coffee business strategies

I’m not an interior designer and have limited abilities with respect to to furnishings and color (I recently told my painter to “surprise me” when remodeling my house), so you can imagine my surprise to have been contacted back in March on the subject by Specialty Coffee Retailer magazine.

Not only was I quoted in the article “Decorating Your Dream, Cafe Furnishings, Decor Should be True to Your Theme,” but also have the last words of the article. How about that?

I give much of the credit for the coverage to my friends (and clients) at Central Bean Coffee in Newcastle, England, who did a phenomenal job of designing an entirely unique interior to suit their brand image. You see mention of them in the article, as well as an image of their flagship location’s interior on page 1.

Let’s take a look at what I said:

“Retail décor is extremely important for two reasons,” says Andrew Hetzel, owner of Cafémakers LLC in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“It establishes value in the minds of potential customers, and it provides a space that supports your brand experience. Numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between visual perception and taste so your café’s décor cannot only make a good first impression, but can arguably improve the perceived taste of your beverages.”

Okay, so Honolulu is about 250 miles and 4 islands west of the Big Island of Hawaii where I reside and work, but that otherwise sounds pretty good to me. I continue:

“Engaging décor doesn’t always need to be expensive or represent the cutting edge of interior design,” Hetzel remarks. “Something as simple as an exposed brick wall or a plain stainless-steel counter can project the impression of thoughtful simplicity or craftsmanship.”

And the last words:

In the end, furnishing and decorating your café is all about branding. “We recommend that you first define the core values of your brand in three simple words,” says Hetzel.

“Use words like ‘exclusive,’ ‘exotic,’ ‘youthful,’ ‘fun,’ ‘corporate,’ or ‘sophisticated’ as your starting point. Pick three words that represent how your business will be seen and then match your décor to those words. Once you’ve clarified your brand message this way, décor is not necessarily difficult.”

Not bad — reduces down a fairly complex subject into something manageable. I like it!

You can download the full article from SCR as a PDF (about 2.5 mb) and for additional commentary from me, be sure to check out my notes from the original interview back in March.