It would be fair to say that the coffee and hospitality industry has been hit extremely hard over the last few months by the current COVID-19 crisis. The hospitality sector has been forced to undertake what has been a completely new way of doing business with an uncertain point of return.
Hospitality workers have been knocked the hardest, with a considerable number seeing their jobs vanish in conjunction with the suspension or reduction in trading of establishments across Australia. Those soldiering through have found themselves operating in a far different reality to which they were accustomed, the smell of coffee intertwined with hand sanitiser and customers one and a half metres apart.
During this time, the crew at La Marzocco has been busy understanding and developing ways to support the industry. While also unsure exactly what the new landscape will look like, it endeavours to bring support that adds tangible value to the many hospitality businesses impacted.
La Marzocco has made a concerted effort to reinforce its ties with its longstanding industry partners. Supporting the roaster community is key to confronting the challenges the coffee industry faces ahead and it is very excited to work with them as they navigate through this new business landscape.
Initiatives that La Marzocco is now offering include competitive finance options to roasters giving them access to a full range of equipment to support their clients and alleviating the burdens of capital expenditure. All commercial equipment now boasts a 24-month parts warranty to meet the demands of the industry. La Marzocco says the Linea Classic, the machine that built the community, continues to maintain its strong fan base and is now even more accessible price wise. Also, with the recent launch of the La Marzocco Café Finder app, designed to help cafés connect to coffee loving consumers, it is easy to now find the best cafés, and a great cup of coffee, as we are now forced to explore Australia’s backyard.
“We want to ensure that anyone who owns a La Marzocco machine knows that they are part of the La Marzocco family,” La Marzocco Australia General Manager Barry Moore says.
“We have a responsibility to help the roasters and cafés of Australia through this period, and we see our role changing as a result. The market will need to reinvent itself, with many adapting to a new norm or restructuring their business but whatever direction they decide to take, we want to give them what they need from us to help this happen.”
La Marzocco continues to offer high-quality technical training, albeit virtually at the moment, plus provide after sales expertise should you at any point need the advice of their in-house tech gurus. The constantly evolving training program can offer knowledge and skills to the roasting community from sales and troubleshooting through to focussed deep dive technical workshops.
Naturally, new products and new technology make up La Marzocco’s constant evolution. Released in 2019 to industry praise, La Marzocco’s KB90 is one such example of the brand’s innovative streak that has seen a high level of interest and uptake. Just over a year on, the KB90 is proving its point in the high-volume specialty coffee environment here in Australia.
Over its six years of operation as a branch office in Australia, La Marzocco has established itself as a valuable long-time friend and passionate supporter of the Australian coffee industry, it’s people, and the many businesses that make up this wonderful industry.
“La Marzocco has been a part of the Australian coffee industry since its inception,” Barry says. “We’re committed to doing our part to ensure the industry stays strong and weathers this crisis to ensure we all come out stronger than ever.”
For more information, visit au.lamarzocco.com