Published August 20, 2015 by Cappuccino Connection

8 Craziest Coffee Drinks

Photo by desertbullet

Time magazine recently listed the most decadent coffee confections you don’t want to miss!

Guinness-flavored latte – Starbucks introduced Dark Barrel Latte that mimics the taste of Guinness without the alcohol. Available only at select Starbucks locations in Florida and Ohio due to its testing phase.
Elephant poop coffee – Yes, you heard right! Deemed the world’s most expensive brew, Black Ivory Coffee is made from Arabica beans from Thailand that first pass through an elephant’s digestive system and are then harvested from the resulting dung. The process brings out the natural sugar in the bean while removing the bitterness, supposedly resulting in a uniquely delicious cup of joe. Available here only.
Coffee in edible waffle cups – One California coffeehouse has applied the concept soup in bread bowl to its beverages in a form of coffee. Available at Alfred Coffee & Kitchen in Los Angeles.
Affogato – Ice cream or gelato then topped with a shot of hot espresso. Simple recipe, try it at home!
Koffie Van Brunt – This beverage with a touch of aged rum got the TimeOut New York raving as “swirling layer of ivory white cream, burnished brown java and bright orange zest makes this drink as pretty to look at as it is tasty to sip.” Get it at Fort Defiance in Brooklyn, NY.
Coffee Beer Repeat – Two pints of beer and two shots of espresso all served separate. Come by Houndstooth in Austin to try it out.
Toasted Marshmallow Latte – Concoction includes espresso, steamed milk and a roasted marshmallow on a stick. Big Shoulders Coffee in Chicago serves it perfectly.
The Vincent Vega – The drink, available at The Mission in San Francisco, includes Coca-Cola, a shot of espresso, vanilla syrup, served over ice.

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Published October 21, 2014 by Mike

Tips To Help You Increase Profits In Your Coffee Shop

Coffee House As a specialty coffee and tea shop owner, you know it’s critical to your business that the beverage products you feature are the ones which will make you the most money.

As new products are introduced, and new “hot” trends develop, you need low-risk ways to market these new products to your customers. All this is critical to your profit margin and success.

At The Cappuccino Connection, we like to help our customer achieve the most profit possible for the effort they put into their shops. Here are some ideas you may not have considered, or just need to be reminded of again:

Tip#1: Flavored Syrups Sell More Drip Coffee – Pocket Up To $720 More Per Month

Flavoring added to coffee helps you sell more coffee. Almost 50% of ALL beverages sold include flavor. DaVinci brand flavored syrups have been shown to sell more drinks than other brands.

One simple marketing strategy using DaVinci flavored syrup can increase your profits by $720 each month. That is: Provide the flavored syrup FREE to your customers to add to their drip coffee. Make available 4 or 5 of the most popular flavors and encourage your customers to try them and report their favorite.

How will this increase your profits? Let’s assume you have an average size shop where you sell 150 cups of drip coffee a day. The FREE flavored syrup promotion should increase your coffee sales by 20%, therefore 30 more cups per day. If your profit per cup is currently $1.00, your profit after the cost of syrup is 80 cents. Those 30 additional cups are worth $24 per day, or $720 in 30 days.

In addition, as customers grow to appreciate the flavors, they will begin buying your higher profit specialty coffees.

Tip#2: Spiced Chai – Switching Brands Could Save You $203 per Month

If you are currently using Oregon Chai, a simple switch to DaVinci Spiced Chai could add $203 per month to your bottom line – while making your job easier, not harder!

The cost of Oregon Chai is about $1.10 per serving, the cost of DaVinci Spiced Chai is only about 65 cents – a 45 cent savings. If you average 15 Chais a day, that’s $6.75 in savings, or about $203 extra profit in 30 days.

And that’s while making your job easier. DaVinci Chai uses a pump system and a concentrated formula (9:1 ratio), which allows for easy measurement and clean dispensing. Also, no refrigeration is required, meaning the drink is not cooled by adding a large amount of cold liquid.

Greater profits, easier product to use, why not switch to DaVinci Spiced Chai?

Tip#3: Feature Flavors – Seasonal or Monthly

As we mentioned before – flavoring helps sell more coffee. Many of the DaVinci flavored syrups are ideal to feature at a particular season or month. Curiosity about that flavor can sell more coffee. How about Peppermint Paddy at St. Patrick’s Day, or Pumpkin Pie at Halloween? Red Hot Cinnamon on Valentine’s Day, Egg Nog on New Year’s Day … let your imagination run wild!

Or better yet, have your customers enter a contest to suggest flavors for certain events or celebrations. Offer a prize of a mug or free pound of coffee to the winner. Everyone will look forward to trying the next featured flavor.

