A Lisburn coffee roaster has bagged a £1 million retail contract in Great Britain which will see it create 10 new jobs and set its sights on the market in China.
Pure Roast Coffee will supply an unnamed but “well-known” supermarket with its filter coffee, whole beans and coffee bags.
Its String & Tag coffee bags, which are similar to a tea bag, helped seal the deal, tapping into a growing market sparked by the increased number of people working from home following the Covid-19 pandemic, Martin Symington, Director of Pure Roast Coffee, said.
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“As more people have been working from home during the pandemic, our online coffee sales have rocketed by 60%,” he said. “Recognising a gap in the market, we used Invest NI’s support for R&D to develop a new String & Tag coffee bag that meets the needs of the modern coffee consumer.
“The coffee bag is similar to a tea bag and is convenient to use, but doesn’t compromise on high quality flavour.”
Invest NI has offered the company £209,295 towards research and development, the job creation and website development.
Pure Roast Coffee is now turning its attention to China where it sees significant potential for a convenient coffee offer in the future.
“Since 2009, Invest NI’s support has been key to our success and has helped us to grow to the stage where we have secured this lucrative GB supermarket deal,” Martin Symington said. “Coffee consumption in China is growing and we’ve been working closely with Invest NI’s in-market China team to grow in this market.
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“The team has provided us with expert trade advice and connected us with key contacts and we have now opened our seventh café in Shanghai. Our ambitions are to grow this further, to over 60 stores across China in the next few years.”
John Hood, Invest NI’s Director of Food & Drink, welcomed the deal.
“Pure Roast Coffee is an excellent example of a local SME that has invested significantly in new product development to grow sales and build its competitive advantage. Due to the surge in business, we also supported the company to create 10 jobs in the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
“Expanding its team has helped it to increase productivity, support it to deliver this contract and meet consumer demand. I have no doubt that its new brand, packaging and coffee bag will enable the company to grow its share of the GB and Asia Pac markets and secure further opportunities globally.”