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34 Tea & Coffee Trade Journal | www.teaandcoffee.net F or a brand to reach 50, 75 or 80 years is commendable. But hitting the 100-year mark, is quite a feat— in any given industry. The coffee indus- try may have its fair share of long-lasting brands, but given the highly competitive marketplace, lasting 100 years is truly impressive. To accomplish this, a coffee brand must stay fresh, on trend and relevant, particularly with today's savvy and fickle coffee consumers. And that's exactly what New England Coffee has done, and continues to do. The 1916 was one of much tur- moil, but also outstanding achievements Notably, much of the world was involved in World War I (1914-1918, the U.S. engaged in 1917) with new countries continually joining the conflict (in 1916 alone, Italy declared war on Germany while Germany declared war on Portugal and Romania); the Easter Rising rebellion took place in Ireland; after surviving an attempt on his life earlier in the year, the infamous Rasputin was murdered via poisoning, gun shots and drowning (because one method was apparently not enough); James L. Kraft invented pro- cessed cheese, creating the basis of his empire; and Albert Einstein's "The Basis of the General Theory of Relativity" was published. While these events were taking place, Menelaos Kaloyanides, who had emigrated from Greece in 1910 to seek his fortune in America, was running a suc- cessful restaurant in Boston, Mass., but he dreamed of starting his own business. He, along with his brother George and his cousin Megaklis Papadopoulos, founded the New England Tea & Coffee Company in 1916. From their location at Milk and Broad Streets in Boston, they began delivering coffee to restau- rants, mostly Greek, all over the city by horse and wagon. As their reputation grew, so did the reach of their deliveries and size of their accounts, with New England Coffee eventually growing to become a major supplier throughout the Northeast and eastern seaboard in the U.S., as well as Florida. By the 1940s, the second generation of the Kaloyanides family joined the business, and by the 1970s, the third generation had become involved in the family business. In 2013, New Orleans, La.-based Reily Foods Company, another family-owned business that was founded in 1902, acquired New England Coffee, which remains headquartered in Malden, Mass., a suburb of Boston. Reily Foods owns such brands as French Market Coffee, Luzianne Tea and Blue Plate Mayonnaise. profile: new england coffee New England Coffee is celebrating its 100 th anniversary this year and has designed a yearlong campaign to thank consumers and its employees for helping the company reach this milestone. Michael Morse, vice president of marketing, Reily Foods Co., spoke with T&CTJ about retaining old world methods while keeping the New England Coffee brand on trend and relevant with consumers, and the new consumer-focused campaign. By Vanessa L. Facenda All photos courtesy of Reily Foods Company New England Coffee Celebrates Its Centennial New England Coffee "roaster captain," circa 1980. The company continues to roast in small batches.