Call us at The Cappuccino Connection at 1-800-249-0011 – we can send you a chart of suggested feature flavors for the year.

Tip#4: Nifty Names and New Recipes

Have a special drink? Give it a special name. Turtle Mocha is more catching than Chocolate-Caramel-Praline. White Zombie, Chunky Monkey, Winterberry Freeze … all can raise a curiosity in customers which can lead to more sales.

Need ideas for new drinks? Again, let your customers get involved – with a contest if necessary – to suggest flavor combinations and new drink ideas. Name the drink after the winning customer.

Also, DaVinci Gourmet publishes drink recipes and new drink ideas. Call us at The Cappuccino Connection – we can send you new recipe suggestions.

Tip#5: Package Deals – Everybody Likes a Bargain

Make it easier for your customers. Offer a package deal which includes popular items bundled together at a lower price than the individual items. Breakfast Wakeup Special of a latte and a scone, or an Afternoon Tea for Two Special of Chai and Biscotti. Packages make the decision making process easier, and easier makes for more sales.

Don’t forget take-out packages as well as in-store specials. A Sunday Romantic Brunch package of gourmet pancake mix, coffee, and a small bottle of flavored syrup in a small basket with napkins and a candle would make an attractive special offer. It could also increase you sales of syrups for home use.

Tip#6: Special Customers Club – Make Them Feel Important:

After all, they are the most important part of your business. Your regular customers should feel appreciated for their faithful patronage of your shop. Even a simple Customer Loyalty Card rewarding them with a free drink after purchasing 12 or 20 lets them know you appreciate their business and keeps them coming back regularly.

Offer Frequent Customer Special days with discounts for all customers with the Frequent Customer Card. As mentioned before, name a drink after customers who win a contest or are your most loyal patrons.

Tip#7: Joint Ventures – Coordinate With Neighboring Merchants

Is there an automobile oil change shop near you? Wouldn’t his customers appreciate a good cup of coffee while waiting for their car to be finished? (Do any of those places ever serve good coffee? – Why not offer the oil change merchant some coupons for a free cup of coffee at your shop? His clients would be happier – and they will usually order something else in addition to the coffee. You might even sell him the coupons at your cost. Or, you could offer to give your customers a discounted coupon to his shop after they have completed their Frequent Customer Card.

How about a hair stylist? An electronics repair shop? A Laundromat? Any shop where customers might need to wait for ten minutes or more. Just think of all the businesses around you and try to figure out ways you can drive business to them while they drive business to you … at little cost to either of you.

Tip#8: Special Needs – Special Opportunities

The most common special need is sugar-free products. Here again DaVinci meets that need with the widest variety of sugar-free syrup flavors (38 in all). Sweetened with Splenda – they have excellent flavor without the added calories of sugar or the “peculiar” taste of other artificial sweeteners.

Get the word out to your special needs customers – Splenda is safe for diabetics, pregnant women, and children, and carries no health warnings or usage restrictions. Is there a diabetic focus group, a weight reduction clinic, or health spa near you? Educate them on the availability and advantages of DaVinci Gourmet Syrups.

Tip#9: Gift Baskets – Help Your Customers with Their Gift Ideas

Design various gift basket combinations for different celebrations – Breakfast in Bed, Afternoon Picnic, Birthday, House-warming, or any holiday. Include a small selection of DaVinci syrups along with coffee or tea and gourmet cookies, pancake mix, or dried fruit or candy. This provides your customers with great gift ideas for their friends and family.

Flavored syrups give you all the tools to make customers happy. Soon they will be coming to you to purchase the syrups in small bottles for home use.

How can we help you with your coffee shop marketing?

At The Cappuccino Connection, we know that helping you make your business successful is the best way to make our business successful. Let us help you with your marketing ideas and products.

We offer best prices on coffee shop supplies, beverages and great customer service. You can order online or by phone 1-800-249-0011. We also have a dedicated team for espresso machine installations, repairs and service. Call us today or fill out this form to submit your request.

If you are a customer we can also provide you with Point-of-Sale products:

Hot and cold drink posters
Banners
Chalkboards
Coffee drink counter cards
Full color product sell sheets
Recipe brochures
POS order cards

In fact, in cooperation with DaVinci Gourmet, we can provide you with customized POS Counter Cards, showing your own drink name and your price.

Let us know how we can help you be successful and share your own tips below in the comments section.

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Published July 31, 2014 by Cappuccino Connection

Pick of the Week Coffee Shop: Third Wave

Photo by Rory Gardiner.

