice versa. More restaurants are introducing innovative breakfast items— like chicken, turkey or steak breakfast sandwiches or superspicy wraps with chipotle or Sriracha—often available all day. And while breakfast-andlunch-only concepts are building a niche, other operators are promoting latenight breakfast menus, often in conjunction with 24-hour drivethru service.

Every daypart is a snack daypart As the snacking lifestyle goes mainstream, diners are paradoxically less interested in snack menus per se.

Millennials see dollar and dollar-plus menus as the snack menu. LSRs are paying more attention to snack-size

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TRENDS handhelds and car-friendly packaging; they're also stepping up their game with grab-and-go or market-style offerings. As FSR customers move away from meat-andpotatoes meals, operators are catering to the snacking-andsharing ethos with pairings, trios and flights from all parts of the menu—from soup trios to beer samplers to retro popsicle-flight desserts.

aware that the personal is political—that their choices and those of the restaurants they patronize regarding food, treatment of employees and suppliers, sustainability and the environment have real consequences. Consciously or unconsciously, they will gravitate to concepts that share their worldview, and some restaurants will promote this cultural identification.

On tap Tap technology is revolutionising the beverage world: barrel-stored coldbrewed coffee that can be sent through repurposed beer taps, facilitating a new kind of coffee bar; soda-water taps that allow chefs to create their own fruity soft drinks; wine-on-tap tasting stations in high-end supermarkets; keg-wine bar concepts and retrofits; RFIDcard-controlled self-serve beertap walls at high-tech pubs.

And in the UK? The UK foodservice scene continues evolving in unique and interesting ways, feel Technomic who, looking forward to this year, have identified five key trends that they expect to play major roles in British restaurants.

For fast service, bring your own device The fast-casual service model has hit a hiccup: customers specifying every ingredient in their burrito or sandwich make for a slow service line.

Operators in every segment are finding new ways to use technology for faster, more accurate ordering. iPad orders placed tableside will be a point of differentiation for a few tech leaders, but we'll primarily see a bring-your-own-device system of advance and insidethe-restaurant ordering—as well as more customer feedback and interactive conversations. In the back of the house, increased use of iPad communication will make new menu items easier to roll out.

Everything is political Deliberately or inadvertently, restaurant operators got caught up in political controversy as never before in 2013. Some suffered customer backlash after expressing views related to Obamacare, "family values" or other topics, but others saw increased traffic.

Consumers are increasingly

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Catering to the millennial customer As the influence and collective spending power of UK's millennial generation grows, expect to see restaurant operators amplify efforts to target these consumers via foods and brands that appeal more directly to a millennial demographic. Also watch for new mobile apps and digital tools that integrate seamlessly into millennials' lifestyle, as well as shifts in restaurants' service formats, menus, atmosphere and overall dining experience to align with the key values, preferences and expectations of millennials.

The evolution of pubs Classic British pubs will push even harder in 2014 to transform and grab market share from conventional restaurants by focusing more attention on creating upscale, premium food and drink (particularly speciality coffee and American craft beer), launching repositioned outlets in non-traditional sites, introducing web-enabled ordering systems that emphasise convenience and speed of service for guests and promoting low-price-oriented menus and new loyalty programmes designed to spur customer traffic and strengthen the value perception.

Honest chicken Thanks in part to the recent crop of "better chicken" concepts opening in London, emerging chicken-focused concepts will flourish in 2014, a trend closely tied to growing consumer interest in sourcing, preparation and menu transparency. Expect to see chicken increasingly described as "free-range," "locally sourced" and "handbattered." We'll also see more American influences in the form of barbecue chicken and buttermilk fried chicken, as well as simpler cooking techniques that let the quality of the chicken speak for itself.

Migration of street food Fuelled by younger consumers' demand for authentic and unique offerings, chefs are looking to global street foods for menu inspiration for their brick-andmortar restaurants. Trendy street-inspired dishes starring on menus include Venezuelan arepas, Chinese jian bing and

“

bao, Taiwanese hirata buns and Italian arancini. Ethnic beverages like Mexican aguas frescas and horchata will carve out a wider niche on the menu. Also watch for dynamic flavour mashups from different cuisines and the continued growth of food trucks serving ethnic and fusion street foods.

Telling the sourcing story Transparency is now top-ofmind for operators who want to keep customers confident in their brand. Use of ecofriendly food packaging, such as recycled or reusable cups or stemware, is increasing along with a growing commitment to ethical food sourcing. Next year will bring a surge in brand campaigns communicating quality and traceability. Watch for package logos denoting animal welfare standards, in-restaurant signs documenting supplier sourcing, and marketing initiatives focusing on the use of British and Irish products.

As someone who has spent time researching their new café (opening soon) I was very impressed with the information provided by the Café Society. They also made some good connections for us and it was certainly worthwhile joining in advance of opening.

Their on-line Hygiene training course was just what we needed to open fully trained.

Pauline Hennessy Croydon

”

tel: 01291 636333 web: www.thecafelife.co.uk/cc57

FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 45

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NEW PRODUCTS Garden Centre restaurant blossoms with Adande® refrigerated drawer systems Adande® has supplied two refrigerated double drawer systems to Stooks Café in Newbridge Nurseries’ garden centre near Horsham.

