< Previous10 BUSINESS BOUNCE BACK boughtonscoffeehouse.com A week after lockdown and reading about the shortages of groceries and supermarket shelves being stripped I thought that as my coffee shop was empty why not convert it to a takeaway coffee shop plus grocery store? With some changes to the layout and a bit of fortuitous planning – I bought large quantities of flour and yeast along with some other essentials – I was back open for “We created a whole new business model” “We are all ‘In It Together’” Burzin Mistry owns The Post Room in Chiswick. He got through lockdown by totally diversifying his business, which has given him food for future thought… Alpro launched an initiative to provide some much-needed funding for coffee shops to help them out of lockdown business. We traded well and saw a lot of new customers and pared back our menu to create the leanest model we could. Now as things start to lift it has actually made me re-evaluate my whole business. Obviously because of the current status of social distancing I am limited with a sit-down offering so for now will remain as a takeaway service only. I think the grocery side of the business will also remain as it does seem to have been part of our local community store experience that we’ve never had before. We use our website for online ordering as the problem with services like Uber Eats is that the margins just don’t add up – losing 30% of every item just doesn’t make economic sense, so I’m just keeping it small and we are doing the deliveries ourselves. Long-term planning has gone out of the window – I’m just focusing on what we do up to October, and then October to February as historically that is our leanest period. This whole experience has made me realise just how much value people place on their daily caffeine fix – which is a real positive. Now I just have to concentrate on finding ways of holding on to my new customer base for as long as possible – that will be the real challenge. Being prepared to change was key to getting us through the last few months and I think will be a huge part of this next post-lockdown phase. thepostroomcafe.co.uk Plant-based category leader, Alpro, announced a three-pronged strategy at the beginning of May with the aim of supporting the coffee industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Equalling a total pledge of £325,000 from the brand, this included a social media campaign with 100 baristas, a free stock initiative to help coffee shops get back on their feet when reopening, and an ‘In It Together’ Fund to offer immediate financial support to coffee shop owners in need. “Our ‘Barista at Home’ social media campaign was designed to keep the coffee conversation alive during lockdown, while helping baristas to earn some extra income while coffee shops were closed,” says David Jiscoot, Marketing Director at Alpro UK & Ireland. Edward Tailor-Greenall, who worked on the ‘Barista at Home’ project, shares his experience, “Many of us within the barista community who are furloughed, including myself, are anxious about what our industry will look like after the pandemic and whether we will have jobs to go back to. Being part of the campaign enabled me to focus my skills on preparing drinks and creating content to bring our community together.” So far the ‘In It Together’ fund has helped to support 80 coffee shops nationwide, including Estate Office Coffee in London. Joe Thomas, of Estate Office Coffee, says, “The grant has been massively helpful to us. We’ve been able to buy PPE equipment and the grant was also helpful for re-stocking when we opened again. We have now been able to start bringing some people back from furlough, too, which is great.” While spearheaded by Alpro, the fund was launched as an industry initiative in the hope that other suppliers would also get involved. “We’re calling on our fellow brands in the coffee industry to donate to the fund, so that we can work together to help as many businesses as possible,” says David. “This is a time to pull together and put our support behind the independents who are at the heart of our industry.” Donations can be made via in-together.org11 BUSINESS BOUNCE BACK boughtonscoffeehouse.com We basically took the decision to keep the roastery going all through lockdown – we looked at which parts of the operation could still function and the parts that just couldn’t. We lost 70% of our sales overnight with businesses that we supplied closing under lockdown. But we realised the parts that we could really make work and where there was potential to actually extend our offering, so we created Edge Mart, which would also stock fresh bread, flour, eggs – all the things that people were struggling to get hold of at the big supermarkets. We are lucky as we have a big warehouse and a big terrace so we were able to space things out so people felt comfortable, but even if you don’t have a big space, with some imaginative thinking you can make things work. We actually found that customers were desperate to come to us – they wanted their cup of coffee and slice of cake – it made them feel normal again, the right August / September 2019August / September 2019 boughtonscoffeehouse.com