coffee business strategies

The June 2010 issue of Specialty Coffee Retailer features the article “The Harmonious Brand,” which discusses basic elements of retail branding and includes a short quote by me about Gwilym’s disloyalty card as a brand statement. Unfortunately, my more substantial comments on branding were not included in the article, so I have included a transcript [...]

[Read more →]

Our friends at Merdeka Coffee in Indonesia announced today that they have opened a roasting facility in Auckland and will soon follow with two retail cafes. I applaud Alun and company for their good work and insight, as extending a company brand name into the retail market is a critical step for coffee producers and [...]

[Read more →]

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 [...]

[Read more →]

I was asked to comment for an upcoming article on the topic of how (and why) coffee shop furniture and decor items can be used as retail branding elements, but may have gone a little overboard with my reply. The topic of branding, after all, is a fairly complex one and ties into a number [...]

[Read more →]

Not exactly a news flash for anybody that knows me personally, but with respect to the unveiling of Starbucks new Via instant coffee beverage, I’m apparently not alone. In Fortune Magazine’s article this morning, “Starbucks instant: Will it pass the taste test?” I voice my skepticism about both the approach and product, echoing the concerns [...]

[Read more →]