How much for how much?

The economics of flavoured syrups continued.

So as a coffee house you have syrups but keep them hidden out the way, haven’t really updated the board and not sure how much to put in a coffee, or which order to put it in, and certainly haven’t had time to make sure the staff are getting the most out of it. No, I know this probably isn’t you, but let’s imagine we all might know someone a bit like that.

First objective
Increase the revenue- how? Well getting customers to spend more money is the trick. Put prices up? Well you could, but better to keep offering more choice and more bespoke drinks- so rather than just charging more, give the customer more options and that way they are buying differently. But customers are creatures of habit, they are in a hurry, they don’t want to be messed about I hear you say! Ordinarily I agree but we want them to enjoy more experiences, try more beverages, experience more flavours and do it happily not noticing that it might cost a little more. Changing the board to reflect the seasons, new flavours and offering more choice makes price less of an issue and flavour experiences more important. Better still, customers will feel more confident about change.

Second objective
How does that make more money? Well there is an old and proven principal that profitability follows customer satisfaction. So first, satisfy your customers and that will help profit. How? If you accept that customers will welcome change so long as it’s done in a gradual way and has some logic, then offering new seasonal flavours, highlighting offers that tempt people to order more or move to new products is a start. It has to feel like value.

Entertain! So maybe think about this as part of welcoming and entertaining customers for a short part of their day. They trust you with the choice they are offered so by recommending flavours and recipes to try you are helping them make new choices that hopefully result in the amount they spend with you increasing.

Still not sure?
One of the areas people have a problem with is making new coffees and flavoured drinks. How much syrup flavouring to put in a drink?

We have looked at what works and one large well known chain of coffee houses that we all would recognise do the following.
On the basis that a pumped shot is about 10ml of syrup:

2 pumps in a small cup, 3 pumps in a medium and 4 in a large. This is using the most popular flavoured syrup. However, not all syrups are the same and the subjective nature of taste means that what is ‘enough’ for one person is not nearly enough for another.

‘Syrups are expensive, we don’t want to put too much in’ Well that is obvious but too little will not feel like value to a customer either. Remember that flavours generally have about 50%-70% margin and that is almost all straight profit. We all want customers to be satisfied then the trick is to make sure you have tried and tested all your versions and that your staff have too. That way any variation between flavours and the perceived strength can be accommodated. We find the more natural the flavours, the more variable they might be. Temperature, coffee strength, bitterness, time of day and many other factors all affect the way we perceive flavour; more on that subject another day.

So, in summary; ring the changes gradually, inform, entertain but mostly recommend new beverages and flavours to customers. Make sure everyone on the staff knows and try the products. Make sure it feels like value.

www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk

What value syrups?

The trend for flavouring coffee is growing.

Even artisan coffee houses, that refused to even entertain the idea that they would adulterate their coffee with a syrups flavour, are now offering it. Why?

Why would you put syrups in coffee? The answer; money of course. The economics are overwhelming. Talking to customers and looking at what other industry commentators say supports our view that:

A typical coffee house might have around 300+ people through their door during an average day. Of course only half of them pay because they are in groups of two or three. So, the people who do hand over money might be paying around £7.00-£7.50. Allegra estimates in its latest survey report that the average customer is worth about £3.18. They suggest this figure is declining slightly due to the recession.

Syrups add value- how? Each customer paying out for a flavoured coffee effectively increases the turnover and profit of a coffee shop. The big chains know this. They have been busy with the promotion of flavoured coffee, new beverages and all manner food options. If a flavoured coffee/beverage is 30-40 pence extra and one in two or one in three sales reflected this additional spend ie £7.00 became £7.30; multiply that across a year and it could add up to around an extra £15k of turnover. Remember that much of that extra spend is almost 50-60% straight profit and you can see why people are embracing flavours and syrups. If spend on food is going down, as suggested by Allegra, then getting more spend per cup of coffee sold is the easiest way to recover that spend.

