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As I watch my own humble garden grow, I realize that the power of growing your own food isn't so much the nutrition as it is the satisfaction found in putting a seed in the ground and watching it emerge, grow and provide sustenance.Many of our partners are working with coffee-farming families to help them create small organic gardens that provide healthy vegetables and fruits and help build economic independence and health. Our program staff made some great pictures of one program managed by our partner FomCafé in Oaxaca, Mexico. Check it out at our Flickr page. And our partner STIAP, who has been working in biodiesel, is beginning a permaculture/gardening project this year to provide food for their community in rural Guatemala.
Stockton Graham & Co. publishes two biweekly newsletters, Stockton's Souvenirs and Graham's Gazette. The Gazette contains articles written with coffee retailers in mind. I'll post some of my work for the Gazette to this blog. If you like what you see, sign up for our mailing list!
You may have noticed that fewer customers are visiting your shop, and those who are still coming may be spending less. Many people are trying to save more money, and cutting out unnecessary expenses is the first step in saving. That's bad news for luxury items, but specialty coffee is a relatively low-cost indulgence that probably won't be the first thing consumers give up.
The key to retaining their business is giving them a lot of value for their money. The further a consumer's dollar can go at your shop, the more likely he is to spend it there. Below are some tips for making your customers feel like they’re getting the most for their money.
- Don't skimp on the good stuff. You're probably looking to cut your own costs, but make sure you aren't cutting quality. It's tempting to use cheap chocolate sauce in your mochas to save a few cents per drink, but your customers might taste the difference. If they're accustomed to getting cane sugar for $3.25, they probably won’t pay the same for high-fructose corn syrup. You could miss out on profits due to lost sales.
- Encourage habitual buying. Regular customers mean regular income, and they tend to bring friends and family. Reward loyalty with targeted discounts. Discounted mug refills work well with morning commuters. Percentage discounts on larger orders encourage groups. Policies like these create incentives to continue visiting your shop.
- Throw in low-cost extras. A dollop of whipped cream or a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of a drink can add a lot to a drink's appeal and consequently its value. Offering a free cup of drip with the purchase of a pound of whole-bean coffee would cost you very little, but to the customer, it adds another $1.50 in value to a $14.00 purchase, and that can make a huge difference in his buying decision.
If you have any questions about operating a retail coffee business, feel free to send them to info@stocktongraham.com.
Once every 3 years, leading manufacturers of commercial coffee machines vie for the prestigious opportunity to have their equipment featured as the official tools used by national barista champions at the annual World Barista Championship. All candidates considered for equipment sponsorship must meet exacting technical standards set and tested by the WBC, but only one supplier from each category may prevail as the official sponsor.
In the most recent contest held this June in Copenhagen, national barista champions from 51 countries converged to compete for the title of world’s top coffee maker in front of a live audience of several hundred spectators and thousands of online viewers.
Next year’s World Barista Championship will be held April 16-19, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia U.S.A. in conjunction with the 2009 Specialty Coffee Association of America Annual Symposium and Exposition.
About World Barista Championship UK Ltd.
World Barista Championship UK Ltd is jointly owned by the Specialty Coffee Associations of America and Europe. The first WBC competition took place in Monte Carlo in October 2000 and has since held annual competitions Miami, Oslo, Boston, Trieste, Seattle, Berne, Tokyo and Copenhagen. The organization’s next event will be held in Atlanta, Georgia U.S.A., April 16-19, 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com.
About Nuova Simonelli S.p.A.
Nuova Simonelli S.p.A. is an industry leader in the production of high quality commercial espresso machines and related equipment. Nuova Simonelli has been manufacturing espresso machines in Belforte del Chienti, Italy since 1936, and today has a worldwide reputation for reliability and innovation. For more information, please visit http://www.nuovasimonelli.com.
About MAHLKÖNIG GmbH & Co.KG,
The high quality of MAHLKÖNIG grinders guarantees precise and constant grinding results and long lifetimes. For more than 80 years MAHLKÖNIG has been the leading brand for high quality, professional grinders. For more information, visit http://www.mahlkoenig.de.
