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/52159
ofsuccess consumers to enjoy specialty drinks without guilt. cocktail standard," the report says. "Mango is the current fruit to appear everywhere. Staying ahead of the fruit curve will keep customers interested in beverage off erings." Stirling Foods added mango to its line, in keeping with the tropical fruit's topical appeal. Another more recent introduction includes a favorite of kids of all ages: peanut butter. "Th e peanut butter lends itself to some interesting mixes, especially with banana or chocolate," says Jeff rey Greiner, vice president of the Renton, Wash.-based syrup provider. Agave brings added depth and health consciousness to the Amoretti brand. "Organolicious is 100 percent organic blue agave fl avored with natural Amoretti fl avors," says Larry Meagher, vice president of sales for the fl avor-maker in Oxnard, Calif. "With diabetes being a national concern, we are very excited about this product being ahead of the curve for coff eehouses." Currently six fl avors are off ered: French vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, almond, Irish cream and blood orange. Th e company plans to expand the line to more than 100 fl avors. A trend among coff ee and cacao providers, single-origin products that can be traced to a specifi c farm or location, has spread from beans to their fl avorings. "Our hottest new product line is our line of All Natural Single Origin fl avors," says Mann, the DaVinci product manager. "DaVinci Gourmet is the fi rst and only brand to off er fl avors sourced from specifi c regions around the world known for those premium fl avors." Syrup fl avors include Madagascar vanilla, Turkish hazelnut, Pacifi c Northwest raspberry and Hawaiian salted caramel. "Th is gives people the opportunity to leverage the single- origin fl avor trend by promoting things like 'Single Origin Lattes' without all the work and eff ort of sourcing single origin beans," Mann says. "Also, they are just simply great tasting." FITNESS CONCERNS With U.S. obesity rates having doubled in a generation, coff eehouses are looking for ways to attract the customer concerned with fi tness and healthy eating. Big Train has added the Fit Frappe powder mix to its line so Fit Frappe from Big Train is a way for Monin recreate the flavors of a favorite cold-weather comfort food. Pie-flavored syrups from consumers can enjoy specialty drinks without guilt. "Big Train's new Fit Frappe will work great with sugar-free syrups to create a 'skinny' beverage," says Tom Pisarski, strategic marketing director for the beverage maker in Lake Forest, Calif. "Th is 'Good for You' coff ee beverage would have 20 grams of protein, less than 1 gram of sugar, 130 calories, 5 grams of fi ber and with the great taste of coff ee," Pisarski says. "It will wake you up, just like coff ee." Fit Frappe comes in mocha, vanilla latte and espresso fl avors, as well as vanilla and chocolate bases that can be added to coff ee. Louisville-based Weldon Flavorings added four new unsweetened off erings in 2011, says Brenda Weldon, marketing manager. "Peppermint Stick is our newest fl avoring that we introduced for the holiday season," Weldon said. Blueberry Pancakes was created by request from Fred's Coff ee Co. in Oakland, Maine. "Folks in Maine love blueberry iced coff ee," Weldon said. Rounding out the new off erings are Coconut and Coff ee Cake. Once you add new fl avors to your menu, make sure to promote them. "I feel the most eff ective way for a café to advertise is through point-of-purchase displays in store, product sampling, and through seasonal specials on chalkboards or in local newspapers," Hureau says. Mann suggests advertising new blends as limited-time off ers (LTOs). "Sixty-six percent of people do not know what they are going to order when they walk in the door, and advertising on- trend LTOs is a great way to get some buzz about your business and keep customers coming back to see what's new," Mann says. "You can do this simply with some posters, and you don't have to incur the cost to recreate your menu board. "We do have some great-tasting recipes for these new fl avors," he adds, "Th e most popular of which is the Hawaiian salted caramel, which is made with pink Hawaiian sea salt and has a slight pink hue. It is just incredible." Freshly brewed coff ee with a shot of pink certainly will put customers in a spring frame of mind. SCR January 2012 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 29