We traveled “virtually” around the globe to find the most unique coffee shop concept and came across Third Wave in Torquay, Australia. When you’re riding the waves or watching the waves, a quick break at this kiosk can provide you a nice pick me up between breaks. Third Wave describes themselves as:

…a current movement to produce high-quality coffee, and consider coffee as an artisanal foodstuff, like wine, rather than a commodity, like wheat. This involves improvements at all stages of production, from improving coffee bean growing, harvesting, and processing, to stronger relationships between coffee growers and coffee traders and roasters, to higher quality and fresh roasting, at times called microroasting (by analogy with microbrew beer), to skilled brewing.

The kiosk will provide a wide variety of food through breakfast and lunch.The coffee is supplied by the coffee cartel who import speciality coffee beans from around the world.

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Published July 24, 2014 by Cappuccino Connection

9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits

Need more ideas to help your business succeed? Cappuccino Connection has outlined a special tip sheet that will help you increase your profits.

Do you want to learn how to:

Learn low-risk ways to help increase your profits
Discover the new trends that are critical to your profit margin and success
Think creatively to market your products well

Download our complimentary tip sheet now!

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Published July 19, 2014 by Cappuccino Connection

6 Interior Design Ideas for Your Coffee Shop

The weekends are all about creative thinking and innovation. Are you thinking of renovating or updating the decor of your shop? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Interior Design Tips Trends

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Published July 18, 2014 by Cappuccino Connection

Part II: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops

In our last post, we discussed the benefits of implementing social media as part of your marketing strategy. While many coffee shop owners like the idea of trying something new, the other concern is finding the time to do it. Here are some effective ways to manage your social media tools:

Defined Goal

Be specific and set up a goal to avoid hassle and time wasted.

Find Your Customers or Potential Customers

Set up Google Alerts to find your customers and find potential areas where you can add value to online discussions or presence online.

Limit Your Tools

Instead of managing six different kinds of social media tools, focus on doing 1-2 at a time and to target ones where most of your customers or prospects are.

Manage Your Time Wisely

Managing social media shouldn’t take all day. Spend at least 20-30 minutes per day but be CONSISTENT. For instance, in Facebook, your routine should include monitoring or reviewing wall posts, private messages (answer questions if needed), and comments (respond professionally to concerns or compliments).
Consider these time saving tools such as HootSuite or HubSpot to schedule posts in advance on a weekly basis in Facebook and Twitter. Remember, mixing your original content posts will keep your customers engaged (promotions, upcoming events, contests, thoughts, etc).

Set Your Own Voice

Use your own voice to establish you and your brand.

Measure Success

Take time to also track the success of your social media efforts. Increase in “likes” or followers may seem nice but your real focus should be on your sales. Ask yourself, did the one-week long roasted coffee bean promotion increase in your roasted coffee bean sales? You can also track some of these analytics through HootSuite and HubSpot. Another great tool is Google Analytics to help analyze your marketing activities.

Best of luck and we wish you all the success!

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Published July 18, 2014 by Cappuccino Connection

Part I: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops

Think having a static website is enough for your coffee shop business? Think again. Implementing the right social media tools can unleash incredible potential to market your product and brand.

Here is why you should consider social media to your marketing mix:

In a competitive market, relying on quality product and environment is not enough to expand your consumer base.
Engaging with your customers outside of your coffee shop is difficult but using the right social media tools, you can interact with them, share ideas, promote events/products/services, etc.

Next, consider some of these popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. You don’t need to be everywhere at the same time. Follow where your customers are likely to be online such as posting images on Instagram or tweeting on Twitter or liking pages on Facebook.

How to Implement Social Media The Right Way

When done correctly, utilizing social media can maximize the reach of your current and potential customers, build relationships with your clients outside of your coffee shop and receive feedback on your brand and products.

Engage! Engage! Engage!

Initiate conversations on Facebook or Twitter. Communicating with your customers through social media can be powerful and when they’re engaged with your business, you can receive very useful information that will help make your business successful. But do pay attention to responses as sometimes you’ll learn more about them than you thought (i.e.; tastes, thoughts, ideas, etc)! In return, customers will feel values and their voices heard, creating a relationship between you and your business.
Try marketing your product indirectly by implementing photo contests with brand related contest and prize that brings them back to the shop such as gift cards or store merchandise.
Vote contests also allow you to understand your customers better while empowering your customers.
Boost demand by offering a limited time only exclusive offer.
Don’t forget to build your fan pages, e-mail list and followers as well!

Visual is Key

Good quality visual graphics, company images, banners, running events, number of likes or followers all create a positive perception of your business. Make sure that the graphics are dynamic and fit the themes of your store.
Keep in mind that images are more powerful than words.

Stay tuned for Part II: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops where we’ll discuss time management for social media.

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9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits In Your Coffee Shop

Published June 16, 2014 by Mike

9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits In Your Coffee Shop

As a specialty coffee and tea shop owner, you know it’s critical to your business that the beverage products you feature are the ones which will make you the most money.