The 140 seat restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, serving over 2,500 covers per week. It caters for visitors to the garden centre as well as being recognised as a dining destination, in its own right.

The café is renowned for its high quality sandwiches and patisserie.

One Adande® drawer unit is used for the chilled storage of raw fish in one drawer and ingredients for main dishes in the other. The second has a

Golden accolades for Snowbird team

chilled drawer for salad storage, with the other drawer configured as a blast chiller for the rapid refrigeration of bulk pre-prepared food, including risotto (call 0844 376 0023 or visit www.adande.com).

Hot on the heels of their acquisition of Snowbird foods, the joint managing directors of the company, Albert McGovern (left) and Philip Paul (right) are seen celebrating success along with long serving sales director Roy Anderson (pictured centre).

The company has won no less than seven awards, including four golds, in two prestigious BPex competitions.

“A BPex gold is always a

hugely important accolade to win because the standards are so high so to collect four golds in one year is a tremendous acchievement for the Snowbird team,” said sales director Roy Anderson.

This continues a run of success which saw Snowbird collect no less than 14 awards in 2011 and 2012 (call 020 8805 9222 or visit www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk).

New surface cleaning spray is top for hospitality industry Relay Spray, a new antibacterial spray designed by Eves specifically for the relaying of table tops during service, has been launched Supplied ready to use in a 1ltr trigger spray bottle, it has been formulated to be gentle on the lacquer used on contract wooden table tops, helping to ensure the longevity of hospitality furniture. The new spray does not cause tables to become tacky to the touch when sanitised like other disinfectants on the market.

Nicola Sutcliffe, Sales Manager at

Eves, said: “The surface spray solution can be used on all front of house surfaces and is recommended by contract furniture manufacturers as the best antibacterial spray to be kind to wood, whilst ensuring that your table tops remain in tip top condition.”

Call 01953 499919 or visit www.evesiha.com.chilled drawer for salad storage, with the other drawer configured as a blast chiller for the rapid refrigeration of bulk pre-prepared food, including risotto (call 0844 376 0023 or visit www.adande.com).

Ayrshire College chooses QED Continental coffee shop system for new café at Ayr campus Quality Equipment Distributors (QED), based in Glasgow, is a leading UK designer and supplier of modular bar, coffee shop and food service equipment, with a large selection of contemporary and classic module styles for catering and retail environments.

The company was recently appointed to supply a complete coffee shop system for the newly opened café at the Ayr

46 FEBRUARY 2014

CAFÉ CULTURE

campus of Ayrshire College. The design was chosen to be in

harmony with the college’s contemporary décor, with a ‘Pur

Metal’ laminated finish and dark granite worktops.

The college selected the Decoration O design from QED’S exclusive Continental Coffee Shop System. This includes bar modules, refrigerated serve-over counters, back bar shelving and storage, with provisions for coffee machines, sinks and dishwashers (call 0141 779 9503 or visit www.qualityequipment.co.uk).

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NEW PRODUCTS

Hot water for energyconscious caterers Catering outlets concerned about energy costs impacting on the bottom line would be advised to review their current hot water provision. Getting rid of a wasteful and costly hot water storage system could make a significant impact to running costs, with the potential of saving up to 30% on fuel bills, when replaced by a technologically advanced Rinnai Infinity condensing continuous flow gas fired water heater system.

This especially impacts on kitchen use where there is a continual demand for hot water throughout the day – and often well into the night.

According to Rinnai UK, this is only method that can ensure cost effective hot water, whenever it is needed and

Sausage successes with premium seasonings that will never run out, and that guarantees to save a business thousands of pounds in energy and water usage over its lifetime along with a myriad of unrivalled benefits to the end user (call 01928 531870 or visit www.rinnaiuk.com).

One of the UK’s leading flavours houses has helped three sausage makers to achieve success in annual competitions.

Serial winners Solent Butchers collected a magnificent seven BPex awards after collaborating with Essex-based family seasonings company Unbar Rothon on an expanded range of sausages. Three of the awards were gold – for the best innovative sausage and for both speciality and traditional pork sausages (silver certificates went to two

healthy eating pork sausages and for traditional Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausages).

Further joint development is now taking place, based on Unbar’s new premium Butchers Pride range of seasonings, as Portsmouthbased Solent seeks to produce even better bangers.

Unbar general manager Richard Rothon has also celebrated the success of another customer in winning “Britain’s Best Sausage” competition (call 01277 632211 or visit www.unbarrothon.co.uk).

Making its mark – Benders cracks the (QR) code

C-vis™ microwaveable tray and lid - a breakthrough in combination packaging Innovative food packaging solutions provider, Colpac, has enhanced its C-vis™ combination packaging with the addition of a microwaveable lid to its microwaveable tray.

The C-vis™ tray and new lid, both fully microwaveable, are complemented by a new range of compartment inserts that allow you to split the tray in two, three or four sections. This makes them perfectly suitable for catering, ready meals or

48 FEBRUARY 2014

CAFÉ CULTURE

meals on wheels. This packaging offers up to six days shelf life depending on the food content and a M.A.P. (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) option is available.

