he eighth annual
CoffeeTea&Water; (CTW)
event held this past Nov. 2
to 4 in Washington, D.C. was a
showcase of offce coffee service
(OCS) and how it is evolving.
Both the opening and closing
remarks were made not by cof-
fee experts, but by executives
of major tea corporations. Seth
Goldman, TeaEO of Honest
Tea, talked about his journey
of bringing organic, lightly
sweetened single serve iced
tea to market in a positive and
creative way.
Stephen Twining, director
of public relations for Twinings
Tea, closed CTW with how tea is
trending. He presented numbers
showing that the ever-increasing
workplace consumer group
known as Millennials are most
likely to drink tea, especially as
K-Cups bring good quality tea to
the U.S. market in a simplifed
and convenient format.
Coffee, however, certainly
wasn't ignored. It was featured
prominently with research about
its popularity and also new brew-
ing equipment and trends. It con-
tinues to grow and expand with
consumers opting for unique
coffee products such as cold brew
as well as enhanced single-cup
options like bean-to-cup brewers.
An interesting expansion for
CTW was the large focus on the
business aspect of an OCS opera-
tion. Many of the sessions dealt
with digital and social marketing;
labor issues; customer relations;
and beating the competition with
service and experience.
NAMA called this year a
'record breaker' with the most
exhibitors, key decision makers
and industry leaders in atten-
dance. There were 13 educa-
tional sessions, along with other
high-value events like Tech
Talks and the WIN Fun Run
organized by NAMA's Women
of the Industry group.
CTW 2016 is planned for
Nashville, TN, Nov. 8 to 10.
CTW 2015 Refects
Diversifed OCS Market
By Emily Refermat, Editor
Download CTW
Presentations Online
If you missed a presentation at
CTW, NAMA is offering the session
presentations online at
www.coffeeteaandwater.org/downloads
▲
Carla Balakgie, CEO of NAMA,
welcomed attendees to the eighth
annual CTW event and called it the
year of "frsts."
▲
The inaugural Women of the Industry (WIN) Fun
Run drew 130 runners, walkers and volunteers.
▲
Thomas V. Schultz, ICF, left, Adam Spitz, ICF and
Kirsten Hesla, EPA, met with industry members to
hear comments on the new Energy Star standards
proposed for commercial coffee brewers.
Learn more about the EPA standards at
VendingMarketWatch.com/12137910
T
40 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com December 2015
CONVENTION N A M A 2 0 1 5 C O F F E E T E A & W A T E R