So what works? Seasonal and tactical promotions. Flavours can define a season and they can define an occasion. Christmas Cake flavour was a recent success but unfortunately Christmas comes but once a year- even if it does last almost three months! So what are ‘occasions’? Birthdays, office parties, meetings and social media driven get-togethers. These offer the chance to get consumers to try a different drink and perhaps reset their expectations on pricing.

What will the big themes for 2012 be? Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics are obvious, but the overall tone in Britain is changing. Made in Britain appears to be back in fashion; perhaps because of the Royals and the Olympics but also because it makes economic sense too. The Euro zone crisis means the products and services we import are not as competitive. Consumers are interested in local and the provenance and this is where the independents are at an advantage over the bigger chains. Offering different products and highlighting their provenance helps differentiate from the large chains.

What will we be offering this year? The demand for more themed and novelty flavours means we have a succession of new products and promotions. Flavours such as Hot Cross Bun, Easter Bunny and a Strawberries & Cream are just some of the new flavours. Social media, phone apps and quirky promotions are also planned. The aim is to support our customers so that consumers increase their spend in coffee shops.

more information and ideas at www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk

Tis the season to be cheerful

This year we seem to have started Christmas early. Our on-line sales have picked up and people seem to be buying more.

Last year we put the Christmas rush down to the bad weather. This year we can’t use that excuse. So what has changed?

New Miniatures

We have managed to develop the 4 x 50ml box’s  which allows us to offer a new gift-pack that is probably and ideal stocking filler.

4 x 50ml or a stocking filler?

More interesting to us is the orders for these as corporate gifts. We have already supplied 250 for one local firm as they have tailored it to include there branding and a seasonal message.

A flavour of the season

Chocolate does also seem to be the theme at the moment too. It’s popularity more so in the winter than the summer?

We are convinced that there is a relationship between the  time of year and which flavours people choose. Banana and Strawberry are summer flavours. Chai, Cinnamon and Ginger are winter flavours. Chocolate based flavours are a pre-Christmas. However, Christmas cake flavour has been a big hit with the coffee shops. The idea is driven by the taste for something a bit more fun.

tastes just like Christmas cake

Grown up Flavour

Mulling syrups has been a big hit again and in the running for a big award! Competing against Asda and Morrison’s our Mulling Syrup is proving a hit in ordinary apple juice as well as wine and cider. See how to make it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tCyAD3bvB60

Overall, you would have to say that it is the season to be cheerful. Our flavours will hopefully help cheer folk up too.

JT Oct 2011

everything to make mulled wine/cider/juice in one bottle

A revolutionary system – only one in the UK- use a fraction of the energy of conventional processing and improves the flavours too

Malmesbury Syrups has a revolutionary system – only one in the UK- use a fraction of the energy of conventional processing and improves the flavours too.
The system www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk is using is based around using pulsed white light generated using a patented system utilising a magnetron, waveguide and lamps free of electrodes and ballast systems, to process liquid foods and beverages

How it works
The finely tuned light breaks the cell wall of any pathogenic bacteria (plus dealing with any yeasts or moulds that may be present)- effectively this means making the product free from pathogens that would have been killed by the normal process of pasteurisation (heat treatment)

What is different
This system makes products safe for human consumption but uses a fraction of the energy associated with heat treatment- in the case of Malmesbury syrups the energy usage is just 5% of that compared to the old heat treatment system. Furthermore, by moving from a batch to continuous process system, production time is reduced to between 33% and 50% for any given production run, giving further energy savings based on total factory usage.

What is the advantage?
Flavour
The best flavours tend to be natural and potentially these are quite delicate- heat treatment affects the flavours- but the MicroTek system appears to be make the flavours better- more flavoursome and slightly stronger
Reduced CO² generation
Through energy savings as a result of not using high temperature to pasteurise the syrups, significant reduction in energy consumption- energy = CO²
Access to new markets
Where the easily recycled PET bottles (clear plastic that looks like glass but weighs much less) are preferred by coffee shops.