C-vis™ offers other competitive advantages such as excellent visibility of the product, stackability for enhanced merchandising and display and branding options on the outer tray (visit www.colpac.co.uk or call 01525 712 261).

As the first paper cup manufacturer in Europe to print QR codes, Wrexhambased Benders Paper Cups has firmly positioned itself as a leader and innovator when it comes to quality printing.

With QR coding being the latest extension of this, the company is now providing a means for both vending and catering clients to enter into immediate dialogue with their customers using this flexible, current method of communication which is highly relevant to today’s fast-paced ‘technology savvy’ market.

Custom print and QR codes are available across the whole of Benders’

product range including its standard single wall vending cups. Using state-of-the-art printing technology, the company prints with waterbased inks to reduce harmful effects to the environment (call 01978 855661 or visit www.benders.co.uk).

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FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 49

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Café Product Index Advisory & ConsultAnCy serviCes Factory Grote Company Planete Pain FSC Zafron Foods Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s Food Safety ALS Food & Pharmaceutical Intertek Stoke Food Industry Technomic Inc. Market Research Technomic Inc. Retail FSC The Cardinal Group Software Spoonfed Training Publications The Cardinal Group BAkery ProduCts Morning Goods Chiltern Bakeries Patisserie Chiltern Bakeries Total Foodservice Ltd. Viennoiserie Planete Pain Tortilla & Wraps Mission Foods Santa Maria Foodservice BreAd & rolls Fresh Chiltern Bakeries Delice de France Total Foodservice Ltd. Speciality Delice de France Mission Foods Planete Pain Santa Maria Foodservice Total Foodservice Ltd. Bread Making Ingredients Beacon Foods EDME Ltd. Rank Hovis The Cheese Cellar Total Foodservice Ltd. Flour EDME Ltd. Butter & sPreAds Butter Southover Food Company Ltd. Spreads Arla Foods UK The Cheese Cellar Spreads (olive) Leathams Cheese & dAiry ProduCts Cheese Arla Foods UK Bel UK Ltd. Caterers Choice Ltd. Joseph Heler Ltd. Leathams Norseland Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd. The Cheese Cellar Total Foodservice Ltd. Sour Cream Santa Maria Foodservice CleAning MAteriAls Bunzl Catering Supplies Byotrol Total Foodservice Ltd.

50 FEBRUARY 2014

Clothing & Workwear Lands’ End Corporate & Teamwear Chutneys & relishes Chutneys Beacon Foods Food Network Geeta’s Foods Ltd. Leathams Pettigrews Southover Food Company Ltd. The English Provender Co The Ingredients Factory Total Foodservice Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Relishes Beacon Foods Leathams Pettigrews Southover Food Company Ltd The Cheese Cellar The English Provender Co The Ingredients Factory Total Foodservice Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Pickles Food Network Geeta’s Foods Ltd. Leathams Pettigrews Southover Food Company Ltd The English Provender Co The Ingredients Factory Total Foodservice Ltd. Salsa Beacon Foods Santa Maria Foodservice Zafron Foods Ltd. dressings, sAuCes And MAyonnAise Dips Beacon Foods Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Santa Maria Foodservice The English Provender Co The Ingredients Factory Zafron Foods Ltd. Mayonnaise Caterers Choice Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Piquant The Cheese Cellar The English Provender Co Total Foodservice Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Mustards Southover Food Company Ltd. The English Provender Co Total Foodservice Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Sauces & Ketchups Beacon Foods Caterers Choice Piquant Santa Maria Foodservice Southover Food Company Ltd. The English Provender Co The Ingredients Factory Total Foodservice Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. drinks Juices Caterers Choice Leathams Little Bigshot Southover Food Company Ltd. Total Foodservice Ltd. eggs & egg ProduCts Eggs (hard boiled) Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Fridays Southover Food Company Ltd. Egg Products Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Fridays Leathams Southover Food Company Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd.

CAFÉ CULTURE

equiPMent & vehiCles Buttering Machinery Deighton Manufacturing Grote Company Combi-Ovens Bradshaw Group Conveyors Deighton Manufacturing Grote Company Cutting & Slicing Equipment Grote Company Depositing Machinery Grote Company Labelling Systems & Barcoding GW Thompson Ltd. Planglow Ltd. Microwaves Bradshaw Group Mobile Catering Vehicles Jiffy Trucks Ltd. Sandwich Making Machinery Deighton Manufacturing Grote Company Fish ProduCts Anchovies Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Mackerel Food Network Prawns CP Foods Southover Food Company Ltd. Zafron Foods Ltd. Salmon Caterers Choice Food Network John West Foods Ltd Leathams Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd. Sardines Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Tuna Caterers Choice Food Network John West Foods Ltd. Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd. Universal Meats Zafron Foods Ltd. Fruit Canned Fruit Total Foodservice Ltd. General Beacon Foods Food Network Southern Salads The Ingredients Factory Guacamole Leathams Santa Maria Foodservice Pineapple Beacon Foods Caterers Choice Food Network Freshcut Foods Ltd Martin Mathew & Co insurAnCe ICB Group MeAt ProduCts Bacon Food Network Gierlinger GbmH Leathams TMI Foods ZMI Tillman’s Beef Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Food Network Leathams Sam Browne Foods Southover Food Company Ltd.

