Detpak’s two-way road
Detpak have been sponsoring AASCA Barista Competitions for the last four years. Group Brand Manager, Marisa Jones, tells BeanScene why the company feels they benefit from the relationship as much as they contribute.
Those who regularly frequent barista championships are likely familiar with the addictive nature of the energy surrounding these events.
For Marisa Jones, Group Brand Manager for packaging manufacturer Detpak, the energy got to a point that she couldn’t resist. With Detpak now a regular sponsor of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association (AASCA) Barista Championships, Marisa has attended several of these events. This year, she left the audience and took to the stage at the South Australian heats, competing in the Cup Tasting Competition. She proudly boasts she came fourth (out of five, but an impressive achievement nonetheless for a non-coffee professional).
One of her fellow co-workers, SA State Manager Emma Sordillo, similarly took to the spotlight, but on the other side of the table as a judge.
As finding judges for barista competitions can be challenging at the best of times, Emma’s work was a valuable part of maintaining the competition. Having drunk 25 cups of coffee in a day during judging training, she told Marisa she was “bouncing off the walls”. She also told Marisa that she is now ruined, and can only drink quality coffee from now on.
These small contributions are just the tip of the iceberg in Detpak’s contribution to the Australian barista competition scene. The bulk is in the impressive financial support the company provides to keep the competitions running.
The relationships started four years ago, when AASCA approached Detpak, saying they were looking to put on a more professional event and were in need of funds.
“For us, we saw it as a great opportunity to learn more about the industry,” says Marisa. “We wanted to get to know the people who made the industry – the roasters and the baristas. We saw that they could all be found at these events.” As a company that specialises in consistent, quality products, Marisa says the match is a natural fit. Detpak works to ensure its own consistent, high quality through HACCP (food safety) and ISO -9001 certification.
“That’s really our key advantage, when you buy our products, you know what you’re going to get,” says Marisa. “We’ve put a lot of systems in place to produce high quality merchandise… this focus on quality and consistency is similar to what we see happening in the barista space.” The relationship was also beneficial for the company as many of their targets focus on the coffee industry. As such, it was an opportunity to give back to the community that had helped Detpak achieve so much success.
“We really wanted to help them produce a professional event,” she says. “It’s been so great over the years to see the progress they’ve made.”
Baristas, Marisa explains, are the closest point of contact with the consumers of their products. It’s a point that, as manufacturers, Detpak rarely has an opportunity to interact with. She notes that the company can often be removed from the consumer. As such, taking part in these competitions helps them bridge that gap.
“We get feedback on our products from baristas one-on-one – it’s rare to be meeting with this many clients in this kind of forum,” Marisa says. “We take this feedback and we’re able to make improvements to our products.”
Detpak, now an internationally-recognised brand with sales offices in 18 countries and eight manufacturing locations globally, has maintained its Australian roots. The company was started in 1948, and today is still family-owned and operated out of Adelaide. “It’s pretty rare for an Adelaide company to have such global presence, and still more rare for them still to be privately-owned,” says Marisa. Rodney Detmold is the Chairman of the company, and his three daughters all hold key positions throughout the company.
Detpak manages disposable food service packaging, including the coffee industry, while sister companies PaperPak and Detmold Consumer Goods Packaging manage non-food related retail packaging, and FMCG/industrial packaging respectively. Detpak offers over 400 stock products available for purchase by the carton, more than half of which are compostable. They also offer hundreds of other products that can be custom ordered. All of their products are able to be custom printed to a very high-quality, which Marisa notes is ideal for customers looking to establish a brand presence.
The company is best known as the original producers of the Ripple-Wrap Hot Cup, which they first launched on the market just over 12 years ago. While many companies copy it today, Detpak was responsible for the original design. “It was a huge innovation that can now be found in many markets worldwide,” says Marisa. “When the first paper cups came out, without insulation people’s hands got hot while their coffee got cold. By simply using corrugated paper in a very unique way it solved both problems.”
The company has since expanded to offer double-board cups with similar insulation and even a 100 per cent compostable cup called Rebbit. As their products continually improve, Marisa says to witness first hand the development of the Australian coffee scene at these events is highly rewarding.
“These competitions give people a sense of coming together to share something they’re so passionate about,” she says.
“They raise the perception of good coffee and good barista skills and celebrates coffee as so much more than instant coffee in a foam cup. We have so much pride in our unique Australian coffee scene, and we’re happy to continue to support this event as it grows from strength to strength.”