THE VOICE OF THE CAFE COMMUNITY Issue 120 • £8 Issue 120 August / September 2019 TIME FOR TEA? Boost your revenue potential with a fresh approach PICTURE THIS Create food that looks as good as it tastes GROW YOUR OWN Raising capital§§§§§§§ to expand your business CAFFÈ CULTURE Highlights from this year’s show PLUS TIPS AND ADVICE TO AVOID FALLING FOUL OF THE LAW “Simplicity will be key for the next stage” Alice Rendle is MD of Edgcumbe’s Coffee Roasters and Tea Merchants – cover star of issue 120 – reveals how she has re-evaluated her business so it was our job to deliver that quickly and safely and people were quite happy with that right from the start. The industry really has a part to play in rebuilding public confidence. People are desperate for that well-made coffee – it might now be served through a window and in a disposable compostable cup – but it’s what people have been missing and I don’t think we should underestimate the attraction of that. I think the key in the beginning is to keep things simple. Don’t overload yourself by trying to offer the same complicated menu you might have had before. We’ve stripped our food menu right back to just a few items that we get in fresh every day from local suppliers. It’s all good quality and sales are growing. It made me realise that before all of this we were spending so much time on food prep to fulfil a menu. I had always thought about the things that we should be doing differently but didn’t have time to implement the changes. This has actually given us the time to stand back and analyse our business more thoroughly. Which were the bits that were making the most money? Like most businesses now we are on a knife edge and to survive we know we’ve got to be lean and make some difficult decisions. ‘Local’ is now really important in the perception of what people want. We have been using local suppliers more than doing things here as we still have some staff furloughed, which again was essential to survive as a business, but this means that we are now supporting more local businesses. Local radio has been so useful for us as a marketing tool – they have become the community voice. We’ve also realised the power of an offer. You might not make that much money out of it but it’s generating new customers, which is so important going forward. It’s all about getting money in the bank. This whole experience has made us re-evaluate our offering – we are going to make the Edge Mart a permanent fixture. So we’re converting one of our smaller areas into a retail offering with lovely local produce – with tea and coffee as the stars naturally. I think having a retail offering alongside everything else we do will really help with our bottom line, which is going to be key to survival in the coming months. edgcumbes.co.uk ALICE’S TOP TIPS ONE DON’T UNDERESTIMATE YOUR CORE OFFERING We realised that customers really really wanted a great cup of coffee! TWO OFFERS ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS You might not keep all of them in the long term but some at least will become loyal customers THREE ADD RETAIL IF YOU HAVE THE SPACE This widens your offering and will help with your bottom line12 boughtonscoffeehouse.com BUSINESS BOUNCE BACK Frugalpac wanted to show solidarity with the thousands of independent tea and coffee shops across the UK that had to close during the pandemic. We knew how tough it would be for them. So we came up with the idea of giving away 50,000 of our Frugal Cups. We didn’t know how long Covid-19 would last, but with a lot of coffee shops and chains not serving in reusables, at least our Frugal Cups offered a more sustainable alternative. Our cups are made from 96% recyclable paper with a carbon footprint 60% lower than conventional and compostable cups, which are made from 100% virgin paper. We were overwhelmed by the response “We believe people will really think differently now” Paul McReynolds from Frugalpac (inset) came up with the 50,000 free cups initiative during the pandemic to help beleaguered coffee shops from coffee shops and tearooms who took up our offer – from Wales to Norwich and from Northumberland to Bournemouth. We distributed all 50,000. The one response that really summed the whole situation up was from David and Lis Brown who run the Teacup Tearoom in Mevagissey, Cornwall. They’re a new business and were relying on the tourist season, so the sudden halt to trade was “devastating.” “We received a call which wasn’t just to discuss the supply of cups, but you took the time to listen to us about our business, how our values seemed aligned and how you could help us going forward. Your simple act of kindness and faith in us as a business meant so much at a time when we needed it most. Your cups are part of our takeaway and local delivery offering that has been a key component in us turning our business on its head to keep trading through lockdown.” We are so pleased to have helped out during this difficult time. Looking to the future, and speaking to a lot of owners who remained open for takeout services, time and again we were told that there was much more of a focus on the environment from customers. Less traffic