BeanScene Magazine

When Henri Kalisse has his way, customers will know where their coffee comes from. They’ll chat with their barista over the sounds of the espresso machine about beans’ origins and maybe even their roasting and ageing method. What goes into making that brilliant cup of coffee won’t be the “mysteries of alchemy, turned into black gold,” as Henri puts it, but an interactive, open discussion; a line of communication from the grower to the roaster, café owner and coffee drinker.

It is a grand vision, but increasingly tangible at a time when Australian consumers are already becoming more aware of where their coffee is coming from and are actively seeking information on fair trade practices and organic growing methods. It is this kind of direction that Henri is using to rebrand the Ducale business, moving away from the company’s traditional Italian espresso roots and embracing the street-wise scene of modern Australian coffee.

“Over the last six years, the Australian market has exploded.” Henri says. “The trends and sophistication of Australian coffee drinkers has changed over time… there’s a tradition of little cafés in laneways with a boutique feel. We had a look at that and said this is a business direction we can take.”
The coffee’s new packaging takes on an earthy, grungy feel to match what Henri sees as the emerging trends in Australia’s coffee scene. But, funky new packages are only the superficial part of Ducale’s new direction. Employing a staff of young Australian roasters, the company is taking a reinforced focus on sourcing the best quality beans to make great coffee, as Henri says, “with a story behind it”.

Ducale’s Monsoon blend is a great example of a bean with a story that should see even an uninterested coffee drinker’s ears prick up. The Monsoon blend is an Indian origin bean that was created by mistake. During the four to six months it historically took to ship the beans to Europe, the conditions on the boat were humid and moist, which caused the beans to swell and change colour from green to gold. This alteration would give the beans a more mellow taste – which the Europeans preferred – and it became known as the Monsooning process.

To recreate the process today, on the coastal regions of Western India during the southwest monsoon months from June to September, the beans are layered about 5 inches thick on the concrete and brick floors of warehouses. The windows and doors are then opened to expose the beans to the humid winds coming off the Indian Ocean.

To help communicate these stories to customers, Ducale has developed point of sale “teasers” to get drinkers curious about the coffee. In offering just a bit of information, the displays encourage consumers to speak with their barista or waiter about their coffee.

“There’s already more and more people thinking about where their coffee comes from,” Henri says. “More customers want to know if the coffee is sustainable, ethically produced, and its origin… For consumers to start thinking like that is really interesting. We need to demystify that part of the experience so we [as roasters] aren’t the only ones who can explain it.”

In this regard, part of Ducale’s renewed efforts have been to get customers, mainly café owners, increasingly involved in the process, rather than just handing them a bag of coffee. The company’s account managers will go out and learn as much as they can about the customer to see if Ducale is the right fit.

In some cases, this might not be the case. While Ducale is committed to delivering the best quality coffee, this renewed focus on coffee has meant less energy on delivering umbrellas, footpath barriers and the like. Where a customer is only focused on “how many free T-shirts they can get” with their coffee, Henri notes Ducale might not be the best fit for them. 

Ducale is looking to do business with cafés that are focused on producing the best quality coffee. In this regard, current and potential customers alike are invited to the company’s warehouse in Preston, a suburb north of Melbourne, to meet with Rob Stewart, Ducale’s Innovation and National Training Manager.

“It’s a great way to bring customers into the fold,” says Rob, from the training room that sits in the back of Ducale’s warehouse. Clashing with the neat shiny surfaces of a café, the training room is an industrial playground, complete with a small roaster, hessian sacks piled high in the corners, samples of green beans scattered throughout and a quality industrial-standard espresso machine.

Here, Rob invites guests to experiment, to taste and to learn about the roasting processes while he tells them the stories of the beans.
“We can roast as little as 200 grams of beans to play around with different profiles,” says Rob. “It’s definitely more of a street atmosphere than an old Italian feel. We like to make a mess.” 

In putting their faith in young staff such as Rob to source and develop some really unique beans, Ducale is pushing it’s company to stand out as a cutting-edge roaster.

“Too often, companies are just focused on putting the beans in a bag and selling it,” says Henri. “We’re excited about the future, and the process behind the cup… The guys are now completely rejuvenated and focused on always striving to deliver better quality coffee. The stories are getting through about Rob and his coffee innovation, and we’re delivering these stories to our customers.”

A part of the rebranding efforts has been to change the company structure to allow people like Rob to take on full responsibility, and pride, in the tasks they’ve been assigned. While the company previously functioned in a more structural format, Henri has allowed for increased independence of his staff.

“They’re more self-motivated and have really taken ownership of their areas,” says Henri. “Like with Rob: we agreed his role would be to find the best coffee in the world and I leave him to do just that.

“It would be irresponsible of me to build a cult of personality around the brand. What happens when the personality leaves? My role is to ensure Ducale is a place the team wants to get up in the morning and go to work at, so that they can create great things. Customers understand that type of business and are drawn to jump on board – they know a brand like that will always deliver great service and product.”

To undergo a major rebranding is a big move for a relatively young company that has been in the business for only six years, but historically Ducale has built its success on ambitious endeavors and young and talented staff. The company was started when Saverio Valmorbida, the legend who heads Conga foods and was the first to bring Lavazza Coffee into Australia, was visiting Italy on a work trip and chatting with one of the founders of Mocopan. His friend had a nephew who was a fully trained Master Roaster and was looking to move to Australia. The two saw an opportunity to start up a business and joined forces to launch Ducale coffee. 

While this venture may not seem risky in itself, it was the size of their initial operation that still baffles Henri when he looks back on what they did. While most roasters will start on the smaller scale, Ducale began by investing in a huge commercial roaster, a massive operating unit that the company continues to use today.
“That’s a lot of coffee. Considering that they had nothing to sell, they started quite heavily,” he says. The initial investment, however, quickly paid off.
“Over time we found ourselves with quality Italian style espresso in a market that was looking for something completely different.”

The Australian market now compared to six years ago, as Henri points out, has taken on an entirely different direction. The country is now flush with hundreds of roasters who are claiming slices of the market, even with very small scale operations. Henri compares the state of the current Australian marketplace with that of the soft drink market two or three decades ago. Back then, smaller soft drink operations stood a chance, but these days you’d be hard-pressed to buy anything that didn’t come from one of the giants. He sees the consolidation phase of the coffee industry as inevitable, where smaller operators will find it harder and harder to do business in an environment where economies of scale will take control.

Fortunately for Ducale, the grand ambitions of the company’s founders have prospered and Henri is confident that the business will continue to thrive. With no sign of the coffee industry dwindling, it will be an interesting time to see how Henri’s vision of the increasingly interested Australian coffee connoisseur pans out.