coffee business strategies

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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I just wrote a reply to a retailer that posed the question “why should I roast my own coffee beans,” and “does it improve your business?” Well… yes and no.
Make sure that if you decide to roast, it is for the right reasons and takes into consideration the skills necessary to excel at the [...]

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