Continuing our series looking behind the scenes at some of the major suppliers to the hospitality market, we catch up with Paul Chadderton, managing director of Tchibo Coffee International.
Q What is the company's objective?
A For us coffee service is about creating a real customer experience. We try to educate our customer and instil a real passion for coffee. This is done through on-site training, classroom or communication, from the history of coffee, to barista training. We are on a mission to share our obsession for the black stuff, whether short and black as espresso or long and milky as a cappuccino. All we demand is that it is fresh, perfectly made and delivered with passion.
Q What are the current issues facing your food service customers?
A Good question - and you may think a simple one to answer, but as all customers are different the issues also vary a lot, from how to grow sales and how to ensure consistent quality of product presentation to ways in which they can save money.
Q How do you help them address these issues?
A Growing sales comes from ensuring your offer is always relevant to your customer, it is of an exceptionally high standard and passion for the product always shines through. We take coffee quality very seriously: all our staff are trained baristas and we take a lot of pride in passing on our knowledge. As to saving money, we have a few ways to help here: we are the fourth-largest roaster in the world so we try to buy the best coffee at the best price; we have exclusive deals with our equipment suppliers and our own technicians to service them so we constantly work to ensure costs are low and service high.
Q What are the questions your customers ask most regularly?
A They are many and varied, from coffee recipes to promotional ideas to drive sales. Ultimately our customers understand their business and are in tune with their customers and we understand coffee and the coffee market, so when they ask for new innovations, be they in coffee blends, brands or equipment profiles - we listen, we consult, we act and we provide.
Q What do you believe will be the next big trend in your market?
A I am always amazed at how coffee continues to reinvent itself, from filter coffee to the speciality revolution, great coffee systems, bean to cup and traditional to funky new pod systems. We pride ourselves on innovation and have some great new launches planned in 2010.
Q Where does the company stand on green issues?
A It is central to what we do. "Think Ahead. Act responsibly" is the strapline on our Tchibo Sustainability website, www.tchibo-sustainability.com. We are fortunate to have a Corporate Responsibility Department based in Hamburg that constantly looks at our energy consumption, climate protection and responsible trading. We have set ambitious objectives for ourselves, produced comprehensive figures and integrated them into our corporate programme. At the end of each fiscal year we will measure our target achievement rate, set new objectives and report publicly on the process as well as on our results.
Q Long term, where's the business going?
A Our ambitions are to go from strength to strength, continuing to work with more and more of our customers, helping them help their customers to enjoy the wonderful experience of drinking great coffee. At the end of a great meal we all deserve a great coffee and on that we will never compromise.
FACTS
Company name Tchibo Coffee International
Address Tchibo House, Blenheim Road, Epsom, KT19 9AP
Tel 0845 600 8244
Website www.tchibo-coffeeservice.co.uk
Area of operation National - UK
Products Coffee, tea, juice, ancillary
Brands Tchibo, Piacetto Espresso, Pure, Vista
Market sectors hotels, restaurants, leisure, convenience, education, healthcare
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