How specialty coffee retailers can survive and thrive in today's economic uncertainty is the focus of a two-day travelling seminar offered by the American Barista & Coffee School (ABC's). The Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar will be led by Chris Legler, Starbucks veteran and former CFO of Barnie's Coffee and Tea Company. The first seminars are scheduled for January 10-11 and January 31-February 1 in Portland, Oregon.

"In today's harsh economic conditions, coffee retailers need to take a proactive and educated approach to business," said ABC's founder Bruce Milletto. "Even though a retailer may be selling a quality product, he or she will need to do more than that to ensure increased sales and overall business success. We developed the Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar to give them the tools they need to increase sales through effective marketing and the skills to manage the financial side of their businesses in today's unforgiving economic climate."

Chris Legler, whose vast experience and knowledge of finance, specifically tailored to the coffee industry, brings an unrivaled expertise to the Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar. His expertise includes financial management, coffee roasting, business ownership and an in-depth understanding of business operations. He has held executive positions in finance and administration, marketing, retail operations and strategic planning. Legler was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Barnie’s Coffee and Tea Company and has held positions of increasing responsibility with Starbucks Coffee Company, Sony, British Petroleum, Blockbuster Entertainment, Eddie Bauer and Hasbro.

The Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar will cover the following subjects in-depth: Marketing Analysis and Implementation; Promotions, Brand Development and Cross Marketing; Revenue, Labor, Inventory and Expense Management; Beverage Costing; Loss Prevention; Proforma and Budget Development; Financing Options; and Prioritization of Financial Needs.

Future Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminars are scheduled for March 2009 in Seattle and Spring 2009 in San Francisco. All seminars will be held at university lecture halls or conference facilities in major U.S. cities, with approximately 225 seats available for each seminar. Class includes a Financial Workbook to help attendees assess the financial health of their businesses with the ultimate goal of increasing profits. In addition, continental breakfast is provided each day.

The cost of the seminar is $495, but to help their customers, more than 150 roasters and allied companies throughout the U.S. are offering $200 subsidies, for a total cost to retailers of only $295. For on-line registration and further information on how to obtain a subsidy, visit our Website or call 800.655.3955.

Our senior consultant, Ed Arvidson, just returned from a weeklong consulting trip to Saudi Arabia where he worked with the large coffee company, Bonnon Coffee. Bellissimo has been working Bonnon for a few months, consulting on their quickly growing coffee retail and wholesale roasting business.

Salem Binmahfouz of Bonnon says, "Dear Bellissimo, We are overwhelmed with your keen courage, brilliant personality, and specialized skillfulness. The pleasure is all ours to have met you. Ed, you are a true gentleman and professional. On behalf of the BONNON COFFEE team, and me we are grateful for your dedicated visit, inputs, and insights. This is an excellent start and we would like to continue working together toward building lasting successful relationship. My sincere regards to Ed, Bruce, Matt and the rest of Bellissimo."

Below is an article from Arab News that talks about Bellissimo's visit.

Coffee business growing rapidly, says US expert
K.S. Ramkumar I Arab News

JEDDAH: Ed Arvidson, senior consultant at the US-based Bellissimo Coffee Info Group, is on a visit to study the Kingdom’s coffee business and explore the prospects for offering Barista training. The group, based in Portland, Oregon, also runs a coffee school where trainees come from the world over for a weeklong course. It has its dedicated websites for coffee school, espresso and coffee universe, which is aimed at creating a community of coffee lovers.

“Bellissimo helps coffee businesses succeed, whether you have a coffee shop start up, or an existing coffee shop, espresso kiosk, coffee cart or espresso,” Arvidson told Arab News on the sidelines of a meeting he had with some senior executives of Bonnon Coffee, which runs a chain of coffee shops.

“Coffee culture is surely growing in many parts of the world including Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that the United States today has around 40,000 coffee bars and Italy 250,000 espresso bars. “In fact, coffee is becoming popular even in some of the tea drinking nations like Japan and China,” he added.

“What is liked about coffee is its caffeine content. It also depends on how best you make coffee. We select only the finest Arabica beans and roast them to perfection to bring you the highest quality espresso coffee, he said, adding that the group’s mission is to create luxurious, welcoming stores that provide a haven from the cut and thrust of everyday life. Offer of a steaming hot and refreshingly cold cup of coffee with or without a snack menu is immediately lapped up,” he added.

Bonnon Coffee, a 100 percent Saudi enterprise, has six outlets in the city since its establishment three years ago and has plans to increase them to nine before moving out to other parts of the Kingdom. “We also have plans to establish our franchises elsewhere in the Gulf and world,” its Marketing Manager Mohammed S. Al-Nahdi said. It has several Saudi partners some of whom have returned after graduating from the US and Europe.

Although the term coffee culture seems to be exclusively American, the formation of culture around coffee and coffee houses in fact dates back to the earliest coffeehouses founded in the 16th century Turkey. Coffeehouses, or enterprises that specialize in the preparation of coffee drinks, have traditionally been social hubs and artistic centers.

Click here to read article online.

On July 16th, in an NPR segment entitled, “The What, How and Why of Online Social Networks,” Matt Milletto’s Barista Exhange Web site was featured in a discussion that included the biggest and most popular social networking sites on the Internet: Facebook, MySpace and Linked in. In the segment, Barista Exhchange was examined as a prime example of niche social network — one that caters to a particular group in society, in this instance, the specialty coffee industry.

Click here to listen to the NPR segment.