Universal Meats ZMI Tillman’s Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Canned Meat Total Foodservice Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s Chicken 2 Sisters Food Group Charcuterie Continental Ltd. CP Foods Kookaburra Leathams Sam Browne Foods Southover Food Company Ltd. TMI Foods Universal Meats Westbridge Foods Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Continental Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Leathams Southover Food Company Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s Duck 2 Sisters Food Group CP Foods Food Network Sam Browne Foods Universal Meats Westbridge Foods Ltd. Ham Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Food Network Leathams Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s Lamb Sam Browne Foods Marinated Meats Food Network Kookaburra Meatballs Food Network Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd. Pork Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Food Network Leathams Sam Browne Foods Southover Food Company TMI Foods ZMI Tillman’s Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Sausages Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Food Network Leathams Snowbird foods Southover Food Company ZMI Tillman’s Zwanenberg Food UK Ltd Turkey 2 Sisters Food Group Charcuterie Continental Ltd. Kookaburra Leathams Sam Browne Foods Southover Food Company Westbridge Foods Ltd. ZMI Tillman’s lABels Bunzl Catering Supplies Piroto Labelling Ltd. Planglow Ltd. oils Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Total Foodservice Ltd. orgAniC ProduCts Beacon Foods EDME Ltd. Fridays Leathams Southover Food Company Ltd. The English Provender Co Ltd.

PACkAging Cardboard 4 Aces Ltd. Colpac Ltd. St Neots Packaging Ltd. Disposable 4 Aces Ltd. Bunzl Catering Supplies Colpac Ltd. St Neots Packaging Ltd. Food wraps Tri-Star Packaging Supplies Ltd. Plastic 4 Aces Ltd. Tri-Star Packaging Supplies Ltd. Sandwich Packs Colpac Ltd. St Neots Packaging Ltd. Tri-Star Packaging Supplies Ltd. PAstA Caterers Choice Food Network Freshcut Foods Ltd Leathams Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Southover Food Company Ltd sAndwiCh Fillings (reAdy PrePAred) Fresh Fillings 2 Sisters Food Group Beacon Foods Freshcut Foods Ltd Fresh-Pak Chilled Foods Fridays Southover Food Company Ltd. The Cheese Cellar Zafron Foods Ltd. Frozen Fillings 2 Sisters Food Group Beacon Foods souPs Leathams Southover Food Company Ltd vegetABles & herBs Canned Vegetables Food Network Total Foodservice Ltd. Chargrilled Vegetables Beacon Foods Food Network Freshcut Foods Ltd. Leathams Herbs & Spices Beacon Foods Santa Maria Foodservice Total Foodservice Ltd. Jalapenos Beacon Foods Food Network Santa Maria Foodservice sAlAd Freshcut Foods Ltd. Hazeldene Southern Salads Ltd. Salad (prepared) Freshcut Foods Ltd Hazeldene Southover Food Company Ltd Southern Salads Ltd. Sundried Tomatoes Beacon Foods Leathams Plc Martin Matthew & Co Ltd. Sweetcorn Beacon Foods Caterers Choice Food Network Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Universal Meats Tomatoes Beacon Foods Caterers Choice Food Network Martin Mathew & Co Ltd. Southern Salads Ltd.

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Café Manufacturers & Distributors 2 sisters Food grouP 3 Godwin Road, Earlstrees Industrial Estate, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 4DS Contact: Richard Simpson Tel: 01246 414651 Fax: 01536 409 050 richard.simpson@2sfg.com www.2sistersfoodgroup.com

FreshwAy Chilled Foods Stafford Court, Stafford Road, Wolverhampton WV10 7EL Contact: Mr Alan Wright Tel: 01902 783666 Fax: 01902 781141

greenCore Food to go ltd – BroMley By Bow Prologis Park, Twelvetrees Crescent, London E3 3JG Tel: 0207 536 8000 Fax: 0207 536 0790 Contact: Richard Esau richard.esau@greencore.com www.greencore.com

info@freshway-

on A roll sAndwiCh CoMPAny Unit 2 Easter Park, Barton Road, Riverside Park Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough TS2 1RY Contact: James Stoddart Tel: 01642 707090 Fax: 01642 243858 jstoddart@onarollsandwich.co.uk www.onarollsandwich.co.uk

foods.co.uk Adelie Foods grouP ltd 2 The Square, Southall Lane, Heathrow UB2 5NH Contact: David Guy Tel: 020 85711967 david.guy@adeliefoods.co.uk www.adeliefoods.co.uk

ginsters ltd 83 Tavistock Rd, Callington Cornwall PL17 7XG Contact: Chris Parkinson Tel: 01579 386 200

AnChor CAtering liMited Kent Office: Unit 2, Wotton Trading Estate, Wotton Road Ashford, TN23 6LL London Office: Global House, 21 Lombard Road SW19 3TZ Contact: Mark Leigh Tel: 01233 665533 Fax: 01233 665588 Mobile: 07966 664 408 mail@anchorcatering.co.uk www.anchorcatering.co.uk

Fax: 01579 386 240 chris.parkinson@ginsters.co.uk www.ginsters.com

greenCore Food to go ltd PArk royAl Willen Field Rd, Park Royal, London NW10 7AQ Contact: Clare Rees Tel: 0208 956 6000 Fax: 0208 956 6060

BrAdgAte BAkery Beaumont Leys, Leicester, LE4 1WX Contact: Clare Keers Tel: 0116 2361100 Fax: 0116 2361101 clare.keers@bradgate-bakery.co.uk

FreshwAys ltd.

