The era of the percolated and stretched coffee has definitely come to a close: Her Majesty’s subjects have refined the taste buds of their palates in the successful endeavour to be able to degust and distinguish a true quality espresso. Convinced of this are the managers at Eurofoodbrands, a British import company of foreign, mostly Italian, food products that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and closed 2015 with a turnover of 82 million pounds.
ILLYCAFFÈ, A BEACON IN THE PORTFOLIO – The choice to include Illycaffè in 1994 eventually succeeded in contributing spectacular results to Eurofoodbrands. “We were convinced that even in Britain,” says Stephen Barlow, managing director of Eurofoodbrands, “the first glimmers of hope for getting a foothold, particularly in developing the espresso market, would open up before long, especially in the premium segment where the offer at that time was truly poor and scarce.”
A ‘BRIT’ PASSION FOR ITALY – “It is exactly by virtue of constant tourist flows that enabled British consumers to get to know the illy brand,” proceeds Barlow, “What is more, this brand is not only well-known within its own national borders, but has been able to make its mark almost everywhere in the world. I can therefore say without any hesitation that the British have grown in terms of coffee consumption and are now used to drinking a cup of coffee exactly the same way as Italians do”.
APPROXIMATELY 7,000 CUSTOMERS – Currently, Eurofoodbrands is counting approximately 7,000 customers serving illycaffè in their stores and operating in both modern distribution, as well as in out-of-home-consumption. In terms of the modern channel, the importer counts the major British chains among its clients: Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and up to several independent trade names.