News

Beverages At Work

Beverage sales as a whole, make up in excess of half our cash revenues so it is crucial we get it right. The key to achieving success is making sure the offer is relevant to the consumer audience, which differs hugely between our restaurants and cafes. Whether this is about choosing the right brand of coffee or deciding on the type of coffee machine to buy, these decision are key to ensuring you deliver what customers want.

Like food, beverage trends have changed significantly over the past few years. Customers are seeking healthier, raw and unsweetened drinks, they want to see their drinks made with theatre in front of them and they want to understand the provenance behind their drink of choice – none less than coffee!

We’ve seen provenance play a big role in driving a change in customer expectations and as a result, we have developed some hugely exciting concepts and initiatives that we have launched throughout the business;

Perkee is our new premium, sustainable coffee brand which has been produced in partnership with Bewley’s and the Soppexcca coffee co-operative in Nicaragua. The co-op, which is 40% female run, was set up by Fatima Ismael and aims to improve the lives of its members and the community. Soppexcca’s profits are ploughed back into education, diversification and health centres in Nicaragua

Raw & Ripe is our fresh fruit and vegetable cold-pressed juice concept which allows customers to choose from a selection of seasonal fruit and vegetables, most of which are from Watts Farm located just 19 miles from Central London. This approach also ticks the ‘customisation’ box, which is a huge consumer food trend we’re seeing throughout the foodservice sector

Our longstanding relationship with Thirsty Planet and Pump Aid has enabled thousands of individuals and families in East Africa to have access to fresh water. Through the sales of our bottled water within our cafés and restaurants, bartlett mitchell has now funded 30 fresh water wells. This reduces the number of people suffering from preventable water-related illness and improves economic opportunities for local farmers and businesses.

Our customers’ reaction has been overwhelmingly positive to drinks that have a strong sustainability story. Not only do we receive incredible customer feedback, but we were delighted to receive the Sustainable Restaurant Association Food Made Good Award for the third successive year. However we believe this is just the start, so watch this space!

Simon Houston
Sales Director