Other savings
Using this new system allows Malmesbury Syrups to use lighter packaging, such as clear plastic. This means more weight-saving.
Postage is now cheaper and more secure due to reduced breakages

Why does it mater
The government have set ambitious targets for a CO² reduction of around 26-32% of CO² 2020. Most food and drink companies will be wondering just how they will achieve that and still produce safe and wholesome foods. Heat treatment and packaging weight are to key areas in tackling energy reduction- a key source of CO²
Malmesbury Syrups took the view that if you can take the initiative and embrace the sort of change everyone will need to make to achieve the targets then the benefits could be-
Happy customers and consumers because you have offered them a low CO² alternative so they can choose a product that helps them achieve their CO² reduction too
Better products because this is one initiative that doesn’t appear to compromise quality- it enhances it.

Summary
CO² = Cost
Reduce CO² will reduce the energy bill, reduce the transport costs through weight savings
Enhance the quality of the products through less aggressive processing
Lead the change in processing that reduces energy consumption whilst giving customers and consumers better products

About Malmesbury Syrups
TAYLERSON°S MALMESBURY SYRUPS started in 2007 and within 12 months put its products on the shelves of leading premium retailers including John Lewis and Waitrose, Harrods etc.
Making flavoured syrups on a purpose built site on a Parkland estate in very rural North Wilts. The syrups are for the increasingly popular flavoured coffee.

Despite the recession and weathering high street retailers failures Malmesbury Syrups has a growing customer base with Amazon.co.uk being a run away success and is a great example of how on-line provides a great opportunity for rural based business

For more info:
John Taylerson www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk 01666 577 379 john@malmesburysyrups.co.uk

Peter Moore MicroTek 07944 961 794 petermoore@mictotekprocesses.com

Great Taste Gold Prize Winner- Again!

available from Malmesbury Syrups in a 1 litre bottle too

Malmesbury Syrups have developed the new syrup lastwinter and tested them with many consumers to ensure an authentic flavour.

“Local pubs and hotels have shown a real interest as they like the idea of offering shooting and hunt gatherings something authentic” says John Taylerson, “winning a prestigious food & drink award is a tremendous reward given the time it takes to develop new products”

Malmesbury Syrups hopes that the new mulling syrup will sell alongside the coffee syrups on-line at Amazon.co.uk as well as its own web site and in local shops and hotels.

Cafe latte collection – Toffee Banoffee & Mint Choc.

Following the success of the Bath Coffee Festival and the feed back I thought we should produce a new gift box with the three most popular flavours of the festival.

These flavours are great hot or cold- they make a great flavoured latte ice cold if the weather is hot or hot when the weather reverts to normal. (Normal weather being wet given its Wimbledon, and there is hay waiting to be baled- these factors ordinarily guarantee rain!)

The new gift box of these flavours is now available on Amazon.co.uk if you search for coffee syrups click here or indeed available from www.malmesburysyrups.co.uk

How to make these latte’s – well firstly, these syrups have been tweaked to work hot or cold but its essential not to subject the flavours to too much heat when making as the flavours are a bit volatile and might evaporate off.

Three flavours- one use

Making your self an Ice cold, nice cold- latte using one of these three flavours

How to make

Its a Gift- making a latte

Take a your favourite coffee and put a shot of it into either ice cold milk and add some crushed ice or steam to make a nice frothy latte

Then put a shot of one of these three flavours-

All three work well in either hot or ice-cold milk

• Toffee
• Banoffee
• Or Mint Choc.

It’s cool to drink milk? Well it’s a great way to get cool!

stick these in your glass with ice cold nice cold...

Hot isn’t it- well it can be this summer and cooling down might be nicer than you think.

Nice Cold Ice cold milk was the way milk used to e promoted- only we don’t like milk- it’s a bit like water- without fiz or flavour it just doesn’t do it. Worse, its supposed to be good for you too! Where is the danger in that!

