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36 Tea & Coffee Trade Journal | www.teaandcoffee.net Maintaining Old World Traditions One hundred years later, and even under new ownership, New England Coffee has not lost its small-company culture and entrepreneurial spirit. Hence its tagline, "Small Company. Big Coffee." New England Coffee was founded on the old world method of small-batch roast- ing and maintains that tradition today— despite its 42 SKUS (including line-item coffees, seasonal offerings and single-serve products, but excluding foodservice and private-label products) and its availability in more than 10,000 coffee shops, restau- rants, retailers, grocery and convenience stores. "New England Coffee grew from its small begin- nings because of its repu- tation for consistently pro- viding quality coffee," said Michael Morse, vice pres- ident of marketing, Reily Foods. "A lot goes into selecting the bean, and the QA standards that were in place when Menelaos Kaloyanides founded the company are still there today." All coffee is cupped three times before it is packaged. "The coffee is cupped first before it is pur- chased; then again before it arrives at our facility, and again after the coffee is roasted. That is how New England Coffee gained its reputation for great coffee," said Morse. [All New England Coffee branded coffees are 100 percent Arabica. Robusta is available to customers who want it for their private-label products.] The amazing thing about coffee, he said, is that process has not changed. "Cupping today is like cupping 70 years ago, which adds to romance of category. The testing to ensure quality and consis- tency is done same way it was done 70 and 100 years ago," Morse noted, adding that Steve Kaloyanides Sr., who, at 90 years old, continues to go to work daily to cup coffee along with Mark Woods, director of green coffee pur- chasing and quality assur- ance (and a third-genera- tion coffee man) and Bruna Iljazi, manager of green coffee purchasing and qual- ity assurance (who has been cupping coffee for 20 years). New England Coffee takes pride in the fact that it is still able to roast in small batches, which Morse attributes to the company's strong supply chain control. On the foodservice side, batches are roasted to order. "We believe that the closer in time it is from roasting the coffee and getting it into the hands of the consumer, the bet- ter, because it is fresh- er," he said, adding, "therefore, we do not carry a lot of inventory." Keeping Up with the Times To stay relevant with its consumers, a brand must know exactly who those consumers are. For New England Coffee, its core consumers are women, aged 45-plus, with household incomes of USD $55K-plus, who are regular coffee drink- ers (consuming on average, seven cups of coffee per week) and who like a cup that is not too bold. These consumers also prefer to buy bags of ground coffee rather than whole bean. "We over-index with young families and empty nesters," said Morse. "Younger consumers are heavy coffee drinkers, it's a life stage thing. For empty nesters, it's more of a habit, a ritual that is part of their day." He noted that younger consumers also prefer flavored coffees— something that New England Coffee has been known for since the 80s. "When [the company] started offering flavored coffees, they worked off the equity of the New England region so flavors like maple, pumpkin and caramel apple were introduced," said Morse. "We're constant- ly testing new unique flavors for customers at retail and in coffee shops because we're always trying to stay on trend." Today, some of the company's best-selling flavors are Hazelnut, French Vanilla and Blueberry Cobbler. Flavored coffees are offered year round, but New England Coffee also rolls out a number of seasonal offerings. The newest for spring 2016 are Butter Pecan and Peach Berry Smash, which were introduced at the New England Food Show that took place in March. Seasonal products are line priced with the standard items at USD $7.99 (MSRP) per 12-oz bag. Staying on trend also meant enter- ing the single-serve market, which New England Coffee did in 2012. The com- pany's single-serve items are doing well, profile: new england coffee Michael Morse, vice pres- ident, marketing, joined Reily Foods Co. in 2015. New England Coffee has outfitted a Fiat with a giant coffee mug and enlisted brand ambassadors as part of its yearlong, mobile Extraordinary People Campaign.