IDA Industrial Park, Poppintree, Finglas, Dublin, Ireland Contact: Thomas Kiely Tel: 00353 18648000 Fax: 00353 18644033 www.freshways.ie

hAlAl kitChen ltd.

93/95Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1FN Contact: Sohel Patel Tel: 0161 773 7788 Fax: 0161 773 7799 sohel@expresscuisine.co.uk www.expresscuisine.co.uk

clare.rees@greencore.com www.greencore.com

greenCore Food to go ltd – MAnton wood Manton Wood Enterprise Zone, Retford Road, Manton, Worksop, Notts, S80 2RS Contact: Andrew Wilcox-Jones Tel: 01909 512600 Fax: 01909 512708 www.greencore.com

iMPress sAndwiChes (The Good Food Company) Units 4-5a, Horton Road Industrial Estate, Horton Road, West Drayton Middlesex, UB7 8JL Contact: Andrew Pocock Tel: 01895 440123 Fax: 01895 441123 andrew@impress-sandwiches.com www.impress-sandwiches.com love Bites ltd.

Granary Court, Eccleshill, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD2 2EF Contact: Richard Smith Tel: 01274 627000 Fax: 01274 627627 richard@love-bites.co.uk www.love-bites.co.uk Melton Foods 3 Samworth Way, Leicester Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 1GA Contact: Michelle Sanders Tel: 01664 484400 Fax: 01664 484401

the BrunCh Box sAndwiCh CoMPAny Unit H2, Dundonald Enterprise Park, Carrowreagh Road, Dundonald, Belfast BT6 1QT Contact: John Weatherup Tel: 028 90 486888 Fax: 028 90 485486 john@thebrunchbox.com the sAndwiCh

rAynor Foods Farrow Road, Widford Industrial Estate, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3TH Contact: Heather Raynor Tel: 01245 353249 Fax: 01245 347889 sales@sandwiches.uk.net www.sandwiches.uk.net

s&l CAtering Units N and P, Shaw Business Park, Silver Street, Huddersfield, HD5 9AE Contact: Simon Shaw Tel: 01484 304 401 Fax: 01484 304 402 simon.shaw@slcatering.co.uk www.slcatering.com

FACtory Carlyon Rd Ind. Est, Atherstone, Warwickshire CV9 1LQ Contact: Steve Matthew Tel: 01827 719 100 Fax: 01827 719 101 steve.matthew@tsfl.co.uk www.thesandwichfactory.ltd.uk

the soho sAndwiCh CoMPAny Unit 417 Union Walk, Hackney, London E2 8HP Contact: Daniel Silverston Tel: 0203 058 1245 Fax: 0207 739 1166

tAsties oF Chester ltd Prince William Avenue, Sandycroft, Flintshire, CH5 2QZ Contact: Richard Brown Tel: 01244 533 888 Fax: 01244 533 404 enquiries@tasties.co.uk www.tasties.co.uk

dan@sohosandwich.co.uk www.sohosandwich.co.uk

michelle.sanders@meltonfoods.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2014 CAFÉ CULTURE 51

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Café Suppliers Index 2 sisters Food grouP Leechmere Industrial Estate, Toll Bar Road, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear SR2 9TE Contact: Bill Anderson Tel: 0191 521 3323 Fax: 0191 521 0652 bill.anderson@2sfg.com www.2sistersfoodgroup.com 4 ACes ltd.

Units 11&12 Mead Lane Industrial Estate, Merchant Drive, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 7BH Contact: Lucy Hodgkins Tel: 01992 535774 Fax: 01992 507596 lucy@4acesltd.com www.4acesltd.com Als Food & PhArMACeutiCAl Tappers Building Sands Mill, Huddersfield Road Mirfield, West Yorkshire WF14 9DQ Contact: Nigel Richards Tel: 01924 499776 Fax: 01924 499731 nigel.richards@alsglobal.com ArlA Foods uk 4 Savannah Way, Leeds Valley Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS10 1AB Contact: Dawn Reid Tel: 0845 600 6688 Fax: 01454 252300 customerrelations@arlafoods.com www.arlafoods.co.uk

BrAdshAw grouP Bradshaw Building, 173 Kenn Road, Clevedon, Bristol BS21 6LH Contact: John Marks Tel: 01275 343000 johnm@bradshaw.co.uk www.bradshaw.co.uk Bunzl CAtering suPPlies Epsom Chase, 1 Hook Road, Epsom, Surrey KT19 8TY Contact: Steve Dring Tel: 01372 734293 steve.dring@bunzl.co.uk Byotrol teChnology ltd.