pollution means the air is cleaner. There’s a sense they don’t want to go back to business as usual and want to live more sustainably. This is a great opportunity for independent coffee shops to tap into that and be able to promote their positive sustainability story. frugalpac.com 1213 BUSINESS DIVERSITY boughtonscoffeehouse.comboughtonscoffeehouse.com The Covid-19 crisis has essentially fallen into four phases, so far… Phase One – lockdown, panic, uncertainty, toilet roll hoarding, confusion and initial government help with grants, loans and furlough. Phase Two – still in lockdown but many coffee shops and cafes have re-opened in a large variety of ways. This includes online sales, takeaway food and coffee, grocery sales, food prep kits and developments in click-and-collect, delivery. Many have prospered very strongly with reduced overheads, simplified menus and substantial sales. The quality operators who haven’t been able to re-open have used this time to deep dive into improving their businesses in many key areas. There has been menu development, staff training programmes created, revised operational and financial processes and often some expenditure in new equipment or decorating. Phase Three – post lockdown, but with some sort of social distancing, is where boughtonscoffeehouse.com THE VOICE OF THE CAFE COMMUNITY Issue 118 • £8 April / May 2019 Issue 11 8 April / May 2019 BE YOUR BEST BUSINESS John Richardson’s 10-step plan for success STAFFING KNOW-HOW Build a great team with the right training CHANGE FOR THE BETTER Top tips to move to a more ethical model GREEN BEANS Set yourself apart with a unique selling point PLUS EXTEND YOUR MENU WITHOUT EATING INTO YOUR PROFITS “Be prepared to change” Coffee shop business consultant John Richardson – featured in issue 118 – outlines the critical next phases only the strong will survive. With government help tapering off and competition re-opening, from all parts of the hospitality industry, this will involve a pretty hard battle. And perhaps less than half normal of the normal seating available this will be a tough time to make profit. Operators, such as Pret, announcing 20 coffees for £20 is just the tip of a ‘discounting iceberg’. I fear the battle will also be fought by chains who do not have coffee as their core offering such as Greggs, Wetherspoons and the already beleaguered mid-market restaurants. The flip side of this is that there is an opportunity for the reverse to occur. Nearly all parts of hospitality, outside the coffee shop and cafe niche, have spent the last decade attacking coffee sales. There is now a substantial opportunity for food-driven cafes and coffee shops to take some of the traditional restaurant and takeaway business. In many parts of the country customers have now become used to having part- cooked or fully-cooked meals prepared by their local coffee shops for collection or takeaway – it has become a ‘new normal’ in terms of considering what to eat in the evenings if you’re not cooking. We’ve also noticed, for many clients, a willingness for the public to support their local independents in other ways. This includes online retail as well as instore retail and often with non-food items too. Phase Four – when we finally reach the ‘new normal’ will see successful operators with more diversified and resilient brands and often further consideration of vertical integration such as roasting or creating their own bakeries and food production units. They are also likely to consider ongoing ways to reach the customer via various delivery channels – both in house and through the traditional Just Eat/ Deliveroo channels. The severe recession should mean the value and ‘affordable luxury’ provided by coffee shops and cafes will make them more resilient than the restaurant sector. This is what happened and helped fuel the coffee shop boom after the financial crisis in 2008. The caveat to all this is that location will be a huge factor. The opportunities and changed consumer behaviour patterns for those who are located near offices will be much less beneficial than for those in neighbourhood areas. See John’s advice on diversification on page 26 BUSINESS BOUNCE BACK JOHN’S TOP TIPS ONE The need to be flexible and consider, “What can I do?” rather than simply accepting that they cannot generate revenue TWO A willingness to ‘try things’ and not worry if they don’t work out THREE A rapid adoption of better tech in terms of websites and using ordering apps FOUR Ruthless re-working of operational processes to stay as lean as possible FIVE A heavy reliance on social media to keep the customer informed and to build personal connections Through the dozens of interviews I’ve had with successful operators, as well as the work I’m doing with clients who are making change to adapt, the common factors for success are:cornishcoffee.co.uk Cornish Coffee Ltd. Unit 4, Barncoose Ind. Estate, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 3RQboughtonscoffeehouse.com Q&A 15 The new dates for The London Coffee Festival have just been confirmed as 15-18 April 2021. To find out more go to londoncoffeefestival.com QDo you prefer talking about coffee or working with coffee? This