Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/225720
COFFEEBREAK Q&A Educating atCoffee Industry Leader Greg the Source How Ubert is Making a Difference in a Honduran Community BY MELISSA NIKSIC G reg Ubert graduated from Harvard University intent on building a career in the computer software industry. It didn't take him long to realize that his heart just wasn't in it. Leaving his job in Chicago behind, Ubert returned to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio and began exploring his true passion: the world of specialty coffee. He founded Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea in 1991 as a wholesale operation, published a book about the specialty coffee industry in 2004, and eventually opened a retail store in 2007. In addition to being passionate about his products, Ubert has become very involved with some of the global farming communities he's encountered during his sourcing visits. He recently spearheaded an online fundraising campaign to support educational programs in the Honduran village of El Socorro de la Penita. Ubert discusses his experience in the industry and his commitment to helping others be more sustainable. SCR: It's a pretty big leap from computer software to coffee. How did you decide to make such a drastic career change? Ubert: You have to remember that back in the early 1990's, great coffee was just starting to come around. There weren't a lot of specialty coffee retailers out there. Those days, people mainly drank coffee because of the caffeine, but I thought that they could decide to drink it because of the taste. SCR: What was the process like for you setting up a company from scratch? Ubert: I reached out to people in any way possible to try and learn everything I could about the business. I talked with manufacturers, people in delis, people in restaurants, anyone 16 who had experience with coffee. For me, it was mainly about experimentation. I bought a small roaster and spent nine months honing the first blend. Then I started selling my coffee to businesses around Columbus. The company continued to grow, and these days we sell Crimson Cup products across 28 different states. We have many varieties of coffee and tea, but we've also developed syrups, sauces, and frozen powder drinks. We also have a coffee franchise alternative program that helps independent coffee shops get started. SCR: With such a successful wholesale business, what prompted you to get into the retail side of things when you opened up your own store? Ubert: There came a point and time when we wanted to live in our customers' shoes and experience the retail side. Also, we wanted to have the opportunity to be really innovative and do some testing of new products before offering things to our customers on a wider level. What better way to do that than in our own store? Our customers know us, they know our coffee, and they love trying new things. They're never shy about telling us what works and what doesn't! SCR: What makes Crimson Cup distinctive? Ubert: Obviously, our products are the biggest thing. We pride ourselves on innovation and excellence, and every Crimson Cup of coffee is going to be outstanding. But I think part of it is the service that we provide to our customers, especially on the wholesale side. A lot of people tend to think of us as a franchise, even though we're not, because we help entrepreneurs write business plans and open their own coffee houses. And we offer so many business services to our clients that you don't normally see from wholesalers, like marketing