Vanguard House Keckwick Lane, Daresbury WA4 4AB Ciontact: Gary Hilton Tel: 01925 742000 Fax: 01925 742029 ghilton@byotrol.com www.byotrol.com

CAterers ChoiCe ltd Parkdale House, 1 Longbow Close, Pennine Business Park Bradley, Huddersfield HD2 1GQ Contact: Sarah Booth Tel 01484 532666 Fax 01484 532700 sarah@catererschoice.co.uk www.catererschoice.co.uk

Chiltern BAkeries ltd Southam Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 2RE Contact: Claire Marshall Tel: 01295 227600 Fax: 01295 271430 claire.marshall@flbltd.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA

david.barker@englishprovender.com

ColPAC ltd Enterprise Way, Maulden Road, Flitwick, Bedfordshire MK45 5BW Contact: Rebecca Beattie Tel: 01525 712261 Fax: 01525 718205 rebecca.beattie@colpac.co.uk www.colpac.co.uk CP Foods Avon House, Hartlebury Trading Estate, Hartlebury, Worcestershire DY10 4JB Contact: Fernando Torronteguy Tel: 01299 253131 Fax: 07834 529473 fernandot@cpfoods.co.uk deighton MAnuFACturing (uk) ltd Gibson Street, Leeds Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD3 9TR Contact: Andy Hamilton Tel: 01274 668771 Fax: 01274 665214 sales@deightonmanufacturing.co.uk www.deightonmanufacturing.co.uk

BeACon Foods Unit 3-4, Beacon Enterprise Park, Warren Road, Brecon LD3 8BT Contact: Lynne Skyrme Tel: 01874 622577 Fax: 01874 622123 lynne@beaconfoods.co.uk www.beaconfoods.co.uk Bel uk ltd Suite 1, 2nd Floor 160 London Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1BT Contact: Camilla Deane Tel: 0333 900 2020 Fax: 01732 467596 cdeane@groupe-bel.com www.bel-foodservice.co.uk Accreditation body: ISO

52 FEBRUARY 2014

ChArCuterie ContinentAl ltd.

The Green, Twechar, Glasgow G65 9QA Contact: Ian Lonsdale Tel: 01236 824440 Fax: 01236 825044 ian.lonsdale@charcuteriecontinental.co.uk

Cheese CellAr 44-54 Stewarts Road London SW8 4DF Contact: Tina Alemao Tel: 0207 8196045 Fax: 0207 8196027 Tina.alemao@cheesecellar.co.uk www.cheesecellar.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA

CAFÉ CULTURE

english Provender Co. ltd Buckner Croke Way, New Greenham Park, Thatcham, Berks, RG19 6HA, Contact: David Barker Tel: 01635 528800 Fax: 01635 528855

deliCe de FrAnCe Delice House, 149 Brent Road, Southall, Middlesex UB2 5LJ Contact: Mariam French Tel: 0208 917 9709 frenchm@iaws.com www.delicedefrance.co.uk

edMe ltd.

High Street, Mistley, Manningtree, Essex CO11 1HG Contact: Andy Smith Tel: 01206 393725 Fax: 01206 399512 andy.smith@edme.com www.edme.co.uk

www.englishprovender.com BRC Grade A Fresh-PAk Chilled Foods 21/22 Kernan Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 5JT Contact: Matthew Clarke Tel: 01226 344850 Fax: 01509 224568 matthew.clarke@fresh-pak.co.uk www.fresh-pak.co.uk

Food network ltd Keepers Cottage, Chrishall Grange, Heydon, Royston, SG8 7NT Contact: Peter McDermott Tel: 01763 837 000 Fax: 01763 838 280 peter@food-network.com www.food-network.com FreshCut Foods ltd 14-16 Lilac Grove, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 1PA Contact: Sales Tel: 01159 227 222 Fax: 01159 227 255 sales@freshcut.biz www.freshcutfoods.co.uk FridAys Chequer Tree Farm, Benenden Rd, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3PN Contact: Pat Dunne Tel: 01580 710200 Fax: 01580 713512 pd@fridays.co.uk www.fridays.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA FsC Cheddar Business Park, Wedmore Road, Cheddar, Somerset BS27 3EB Contact: James Simpson Tel: 01934 745600 Fax: 01934 745631 james@thefscgroup.com www.thefscgroup.com

geetA’s Foods ltd.

Unit 1, 1000 North Circular Road, London NW2 7JP Contact: Nitesh Shah Tel: 020 8450 2255 Fax: 020 8450 2282 nshah@geetasfoods.com www.geetasfoods.com gierlinger holding gBMh Dosza Gyorg, UT123, Tamasi 7090, Hungary Tel: 01386 421708/07515 422454 ns@gierlinger-holding.com Contact: Nigel Spragg

grote CoMPAny Wrexham Technology Park, Wrexham LL13 7YP Contact: Paul Jones Tel: 01978 362243 Fax: 01978 362255 sales@intl.grotecompany.com www.grotecompany.com gw thoMPson ltd.