is an amazing question! I think it completely depends on the context. My favourite thing to do when working with coffee is to be secluded in a lab working on recipes, QC and profiling certain roasts and doing R&D for a coffee program or an equipment company. When it comes to talking about coffee, I prefer teaching people, which also includes working with the coffee to a certain extent. Watching people gain confidence when making coffee is one of the best feelings ever. QWhere is your favourite place in the world to work? My best friend’s coffee shop in Bed Stuy, New York. It’s called Trash Island, and it’s become a hub for the community with great coffee and a 1980s Miami vibe. My friend, Jed, has an infectiously positive attitude, and he’s a long-time coffee pro. He wanted to create a spot that serves fantastic coffee, without a shred of the attitude that pervades specialty, and he’s succeeded above and beyond. QHow do you see coffee connecting people? Whether you drink coffee or not, it is such a connective force. People bond over coffee; the coffee shop is a meeting place for communities and can be a cultural destination for tourists. The phrase “Wanna get a coffee?” is woven into the fabric of our society, and that’s lovely. A veteran of the specialty coffee industry, Erika is lined up to be MCing at the London Coffee Festival, which has just had its new dates announced ERIKA VONIE QIs there anything you’d change about the industry? Quite a lot, but there are two main things catching my attention right now. I would drop a lot of the vocabulary we use with customers – we alienate them by not being accessible and I’d love to see specialty do more to reach out and make them feel empowered with their choices. Also, producers would benefit so much more if we started focusing on how to roast and blend 80-85 point coffees. Evidence has shown that many specialty customers enjoy medium to dark-roasted blends, which could be a strong revenue stream for roasters and benefit both ends of the supply chain simultaneously. QWhat will MCing at the London Coffee Festival involve? I plan to have so much going on! I’m MCing Coffee Masters with Lem Butler and Gwylim Davies, hyping up the crowd, the competitors, and explaining everything in a fun, engaging way. And goofing off and dancing during the countdowns. I’ll be running the Coffee Masters Instagram with lots of behind-the-scenes footage and updates. I’m also going to host a fun dating-style game at Latte Art Live called Royalty Hearts! I’ll be pulling eligible people up on stage where two latte artists battle for their heart with their pours. It will all be in cheeky good fun, nothing serious. Outside the Festival I’m also hoping to host a self-care sober night with some of the Coffee Masters women.16 SHOP FLOOR SURGERY boughtonscoffeehouse.com Putting your business at the heart of your community provides instant positive PR and can help to build a loyal customer base. Amy Pay reveals some simple steps to boosting your CSR rating GOOD KARMA While the term ‘corporate social responsibility’ might sound like jargon, it’s something that businesses within the competitive coffee shop scene can’t ignore. As well as giving business owners a better view of their wider social and environmental impact, it gives them a chance to carve a name for themselves through supporting the causes that matter most to them and their CURBING FOOD WASTE In certain areas of the UK, there are apps and local schemes that help cafes find a home for surplus food, thus reducing waste. Some give cafes a chance to make money off the sales, which could then be put towards a local cause, while others take the food and donate it to those in need nearby. The Too Good To Go app connects cafes that have surplus edible food within its use-by date to consumers who want a bargain meal. Cafes create ‘Magic Bags’ of food they intended to sell that day, then app customers can buy them at a reduced fee. “Our partner stores apply a ‘Would I buy it and be happy to receive it?’ approach to decide the surplus items to be included in their Magic Bags,” says Belinda Hallworth, PR Manager. “This ensures that the food rescued is delicious, good quality and a great price. It’s a win-win-win!” Before taking part in food waste schemes like this, it’s worth checking the advice of the Food Standards Agency and WRAP. community. The potential benefits are multiple. Many customers opt to visit cafes that align with their interests and values. In diverse communities, a welcoming independent coffee shop can unite people from differing financial, cultural and social circles. Local CSR activity can make a coffee shop a destination with a loyal customer base. Interested? Here are a few ideas on how to get started.17 SHOP FLOOR SURGERY boughtonscoffeehouse.com SERVING COFFEE FROM THE GROUND UP Cafes are often in locations where homelessness and inequality are visible. This inspires some coffee shop owners to help those less fortunate in their community. While benefiting those in need, it also spreads a positive message of inclusivity and fosters a caring attitude in and around the community. “We’ve seen homelessness grow greatly over the 10 years we’ve been operating,” says Kasim Ali, owner of Waterloo Tea in Cardiff (pictured). “I wanted to help, so we chose to work with The Big Issue.” Every winter, Waterloo Tea takes an advert in the magazine with the message, ‘As a thank you for supporting The Big Issue, we would like to offer you a cuppa at one of our teahouses.’ “Effectively, we’re saying we’d rather you buy the magazine than pay us for a coffee,” says Kasim. “We see it as a charitable contribution and a chance to do our bit. We also give magazine vendors near our cafes free hot drinks on their breaks.” Some cafes operate suspended coffee schemes, where customers can pay extra for their coffee to fund a future coffee for someone in need. Businesses can boost their CSR efforts further if they match customer donations so that they are also putting money towards the scheme. Finding a new job can be difficult, but for disadvantaged people it is hard to gain initial steps into employment. Some coffee shops give young people out of education, former addicts, homeless people and other disadvantaged individuals the chance to get into work. Lumberjack in London trains young unemployed people on the job. Elsewhere in the capital, Change Please and Second Shot (pictured) employ people affected by homelessness, trains them and helps them find long-term employment. There is financial assistance available to businesses that hire and train people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Government funding for training apprentices is available to coffee shops with an annual staff pay bill of under £3 million and under 50 employees, and there is further funding available if they are 16-18 or 19-24 and have previously been in care or who have an Education, Health and Care plan. Remember that depending on the type of company you are, staff training costs may qualify as a tax-deductible expense. By funding training, you are helping someone get a step-up in life and really putting your CSR story into practice. TRAINING UP18 SHOP FLOOR SURGERY boughtonscoffeehouse.com SEVEN QUICK TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY- CENTRIC CSR ACTIVITY From Tristan Bartlett, Adams & Russell Coffee Roasters ONE: Support charities and local community groups to help people feel welcome in your cafe and, in turn, create loyalty. TWO: Identify key individuals in the local area that act as influencers who could encourage others to get involved in your efforts to reach out. THREE: Giving money to good causes is great, but time is currency too. Think about how your team could actively help community groups and causes on the company’s behalf. FOUR: Be accessible and inclusive to all members of the community. Your coffee shop is a positive contribution – a warm, safe and welcoming meeting place. FIVE: Hire employees who believe in the values of your coffee shop. Make sure they understand what CSR activity you’re doing and why you’re doing it. SIX: Celebrate the hard work of your business and the community, including the positive outcomes from it. SEVEN: Don’t forget about the coffee! Strive to make every coffee the best you can do. HIRING OUT SPACE If you have space to spare, you could make it available to local community groups and businesses; it will show that you want to be a part of their activity and that you value their cause. And, if you charge people to hire the space, you could use that money to take you further towards your CSR goals. The Canvas Cafe in Tower Hamlets, London (pictured), prides itself on its relationship with the local community. It has two spaces available to hire: the community hub, which costs £10 to hire, and a basement space that has flexible pricing. “We’ve seen great things happen in the spaces, from businesses launching to groups growing,” says Anne Murphy, Kitchen Manager. “The money we take from them goes towards our Pay It Forward board, which provides hot meals, drinks and snacks to those within our community who are in need. We add more to the fund through campaigns and customer donations. We also run ‘Hot Meals For The Homeless’ where we work with local businesses to feed people in the local Crisis centre.” Being so involved with the community has touched many lives. “We know everybody really well here, including those who use our Pay It Forward board,” Anne continues. “It’s nice to be so central in the community; everyone has heard of us for positive reasons.” Before hosting groups or holding events, check that your public liability insurance covers you for any accidents that may happen on your property. Insist that anyone hiring the space has their own public liability insurance too. A FREE CALLEBAUT SAMPLE VI SI T O UR WEB SITE TO RE Q U ES T L ASTING IMPRESSIONS MADE WITH BELGIAN CHOCOLATE Deliver a solution for your customers without compromise. Using only the finest ingredients, Callebaut® has been crafting its Finest Belgian Chocolate in the heart of Belgium for more than 100 years. Callebaut® chocolate enables chefs and publicans to deliver a Lasting Impression that will keep your customers coming back. FOR SERVING INSPIRATION VISIT FORTHELOVEOFCHOC.COM Callebaut.gb@Callebaut_UKIECallebaut ChocolateNext >