Automatic Merchandiser

SEP 2015

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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ning, but it was time that we branched out on our own," said Sather. The company developed a detailed transition and rebranding plan letting their clients know several weeks in advance of the change. "We didn't lose a single customer." Today the company operates in a 250 mile radius and services hundreds of car dealerships, apartment buildings, offces, healthcare facilities such as hospitals and even some foodservice locations and country clubs throughout much of Wisconsin, from Madison to Milwaukee, Janes- ville to Green Bay and one Minnesota location. Not in the price battle Transparency with clients is a key focus for Capital Cof- fee. The company has only increased prices three times in the last 20 years, and generally that has been due to manufacturer price increases. In each instance Capital Coffee has communicated with customers in advance to let them know about the price change. "Generally no one has had an issue with this, as they understand the ebb and fow of business," said Sather. Capital Coffee has been successful retaining its cus- tomers by selling on quality frst while maintaining a competitive price. The company believes in giving con- sumers a total coffee experience from high-tech brewer equipment to gourmet hot beverages. Potential customers who are more concerned with price than taste are not always the best ft for Capital Coffee. It even shies away from private label — because it believes that roasters generally place their best coffee on their own label — and liquid coffee because it doesn't result in the same high-quality product Sather's custom- ers have come to expect. Instead, Capital Coffee offers a majority of the national brands and a handful of local roasters including Steep and Brew, Ancora, and Stone Creek through bean-to-cup, batch brew and single-cup brewers. Although local brands are more expensive than national brands, they are com- petitive, and Sather has found that some customers prefer to offer a local favorite. Canada-based brand Van Houtte, however, is Capital Coffee's top-selling coffee. Capital Coffee has seen consumer coffee and hot bever- age expectations increase over the years, including this one. "I can tell that the economy is picking up because I have more locations asking for Starbucks, which is a sign that consumers are willing to spend more," Sather said. This is a good sign for the company that focuses on introducing quality, high-tech brewers to customers. The future of OCS Sather believes high-tech brewers are the future of OCS. He points to a brand new, sleek VKI Eccellenza Touch brewer. "This is the future of OCS, I guarantee it," he said. The Eccellenza Touch, a bean-to-cup brewer, is equipped with a high-defnition, user-friendly 10.1-inch touchscreen and offers more than sixty different hot beverage options. Sather has had this particular machine on display and for use in his offce for the last few months, testing the machine before it is placed with a customer. "We always test equipment before we give it to a customer because we need to be the experts on the way the machines func- tion," said Sather, who recently signed a contract with a Coffee Parts Plus PHONE: 1-866-736-5282 FAX: 1-800-216-6606 sales@coffeepartsplus.com Coffee Accessories, Parts and Water Filtration w w w . c o f f e e p a r t s p l u s . c o m Booth 311 Jen Wells, general manager, plays an important role in the company's continued growth and success. 36 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com September 2015 O P E R A T I O N P R O F I L E

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