44 Felstead Road, Collier Row, Romford, Essex RM5 5RH Contact: Gary Thompson Tel: 01708 767946 Fax: 01708 732805 g.w.thompson@ntlworld.com www.foodmanagementsystems.com hAzeldene Walthew House Lane Martland Park, Wigan WN5 0LB Contact: Claire Gregory Tel: 01942 219910 Fax: 01942 219940 www.hazeldene.co.uk claire.gregory@hazeldene.co.uk iCB grouP c/o Isleworth Office, 650 London Road, Isleworth, London TW7 4ES Contact: Craig Kitchen Tel: 0208 326 1046 Fax: 0208 560 7044 craig.kitchen@icbgroupuk.com www.icbgroupuk.com JiFFy truCks ltd 26 Jubilee Way, Shipley West Yorkshire BD18 1QG Tel: 01274 596000 Contact: John Kennerly john@jiffytrucks.co.uk www.jiffytrucks.co.uk John west Foods ltd No. 1 Mann Island, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 1BP Contact: Paul Kent Tel: 0151 243 6200 Fax: 0151 236 7502 paul.kent@mwbrands.com

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Café Suppliers Index JosePh heler ltd Laurels Farm, Hatherton, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7PE Contact: John Chattel Tel: 01270 841500 Fax: 01270 841381 johnc@joseph-heler.co.uk www.joseph-heler.co.uk kookABurrA 3 Armstrong Road, N.E.Ind.Est, Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 5AE Contact: Samantha Henderson Tel: 0191 518 4000 Fax: 0191 518 4226 shenderson@kookaburra-uk.com www.kookaburra-uk.com lAnds’ end CorPorAte & teAMweAr Lands’ End Way, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6US Contact: Neel Raura Tel: 01572 758062 leel.raura@landsend.co.uk www.landsend-teamwear.co.u leAthAMs ltd 227-255 Ilderton Road, London, SE15 1NS Contact: Des Hillier Tel: 0207 635 4000 Fax: 0207 635 4017 des.hillier@leathams.co.uk www.leathams.co.uk little Bigshot 17 Church Road, Wishaw, Lanarkshire ML2 9QG Contact: Bert Jukes Tel: 07738 907044 bert@littlebigshot.com www.littlebigshot.com

MArtin MAthew & Co. ltd 50A St Andrews Street, Hertford SG14 1JA Contact : Matthew Donnelly Tel: 01992 641641 Fax: 01992 210177/210178

Pettigrews Pinnaclehill, Kelso, Roxburghshire Scotland TD5 8DW Contact: Robin Leaver Tel: 01573 224 234 Fax: 01573 223 717 sales@pettigrews.com www.pettigrews.com

snowBird Foods Wharf Road, Ponders End, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4TD Contact: Roy Anderson Tel: 0208 805 9222 Fax: 0208 804 9303 roy.anderson@snowbirdfoods.co.uk www.snowbirdfoods.co.uk

PiquAnt ltd Willenhall Lane, Bloxwich, Walsall, W.Midlands WS3 2XN Contact: Julie Smith Tel: 01922 711116 Fax: 01922 473240 salesinfo@piquant.co.uk www.piquant.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA

southern sAlAds liMited Units 1 & 2 Cannon Bridge Cannon Lane, Tonbridge, Kent TN1 9RP Contact: Mr Ray Boakes Tel: 01732 362444 Fax: 01732 361919 ray@southernsalads.co.uk www.southernsalads.com

Piroto lABelling ltd.

9 Pondwood Close, Moulton Park Industrial Estate,Northampton NN3 6RT Contact: Lisa Hyland Tel: 01604 646600 Fax: 01604 492 090 l.hyland@piroto-labelling.com www.piroto-labelling.com PlAnglow ltd King’s House, Bond Street, Bristol BS1 3AE Contact: Rachael Sawtell Tel: 0117 317 8600 Fax: 0117 317 8639 info@planglow.com www.planglow.com rAnk hovis The Lord Rank Centre, Lincoln Road, High Wycombe HP12 3QS Contact: Sara Reid Tel: 0870 728 1111 sara.reid@premierfoods.co.uk www.rankhovis.com

matthewdonnelly@martinmathew.co.uk

www.martinmathew.co.uk

Mission Foods euroPe ltd 5th Floor West, The Mille, 1000 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 9HH Contact: Sue Applegarth Tel: 0208 380 1100 Fax: 02476 676560 team@missionfoodservice.co.uk www.missionfoodservice.co.uk norselAnd ltd.

Somerton Road, Ilchester, Somerset BA22 8JL Contact: Russell Eley Tel: 01935 842800 Fax: 01935 842801 reley@norseland.co.uk www.norseland.co.uk

sAM Browne Foods Kelleythorpe, Ind.Estate, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DJ. Contact: Phillipa Kendrick Tel: 01377 241238 Fax: 01377 241271 pkendrick@sambrownefoods.co.uk

www.sambrownefoods.co.uk sAntA MAriA FoodserviCe Nimbus House, Maidstone Road, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK10 0BD Contact: Rob Barzda Tel: 01908 933000 Fax: 01908 933074

southover Food CoMPAny liMited Unit 4, Grange Industrial Estate, Albion Street, Southwick,Brighton BN42 4EN Contact: Niall Singers Tel: 01273 596830 Fax: 01273 596 839 niall@southoverfoods.com www.southoverfoods.com sPoonFed Alba Innovation Centre, Livingston EH54 7GA Contact: Willie Biggart Tel: 01506 592117 willie.biggart@getspoonfed.com www.getspoonfed.com st neots PACkAging ltd.