However, there is a simple solution- Mint choc. Mocha, Banoffee, Vanilla, Chai to name but a few ways of making milk taste great, and a bit ‘adult’ too.

Ice cold Milk Frappes°

• Get a smart thick large glass
• Stick some crushed or cubed ice in the glass
• Now add about 1 part Malmesbury syrup to 7- 10 parts ice cold milk but pour the milk onto the syrups to get it really well mixed
• Then drink and enjoy

Remember Full fat milk is just 3.5% fat and the good stuff (Gold Top) just 5.5% fat- and guess where all the vitamins, Omega3 and Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) that fight cancer are- yep in the butter fat

Communicating with customers

I attended some very interesting Chartered Institute of Marketing events about digital marketing and social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc) Obviously Twitter and similar is not the answer to everyone who is trying to keep their promotional bills down- however, I have decided to cut some stuff out.

Trade shows- best described as the usual suspects turning up and paying to meet- the usual suspects.

Trade directories- having received numerous reminders that I have failed to secure this years entry in the specialist and fine food trade directory – I will therefore not appear in it- if you were looking- however, I have remained in the worlds biggest trade directory, Google.

But some things have been worth doing- Direct mail to existing customers and new ones seem to work very well. Thanks to my friendly helpful local printers (Peppermint Print) between us we have produced some attractive and effective postcards that customers have reacted very well to. The postcards have encouraged customers to the web sites and were seemingly worthwhile.

Conclusion- whilst social media are very interesting and fun they probably only speak to a certain group of people and therefore not a panacea for tight-fisted producers like me. So keep an eye on the letter box- postcards are on the way.

Taste of success at UK’s first coffee festival

The city of Bath hosted a fantastic inaugural event that exceeded all expectations.

The event soon got under way with a demonstration from Michelin star celebrity chef Martin Blunos. Martin, a Bath resident, made a point of highlighting that he was local and stayed the whole weekend, helping to create the relaxed and good humoured atmosphere. There were lots of lovely visitors. That said, if there was a competition to fill a tent with the middle classes then Bath would be the ideal place to pitch up – no wonder the Daily Telegraph was there. People were queuing up on the Saturday morning in the sunshine and within minutes the place was heaving. And it was a big space too – we had three marquees. Every coffee company said the same – what a great crowd of visitors.

The SCAE described some of the visitors as ‘coffee geeks’, well they should know then! I met some of my own customers but gained many more as a result of the festival.

The atmosphere really was festival like – it was in an ideal setting and with great facilities but, best of all keen and enthusiastic visitors and exhibitors.

I will be among many who will be able to say ‘we made a little history’ we were at the first coffee festival in the UK. Geometry

the tents will be bigger next year too

the entrance to the biggest coffee den in Britain

PRs ’ challenge now is make it an even bigger success and better event next year

Bath Coffee Festival- a First

Bath Coffee Festival

Coming to a regency town near you-

Weekend 15^th- 16^th May is going to have the first coffee festival in Britain- hard to believe but strangely we have never had one before. Obviously café culture has taken a little longer to arrive here but it seems to be arriving with ‘both barrels’. The show, on the rec (Bath Rugby ground) in Bath is free and aimed at the general public as opposed to being another trade show- however, it appears that consumer shows are becoming the new ‘trade event’ where canny trade buyers pose as ‘normal’ folk seeking out new and different products.

Consumers, the people we are really interested in are expected in the hundreds if not thousands- Bath is pretty popular as a weekend destination at anytime of year and no stranger to these events- but combine Telegraph readers, Waitrose shoppers and one of Britain’s most scenic cities and you have the perfect day out.

Malmesbury Syrups will be there if force- new flavours, lots of samples and a healthy enthusiasm for adding flavour to other peoples coffee’s should at least get us noticed. Were we not a sponsor we would of course get slung out for adulterating good coffee with our flavours however, we notice that the coffee snobs soon settle down once they have been ‘gingered up’ with one of our popular flavours.

So 10.00 am Bath Rugby ground, Bath on an English spring day – see you there?