Member Article

SME Union Coffee releases new book

Coffee has never been hotter and one business that can lay claim to igniting the UK’s love of speciality craft coffee is Union Hand-Roasted Coffee.

In the year of its 15th anniversary, the award-winning coffee roaster and retailer has published a book celebrating its strong growth to date. Union will top £10million in turnover for the first time this year, having grown 28% since 2014 and increased staff numbers by 81% in the same period. Such growth puts Union well on the way to meeting its ambitious target of doubling revenue by 2018.

Union is, and has always been, a business on a mission: to help the UK drink truly exceptional coffee while improving the lives of thousands of people in coffee growing regions around the world. To celebrate the next stage of its growth, co-founders Steven Macatonia and Jeremy Torz have released a book, Real Fresh Coffee (RRP £16.99), published by Pavilion and available from bookshops and unionroasted.com this summer.

With coffee recently overtaking tea as the nation’s favourite beverage, and craft coffee in particular winning hearts, minds and taste buds, now is the perfect time for such a book. As one of the more established craft coffee companies, Union was instrumental in bringing the niche craft coffee movement to a mainstream audience.

Jeremy Torz says: “People have suddenly switched on to the idea of how exciting coffee can be, and want to understand more. Real Fresh Coffee is a one-stop shop for people to learn not just how to brew the perfect cup of coffee, but about the origins, economics and roasting process. It’s a book for aficionados, as well as those who are interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes. From a business perspective, it’s an incredible way of introducing new people to Union.”

The question of where coffee comes from takes a prominent role in Real Fresh Coffee – no surprise given that this topic lies at the heart of Union in the form of Union Direct Trade, the company’s business model.

Union Direct Trade was the first initiative of its kind in the UK. As well as paying producers a minimum 25% above the Fairtrade minimum (and often up to 50%), Union has developed long-standing and mutually-beneficial relationships with coffee growing communities, offering training, financial support and a trusted route to market. As such, coffee growing regions are granted the stability to cultivate ever higher quality of coffee and grow sustainably, which benefits both producer and consumer.

Steven Macatonia says: “Union Direct Trade isn’t just good for coffee farmers – it’s what drives growth in our business. People are becoming more discerning when it comes to quality and provenance, and we believe that businesses who already have a strong emphasis on transparency and sustainable development will be in the best position to capitalise on this.”

But Jeremy and Steven aren’t stopping there. Union is soon to launch Campus – an education centre at its roastery, which will allow those in the industry to experience on-the-job roasting training and earn Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) Diplomas.

“We’re seeing real demand from high-end cafés and restaurants who want to tap into the craft coffee trend and the education centre allows us to offer something that no-one else is. Union has always been about building relationships, and this is the next step in our growth story.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Union Hand-Roasted Coffee .