Campos Coffee discusses the growth of specialty coffee in regional areas and how it helps local cafés source quality beans.
Campos Coffee Commercial Director John Ronchi says the quest for quality coffee is becoming a nationwide obsession, with the demand for a truly good brew now extending far beyond Australia’s urban centres.
“We’ve supplied cafés in regional areas for a long time, but COVID-19 and lockdowns saw a slew of people moving back to their local community and looking for good coffee closer to home,” he says. “Demand skyrocketed in regionals areas as consumers sought out the quality they were used to in the city.”
With an increasing number of cafés opening in regional towns, John says it is important to the Sydney-based roaster to supply high-quality coffee to as many areas of Australia as possible.
“We want everyone to enjoy their brew, no matter where they are. Thanks to things like cheaper rent and local loyalty, café owners are gravitating towards regional locations, and customers are following,” he says.
“Now some of our busiest accounts are in what you would consider rural places.” One of those cafés is Twelvefold in Portland, Victoria. Owners Sophie and Charles Fredericks opened the café in November 2021, determined to serve a quality brew.
“We use the classic Campos Superior blend, which is a universal favourite – our customers love it. We also have Dark City blend as a second option, so there’s something to suit the taste of everyone in the community,” she says.
“We wanted to bring the Melbourne atmosphere to Portland by incorporating modern machinery and the city’s love for coffee. It’s clearly resonated with our customers because we easily sell over 80 kilograms of coffee each week.”
Sophie says Campos Coffee has supported Twelvefold from day one, providing the café with twin custom La Marzocco Linea Classic coffee machines, as well as the staff training to make the most of the coffee and kit.
“Campos is very accommodating of our needs. We’ve never gone without coffee; a Campos representative will drive down within the day to bring us product and make sure we uphold a high standard for our customers,” she says.
Another café owner that recognises the importance of quality coffee is 7 Beans Founder Kyle Bartlett. Kyle owns four 7 Beans locations in Victoria, with plans to open more stores in the future.
“I want a minimum of seven cafés, just because of the brand’s name,” he says.
Kyle thinks that while customers are drawn to each café’s rustic country vibe, it’s Campos Coffee’s Superior Blend that entices them to stay. He says the coffee’s sweet, butterscotch flavour profile perfectly reflects the bright-pink ‘life is too short for bad coffee’ neon sign behind the counter.
“We specialise in quality, consistent coffee. Campos ensures we’re one of the best cafés around,” he says.
According to Kyle, Campos Coffee not only supports him by providing high quality beans but also by supplying the La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machines and PuqPress automatic tampers for each of his cafés.
“They also offer on-call technicians to fix any issues that may occur with the equipment, and have trained our staff to ensure everyone knows how to operate the machine. The best part about Campos is they have a big team that go above and beyond to ensure we always have specialty coffee,” he says.
Campos Coffee supplies coffee beans in its iconic green packaging to more than 700 cafés across the country, in-store at select Woolworths, and at its three flagship cafés along the east coast: Newtown, New South Wales; Newstead, Queensland; and South Yarra, Victoria. According to Campos Coffee’s John, the roaster’s reach is only going to extend further.
“Our mission is to help everyone love great coffee as much as we do, wherever they are, however they like it. We’re focused on supporting and growing our café network across the country and we’re really enjoying getting to know each community we connect with in the process,” says John.
For more information, visit camposcoffee.com
This article appears in the April 2024 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