7 Howard Road, Eaton Socon, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 8ET Contact: Sales Department Tel: 01480 476161 Fax: 01480 471989 sales@stneotspack.co.uk www.stneotspackaging.co.uk 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 pnoone@technomic.com Web: www.technomic.com the CArdinAl grouP The Station, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1NY Contact: Kerinda Ibbotson Tel: 0845 680 1796

robert.barzda@santamariafoodservice.co.uk

group.sales@thecardinalgroup.co.uk

www.santamariafoodservice.co.uk

www.thecardinalgroup.co.uk

the ingredients FACtory Unit 2-3 Hamilton Road Ind Estate, 160 Hamilton Road, London SE27 9SF Tel: 0208 670 6701 Fax: 0208 670 9676 Contact: Tim Marcuson tim@theingredientsfactory.com www.theingredientsfactory.com tMi Foods Lodge Way, Lodge Farm Ind. Est, Northampton NN5 7US Contact: Ian Ritchie Tel: 01604 583421 Fax: 01604 587392 info@tmifoods.co.uk www.tmifoods.co.uk Accreditation body: BSA totAl FoodserviCe solutions ltd.

Ribble Valley Enterprise Park, North Road, Barrow, Clitheroe BB7 9QZ Tel: 01254 828 330 Fax: 01254 823996 sales@totalfoodservice.co.uk www.totalfoodservice.co.uk tri-stAr PACkAging suPPlies ltd Tri-Star House, Unit 4, The Arena,, Mollison Avenue, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 7NL Contact: Kevin Curran Tel: 0208 4439100 Fax: 0208 4439101 info@tri-star.co.uk www.tri-star.co.uk

zAFron Foods ltd.

Unit B-G Eagle Trading Estate, Willow Lane, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 4UY Contact: Jack Kenny Tel: 0844 847 5116 Fax: 0844 847 5117 jack@zafronfoods.co.uk www.zafronfoods.co.uk zMi tillMAn’s 1 Middle Pett Farm Cottages, Pett Bottom, Canterbury, Kent CT4 5PD Contact: Jon Gymer Tel: 01227 831155 Fax: 01227 831150 jon@zmi.uk.com www.zurmuehleninternational.com

zwAnenBerg Food uk ltd (Puredrive Fine Foods/ Taste Original) 36ACauseway Road, Earlstrees Industrial Estate, Corby, Northamptonshire, NN17 4DU Contact: Martin Burdekin Tel: 01536 463000 Fax: 01536 463085 martinb@puredrive.co.uk loCAl Authority CAtering AssoCiAtions LACA Administration Bourne House, Horsell Park,Woking, Surrey GU21 4LY Tel: 01483766777 Fax: 01483751991 admin@laca.co.uk

ConsultAnt universAl MeAts (uk) ltd Hall Place, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 OLG Contact: Alan Burke Tel: 01732 760760 Fax: 01732 760780 info@universalmeats.com www.universalmeats.com

internAtionAl MAster CheF & Author Tom Bridge 21 Blackhorse Avenue, Blackrod Village, Bolton BL6 5HE Tel: 01204 695450 or 07889 111256 www.cookerydetective.com www.piesocietybook.co.uk

westBridge Foods Polonia House, Enigma Commercial Centre, Sandy’s Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 1JJ Contact: Lana Parakhomomikene Tel: 01684 581800 Fax: 01684 893917 enquiries@westbridgefoods.com www.westbridgefoods.com

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International sandwich Manufacturers AliMentos dAily Fresh s.A. Avendia El Parque 423 El Quillay 573 Pasque Industrial Valle Grande, Lampa, Santiago, Chile Tel: 56-2-4119100 Fax: 56-2-4119101 Contact: Javier Urruticoechea Email: jurruticoechea@dailyfresh.cl nordiC lunCh AB Box 5924 Majorstua 0308 Oslo, Norway Tel: 0047 23 33 44 34 Fax: 0047 23 33 44 34 k.brandmo@nordiclunch.com Contact: Kjetil Bra

resAs CoMMuniCAtAion & design gMBh & Co kg Schwagerstrasse 12, Bielefeld, D-33739, Germany Tel: 0049 5206 4797 Fax: 0049 5206 5094 Contact: Kerstin Cramer-Saunders k.cramer-saunders@rcd.de

sigMA BAkeries PO Box 56567 3308 Limassol, Cyprus Contact: Georgios Georgiou Tel: +357 25 878678 Fax: +357 25 346131 info@sigmabakeries.com www.sigmabakeries.com

suBwAy Chaston House, Mill Court, Hinton Way, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire CB22 5LD Contact: Frederick De Luca Tel: 01223 550820 www.subway.co.uk

Product listing BAkery inserts Sigma Bakeries Ltd BreAd Sigma Bakeries Ltd FACtory design Alimentos Daily Fresh orgAniC ProduCts Sigma Bakeries Ltd PACkAging Resas Communicataion & Design GmbH & Co KG sAndwiChes Fres Co Nordic Lunch AB Subway Snack Support Tamarind Foods sAndwiCh Fillings (prepared) Sigma Bakeries Ltd sPeCiAlity BreAds Sigma Bakeries Ltd

tAMArind Foods Brixtonlaan 2c, Zaventem, Brussels 1930, Belgium Tel: +32 2 731 6977 Fax: +32 2 731 6978 asodro@tamarindfoods.be Contact: Anna Sodro

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E: info@coffix.com Tel: 0845 257 4316 Mob: 07790 402144

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