Consumers now more than ever have higher expectations when it comes to coffee - automation of coffee equipment can help.
As foodservice operators continue to battle labor and supply chain challenges, one challenge that has come to the forefront of both operator’s and consumer’s minds is inflation. According to recent data from Technomic1, traffic is softening in restaurants, as high inflation is present not only within restaurants but within the broader economy. This is beginning to impact consumer spending on all items, including food and beverage purchases.
However, one thing we know for sure is consumers love their coffee. According to the National Coffee Association2, even two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed that American’s love of coffee continued to remain strong and resilient, with 66% of Americans aged 18+ that drank a coffee yesterday.
Now more than ever, consumers want consistent, top-quality coffee at an attractive price point. With all the challenges operators are currently facing, many operators have found success by introducing automation into their coffee programs. Automated coffee equipment allows operators to offer the consistency consumers demand while improving their efficiency and cleanliness.
Consistency
In a marketplace that is increasingly becoming more competitive when it comes to coffee, inconsistency in your coffee can cause consumers to quickly look around at your competitors and get their daily coffee elsewhere. Regardless of your type of operation, inconsistencies in coffee continues to be a problem that operators face. For example, drinks are made differently from barista to barista, or staff from one shift to the other doesn’t make new batches of coffee at the hours required – thus serving stale coffee.
Operators that have introduced automation into their coffee programs through equipment have found they no longer worry about consistency, especially in an environment where employee turnover is high or unreliable. By introducing equipment like the Schaerer Coffee Art C or the Curtis Genesis operators can offer top-quality traditional coffees where every customer’s coffee is ground fresh from whole beans. Not only will this automation produce consistent, top-quality coffees, but operators can utilize this in both staffed or self-serve operations.
The automation in Bean to Cup machines like the Schaerer Coffee Art and Curtis Genesis (above) provide operators with consistent beverages every drink poured.
Efficiency
According to the National Restaurant Association3, “although staffing levels rebounded from pandemic lows in each of the major restaurant segments, overall employment remains below pre-coronavirus in most categories.” Keeping this in mind, operators must come up with ways to keep their operations efficient without sacrificing quality or customer experience.
Specifically, for operations that utilize traditional espresso coffee equipment, it is quite labor intensive. Consistency – as mentioned previously – can vary from barista to barista. Baristas must weigh out coffee beans, ensure grinder settings remain constant, grind the beans, tamp (compacting coffee grounds using manual pressure) the grounds ensuring a flat, level surface, then finally ensure settings on the traditional espresso machines are in place to produce a high-quality espresso shot.
For both bean to cup and espresso-based beverage offerings, operators are finding their efficiency greatly improved by introducing automation. With equipment like the WMF 5000 S+ , the entirety of the espresso-making process is internally automated in the machine. The machine precisely grinds whole beans, tamps the grounds, and pours the espresso at the pre-determined settings – producing a consistent beverage every single pour. All of this is done with the simple touch of a button and frees up your staff to provide an elevated customer experience.
Cleanliness
The WMF 5000 S+ Autoclean System automatically doses tablets to clean the coffee system, as well as solution to clean the milk system (not pictured).
Since the onset of COVID-19, consumers pay more attention to cleanliness – both around the establishment and the equipment itself. The National Coffee Association began tracking what businesses can do to increase consumer visitation post-covid, and a lot of those items tracked had to do with capacity limits, cashless payments to reduce touchpoints, and sanitization.4
This is where automating your equipment comes into play. With coffee equipment systems which automate cleaning - like the WMF Autoclean – operators eliminate manual cleaning of both coffee and milk systems. At a pre-determined set time, the automated cleaning cycle starts – ensuring cleaning during your establishment’s dead periods as well as saving on labor costs.
A Partner for your Coffee Program
While introducing automated coffee equipment will certainly improve your coffee program - it takes more than state-of-the-art equipment to take coffee programs to the next level — it takes the right partner.
SEB Professional is three brands in one company – WMF, Schaerer, and Curtis. This allows SEB Professional to be a partner who has the resources and knowledge you need to create a custom, on demand coffee experience for foodservice customers — no matter the size of your operation.
Find out more at:
www.wmf-coffeemachines.com
www.schaererusa.com
www.wilburcurtis.com
Resources:
1. Technomic, Weekly Industry Insights
2. National Restaurant Association, National Coffee Drinking Trends 2022
3. https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/economists-notebook/economic-indicators/total-restaurant-industry-jobs/
4. National Restaurant Association, National Coffee Drinking Trends 2022
