Cut The Super-Size
When you designed your specialty beverage menu, you probably decided to offer drinks in 12-oz, 16-oz, 20-oz, and even 24-oz sizes. It’s a familiar format: small, medium, and large and extra large. Most operators set prices for their larger sizes that entice customers with a lower cost per ounce. This means that larger sizes have a lower profit margin but bring in more real profit per drink. It looks economically sound, but offering larger sizes may be more trouble than it’s worth.
One obstacle in offering 20-24-oz cup sizes is filling up those larger cups with a lot more product. A typical 16-oz smoothie, for example, uses roughly 5-7 ounces of liquid formula. A 24-oz smoothie would take between 10-11 ounces of the same mixture to maintain the expected flavor profile. Most baristas estimate how much liquid to place in the machine, which can allow inexperienced baristas to over pour. Not only does that hurt your profit margin in regards to waste, but it can also hurt you in the eyes of a customer, too.
Think of it this way: if you’re at a deli and happen to get extra meat on your sandwich, that’s enough to make you smile and want to come back. Sure, it might cost a few cents more to the owner, but in the long run, you will appreciate the “mistake” and want to come back in. Your sandwich is better for the error. In the specialty beverage industry, however, higher amounts of costly liquids like milk and smoothie base in a drink typically doesn’t make it taste better. What it does is throw off the recipe, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your customers. In other words, it doesn’t benefit you or the consumer to throw a little extra in the cup.
Another problem with super-sized offerings is the super-sized cups they require. 20- 24-oz cups can be costly, especially for something you don’t use as often as your 12 and 16-oz options. Storage issues can also factor in. While having a couple boxes of extra cups in the supply room is never a bad idea, those with limited space might have a hard time finding room for the slower-moving larger sizes. Also, as most café owners know, it can be a tricky and futile game to try and find lids of different sizes to fit your bigger cups. Sometimes your 12-oz lids match your 24-oz options; other times you have the same lid for your 12-16 oz cups but are forced to find varying options for anything 20 ounces and above.
Reducing your cups to 12-16-oz options can provide an opportunity to eliminate some of these hassles. For those hesitant to go smaller, keep this in mind: change always attracts attention. You’ll probably be surprised at the positive reaction this sort of change can generate.
If you’d like to inquire more about cup offerings from Stockton Graham & Co., please contact your Customer Care Associate at 800 835 5943.
Mike Adams
Customer Care Associate
Stockton Graham & Co. Profile Series:
Adam Ptasnik, Inside Sales Associate
1) You owned and operated a café for four years before joining Stockton Graham & Co. How has that experience prepared you to handle the needs of our current and future customers?
Over the past four years I have learned so much about the world of specialty coffee. Many times I learned some valuable lessons the hard way. These experiences have prepared me to give sound advice and guidance to our customers.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed working with all of our customers that I’ve come in contact with. It’s nice to feel a kind of kinship with those who I’ve spoken with because I know many of the questions, concerns, and thoughts that run through their minds. I’ve been in their shoes. Like any business, things aren’t always as smooth as you’d like them to be. It really comes down to being able to anticipate the demands of the industry, customer base and marketplace, and my hope is to be as helpful as possible to Stockton Graham & Co.customers in these matters and many others.
2) What is the most important lesson you learned about how to operate a successful coffee house?
One of the biggest obstacles that every coffee house has to overcome is effectively managing your shop’s human resources. It is not easy recruiting talented employees that you can trust and afford. In reality, your employees can make or break your business. Doing your homework on potential hires became a huge priority for me. At first, I was always trying to be behind the bar, pulling shots, and speaking with customers. You know, having your eye on things. But things happen and you realize you can’t always be at the shop. Out of that comes the need to invest in key employees. I needed someone to be that version of me when I wasn’t there. The folks who I knew would be courteous to guests, take pride in a perfect pour, and could keep everyone else in order became as important as the coffee itself.
3) You’re going to be a father for the first time later this summer. What excites you most about fatherhood?
I have been blessed to have such a great father. He is a friend and someone I have a great deal of respect for. The thing I admire most is his ability to lead by example and learn to do by doing. I am getting very excited because soon I too will have the opportunity to pass these same values onto my son or daughter.
4) Being from Michigan, you like to drop quirky lines like “anywho” and “pretty decent.” You’re also accustomed to a much milder summer. Has the hot North Carolina weather we’ve had recently surprised you?
It definitely has. I never could imagine that I would be living in a place where the temperature would make it up to 100 degrees in June. Hopefully this weather change will grow on me. If not, I will just bear with it until the fall arrives.
5) You also had some experience roasting in your time up north. Generally speaking, coffees from what growing region were your favorite to roast and enjoy?
I am a big fan of South American coffees. In my old shop we would roast and serve some outstanding estate coffees from Brazil and Nicaragua. Since I joined Stockton Graham & Co., I have had the opportunity to try so many more great coffees that I would have never been exposed to on my own. Our roasting staff has more coffee roasting knowledge in their pinky fingers than I have in my entire body. It is nice to be around people that have that level of expertise and knowledge. It helps me to grow and to enjoy specialty coffee more and more every day I come into the office.
6) What’s your favorite Stockton Graham & Co. espresso blend and in what drink do you prefer it?
Our single origin Seda Dulce is my favorite espresso. It’s a wonderful South American varietal with different roast levels. Personally I find it pleasant standing alone. It’s very round with chocolate and caramel notes that make it outstanding in a double cappuccino.
Adam Ptasnik
Inside Sales Associate
Starting your own shop? Thinking about starting a shop? Want to talk about your favorite Stockton Graham & Co. espresso or drip coffees? Or maybe you have some great experiences you would like to share? You can reach Adam or any of our Customer Care Associates at 800 835 5943. Let us help you in making the best out of your coffee business, give us a call today!