Lessons from a pre-NAMA Show 'retreat' with three industry leaders

The 2025 NAMA Show was a bonus when I was invited to golf with three popular and well-known industry figures.

I learned a few things from Rick “The Duke” Dutkiewicz, David “Hollywood” Henchel and Jim “Dutton” Evans during the trip.

• They all have nicknames. (They tried to come up with one for me, but I resisted.)
• They all golf well enough to take my money.
• They love everything about our industry.

Beyond that, I asked them a fundamental question: Five years after the start of the pandemic, what do operators need to do to succeed?

“The Duke”

Rick Dutkiewicz (7 handicap) is the supplier in the group and is president of National Coffee from Deerfield Beach, Fla. His company consults with and represents several products in every channel of convenience services.

His number one piece of advice for operators: “They need to think about differentiating themselves from others, bringing to market and to their customer base the latest exciting things in our channel that suppliers offer,” he said. “We obviously all know what single serve is, and we’ve all been a part of that in our business for decades. We have seen the explosion of bean-to-cup — we’ve seen it become a leader in the single-serve format — but pod brewers like our AquaCafe models are continuously gaining momentum. The soft pod is still the best cup of coffee in the format, with the best extraction and quality. Of course, the environmental aspect of pods is more important than ever,” he added.

Set yourself apart. “Bottom line — don’t be attached to one type of single-cup brewer,” Dutkiewicz said. “At the same time, take a long look at the coffee you are offering. Think about the demographics in today’s workplace when you consider coffee selections. Make a dramatic move on the coffee selection, like our Death Wish brand. Set yourself apart.”

Dutkiewicz notes that operators sometimes get hung up on pricing and are afraid to sell products at the higher end of the price scale, like Death Wish Coffee. “There is demand. Don’t decide for the customer. Give them options and you will be surprised. Again, it is about differentiation,” he said.

Commit to cold brew. According to Dutkiewicz, operators should be making a strong commitment to cold brew coffee.

“I think cold brew is what folks in the office really want. We’ll see cold brew coffee starting to surpass hot coffee down the road, especially with the younger audience. There are so many offerings now, including ready-to-drink (RTD) in cans and ready-to-drink in a three-gallon box, for instance, with some great equipment to dispense it. Whether it’s nitro or flat, there are incredible options out there. At the NAMA Show, we had nothing but positive responses for our Death Wish RTD, real coffee taste, under 140 calories per serving, all natural ingredients, nothing artificial. That’s a difference maker and a brand that really stands out in a competitive situation.”

Cause marketing resonates. While it can be challenging, cause marketing campaigns truly resonate with Gen Z and Millennials. Dutkiewicz has a solution.

“Consider &Back Coffee, a woman-grown, woman-owned company. They talk the talk and walk the walk. They truly show the end users how proceeds get back to the community — to the families and the farmers,” he said.

“Hollywood”

David Henchel (7 handicap) is president and CEO of Corporate Coffee Systems in the greater New York area. He is a 40-year industry veteran who has some amazing stories to share about getting through the pandemic and the steps he had to take to save his company. We’ll keep that tucked away for the dedicated podcast that he has promised to do. You won’t want to miss it.

“Customers are far less resistant to price increases today than they were before 2020. They understand the volatility in the world, from tariffs, to shipping, to commodity price fluctuations, to high labor costs,” he said. “If you wait — if you are slow when it comes to price increases — that’s a big mistake.”

“Dutton”

Jim Evans (17 handicap) is the owner of Evans Quality Coffee, Vending and Micro Markets, also serving the greater New York area. A 37-year industry veteran, Evans was featured in a February 2024 episode on Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast. (Give a listen to “View from the Big Apple – A conversation with industry veteran Jim Evans.”  It’s an inspiring episode.)

He said operators must not hesitate to charge for their services.

“We have been giving so much away for so long, that as an industry, it almost feels uncomfortable to charge for services — whether it is filter changes, delivery charges, machine moving, minimum revenue guarantees, maintenance on a bean-to-cup brewer or a cold brew system — there are so many ancillary income opportunities that we cannot afford to pass up,” said Evans. “Clients expect exceptional service, and the only way we can deliver it is to charge them appropriately.”

Employee appreciation

Both Henchel and Evans also put tremendous emphasis on the importance of investing in their employees.

“As an operator, you need to take care of your employees in a manner that will keep them motivated and on board,” said Henchel. “The cost of replacing trained employees is so high, you must take steps to create a healthy corporate culture where your people feel valued and want to do their best to serve your customers.”

“What makes Evans coffee such a strong company is the people who have been with us for so long, loyally serving the company and our customers,” said Evans. “Our employees are our greatest asset. We hear it from our customers all the time — they appreciate the high level of service, and we do everything we can to make sure our employees know how much we appreciate them.”