Stalled by the pandemic, a collaboration between an iconic coffee brand and an innovative equipment maker has finally taken shape. The result: La Colombe Coffee Roasters and Marco Beverage Systems now offer operators a simple and satisfying cold brew solution.
Eliminating big entry barrier
La Colombe’s ready-to-drink, shelf-stable, bag-in-box cold brew, combined with Marco’s sleek and stylish POUR’D Cold Coffee dispenser system, “eliminates the big entry barrier for operators who are hesitant to move into the cold brew business,” said Marco Beverage System's Matt Dudley.
No kegs, no cold storage, no C02
The major convenience for operators revolves around the elimination of dealing with cumbersome kegs. “In the office category, the logistics around cold brew, the amount of cold storage space that it takes, the amount of space that it takes on a delivery truck for the kegs – there are just so many advantages for operators to go with a bag-in-box system,” Dudley said.
POUR’D to fit
"From the very beginning, we've moved away from kegs,” added La Colombe's Chris Kenny. “The bag-in-box is the same product that we actually use in our cafés. We're one of the fastest-growing names in cold brew. We can control the process from the bean all the way to your cup as a cold brew.
“Our bag-in-box system has allowed us to deliver that quality experience in a huge variety of locations where it would not have been operationally possible in the past,” Kenny continued. “Marco’s POUR’D font is a perfect fit in offices for our cold brew in this format.”
Touchless, sleek and stylish
Over the course of the past two years, La Colombe has been studying the evolving needs at both the workplace and the cafe environment with the backdrop of COVID, according to the company.
"We explored a lot of different ways to deliver a touchless experience to customers. The Marco POUR’D system impressed us. It has staying power because it has the feature of being touchless if you want that, but it also looks sleek and stylish. It's a great customer experience,” explained Kenny.
“When the concerns around COVID or touching a shared system subside, which to some degree they already have, POUR’D will continue to be an innovative, easy to use and intuitive system for cold brew. We see it as a product that will be a long-term success,” he added.
Most prefer cold brew without the nitro
While the elimination of the keg, cold storage and C02 tanks will make life very easy for operators, will the end users miss the "nitrogenated" draft version of cold brew? According to Kenny, more customers prefer a still cold brew.
“We have found that although nitro cold brew is a fantastic product and people really like the concept, over time, when customers make the choice of nitro with gas or a still cold brew, the still cold brew wins out. That's what we see in our own cafes,” he said.
Dudley added, "We find in our testing that a lot of people will say ‘nitro cold brew’ and they just mean ‘cold brew.’ If you can provide them with a high quality, tasty, cold coffee beverage, then the nitro part of it is forgotten about quickly."
Learn more about POUR’D by contacting Matt Dudley at (704) 492- 6601 or [email protected].
