From coffee vans to subscription services, new coffee start-ups have thrived during lockdown as this BBC news article illustrates.
One of the ventures featured is The Belfast Coffee Co. started by a group of four friends, including Dani McFerran, who had run her own design company for over eight years.
The team had always dreamed of working together and started to develop plans in 2019.
Then lockdown happened and they saw an opportunity in the growing coffee industry which had exploded with online sales. Their product launched in October 2020 and is already stocked by eight retailers in Northern Ireland.
They supply several cafes, one recently opening in the Ireland’s North West.
Their main market is subscription and one-off purchases, and so far they’ve sold nearly three tons of coffee, with the US and Australia being keen customers. They have also shipped to Singapore and Cyprus.
Good storytelling around the brand has been key, says Dani’s colleague Albie Oberholzer.
“We are showcasing a Belfast family tradition of coffee roasting with a focus on Belfast, Ireland and its people.”
The brand, developed by Dani, is focused around the heritage of the Allan family – Robert Allan, a Belfast shipwright, who is a relative of Eddie Allan, one of the start-up friends.
In the 1800s Belfast was the fastest growing city in the world with thousands employed to build grand ships and work in the thriving rope industry.
“90% of the world’s rope was made in Belfast,” says Albie, “and coffee finds its way here and is traded and roasted – roasted for what you needed at the time, there were no plastic containers or other storage available.”
On the ships ‘Fire Boys’ kept the coal fires roaring to heat the rivets and prepare the coffee that would keep everyone awake on the long 12-hour shifts.
Robert Allan blended coffee with spices he traded, and this recipe was the founding recipe for Belfast Coffee brewed by The Belfast Coffee Co.
“We wanted to build on this tradition of strong, full-flavoured coffee,” says Albie, “with good quality beans roasted in 12 kg batches.”
The beans are roasted in the shadow of the two yellow gantry cranes ‘Samson’ (804 tonnes) and ‘Goliath’ (760 tonnes) that dominate the Belfast skyline.
“It seemed like a crazy idea and we were surprised at the success," says Dani, looking back at the lockdown start-up’s progress.
"We have been amazed how big it has become, and so quick. We are grateful for the amazing support from local businesses, and we try to give back by sourcing as much as we can here locally.”
