Getting Through with a Strong Brew

Top Tips to Survive Lockdowns

Paul Baker is the GM of Vivace Espresso, a 100% NZ owned and operated business, supplying high quality coffee to cafes, hotels and restaurants nationwide. With more than 25 years hospitality experience under his belt, Paul is no stranger to facing upheavals and challenges. He shares his insights with Hospitality Business and provides some advice for those in the trade to get through yet another lockdown and back on track as quickly as possible.

Vivace Espresso supplies coffee to 260 hospitality operators nationwide. What are you currently experiencing with your clients?

It’s very quiet as most cafes are closed due to the lockdown. There was a mad scramble on the Tuesday after it was announced we were going into Lockdown with some cafes trying to cancel their orders that had already been dispatched via couriers.

For some it was too late, and they just had to bear the brunt of not receiving any credit back for coffee that had already been dispatched. Most café operators are resigned to the fact that they may have to use old coffee when they reopen, if the lockdown carries on too long. Coffee in general should be used within a maximum of 20 days from roasting, however, most coffee already sent to cafes was roasted a day before lockdown. When cafes do eventually reopen, they will be feeling the downturn for another week at least as they won’t be ordering from us, however, our costs and overheads will be still the same.

What support, if any, are you are you offering them at this time?

All we can do is to communicate and reassure people that we have done this before and can get through it again. We are also managing our client’s payments if required and would rather have payment plans put into place now, so it is workable for all. If this lockdown doesn’t continue for weeks on end, it will be easier to manage the financial obligations.

Paul Baker, GM of Vivace Espresso.

What advice can you give café owners and operators now we are in yet another lockdown?

Try to minimise those extra costs by turning off coffee machines and any other appliances that draw power over this time. Try and have a positive mindset by looking ahead as spring and summer is just around the corner. Look at your business model, work out when people are coming in and measure the return vs cost per hour - it may be wise to limit the hours and minimise staffing levels initially once we are out of lockdown. Look at the cost of staffing before you reopen and consider managing the hourly cost by mixing up the menu so some duties can be done by less skilled workers who can also multi-task and do other duties - think of the American model of busboy and server mentality.

What do you think will happen to the industry if we continue in a lockdown?

Some cafes simply won’t reopen or if they do it will be so they can try and sell the business to get out of the lease. I feel the New Zealand café model will change. Service will be paramount, but staff will be expected to work faster and more efficiently for the higher wage. Business owners need to offer more for experienced and efficient staff. In Australia it is common to have less staff on for a busier café, but they get paid more and can manage the expected hourly revenue flow in relation to staffing costs. In general, costs have increased for hospitality operators over the past 6 months with an increase in diary prices, electricity, and staffing to name a few. I feel café operators need to be realistic in their price points - people will pay more for quality and value so don’t scrimp on the quality both on the plate, cup, and the service.

What lessons did you learn from the last lockdown and how have you pivoted/ changed the way you operate?

We assessed our model and looked at different revenue streams for opportunities. We explored the supermarket route but decided against it as felt we would lose control on the quality of our coffee with beans sitting in warehouses longer than the recommended ‘use by date’. Many supermarkets go on to sell ‘used by’ coffee at discounted prices. Although it was tempting to go down the supermarket route in terms of revenue, we didn’t want to compromise on our reputation for delivering quality beans. Instead, we decided to explore “Look at the e-commerce route, with a the cost of rejuvenated brand/ image and website and make it more user staffing before you friendly for customers. The reopen and consider managing the hourly new website was designed to allow us to develop it into a portal for our wholesale cost by mixing up customers to also use - this the menu” is stage 2 of the development which will be launched in summer. Since the last nationwide lockdown and subsequent regional lockdowns, we started to roast smaller batches more frequently, so we aren’t holding as much stock on hand. We are encouraging our customers to do the same –and buy more regularly to manage their stock on hand levels.

You are offering an online home delivery service – how is that going for you?

It’s been great! Our new website and online delivery service have started to generate positive consumer awareness that adds value to our wholesale customers. It also means our customers are becoming more educated and aware about the difference in fresh coffee versus old coffee. This in turn gives the café owner reassurance the brand they are selling isn’t being discounted at the supermarket, and still increasing visibility to their customers.