Swiss Farms Promotes Green and Clean

Posted on: 2016-09-07 10:08 AM

 “One of the things we’re seeing is definitely a demand for clean—knowing what is in products, where they are sourced, if they’re organic,” said Scott Simon, president and CEO.

“One of our varieties is an organic blend. We have a rain forest-certified variety and our decaf brew uses a chemical-free natural decaffeination process,” said Jackie Daley, director of marketing for Swiss Farms. The Swiss Water process uses pure green coffee extract and proprietary carbon technology to remove caffeine from green coffee beans without chemicals. Swiss Farms shows the certification on its coffee menu.
During the launch, Swiss Farms gave out free coffee for an entire week. “After we went back to charging, in just the first week alone, we saw a 7% lift in coffee sales. The second and third weeks went into double digits,” Simon noted.
The line offers premium blends, including Sumatra and Ethiopian Harrar, and fits well with Swiss Farm’s offerings.
 
“We believe people will drive out of their way for something that’s compelling, that’s authentic, that is trustworthy,” said Simon. He added Swiss Farms’ customers want quality, consistency and freshness in their coffee —all on the go.
 
Previously, Swiss Farms had “a good cup of coffee,” Simon noted. But absent were the buzzwords that convey transparency and quality to customers today, such as organic, rainforest-certified and chemical-free. This new line is also a Swiss Farms-branded coffee line, where previously Swiss Farms partnered with various coffee company brands over the years.
 
“We wanted something that we could call our own that was a unique, drive-out-of-your-way product that people knew they could trust,” Simon said. “So for us, private label coffee was really, really important.”
 
As fall approaches, Swiss Farms is preparing to offer a limited time offer (LTO) pumpkin shooter of pumpkin and white chocolate sauces, with optional whipped cream on top. An iced variety will also be an option. This winter, Swiss Farms will offer a peppermint LTO.
 
While Swiss Farms has yet to launch a cold-brew variety, the chain continues to look into it. “We talk about it often and we did a taste test here with it,” said Daley. But the chain is waiting for the product to become more mainstream before it begins to offer it.
Having its own premium milk line allows Swiss Farms to also offer customers authentic add-ons like whole cream. The chain also offers combo meals of coffee and breakfast sandwiches or fresh-cut fruit to entice morning commuters.