Cafès Novell is about making Catalan breakfasts special. The company began in 1958 under Ramon Novell with the aim of bringing a unique aroma and taste to the world of coffee. The company has the same objective a century and a half later, as the consumption habits of clients are constantly changing.
However, now it is the turn of the children Dolors, Ramon and Josep, who took over the reins at the start of the 1990s to begin domestic and international expansion. The origins of the brand are in Vilafranca del Penedès, where its headquarters and production plant are located. The Grup Novell has a staff of 150 professionals and a turnover that reached 18.5 million euros in 2014.
The 'global coffee concept'
The secret of the company's success depends on three elements: quality, customer satisfaction and innovation. "We are always asking ourselves why a consumer buys coffee and the answer is in the global coffee concept, a programme initiated some 10 years ago that helps us to see coffee as a product with a presence both inside and outside the cup," says general manager, Dolors Novell. Through this strategy, the company helps clients to control the calibre, the state of coffee makers, the production of the coffee and other details. "It is useful for the consumer, for identifying the coffee they like, but also for bars and cafés to learn the preferences of each client," she adds.
This is how they ensure compliance with their commitment to offer high quality coffee adapted to the hostelry sector, but it also allows them to keep up with market trends in order to innovate in the range of beverages they offer as well as the variety of each range of product.
Listening to clients every day
Some 80% of business comes from bars, but at the same time there are new places in which they need a presence: "We started as a company providing coffee to cafés, restaurants and bars, but now with the widespread use of capsules, we are also in offices, vending machines and shops with the small quarter kilo packet of gourmet coffee meant for homes."
The fact that the hostelry sector is their main area of interest is easily explained. Day after day, they receive information from the network of more than 3,500 establishments that sell their coffee, which allows them to know first-hand the demand and to train personnel in the sector –during weekly business visits- so that they can provide the best product possible. In other words, they guarantee "added value".
An example of the importance of following up demand can be seen in the flavours. "Some 20 years ago the majority of sales were for torrefacto coffee, but now I do not think it is more than 5%", says the manager, who points out that increasingly more clients ask for "natural, organic and responsible coffees". In fact, Cafès Novell was the first company in Spain in the sector to be awarded two foreign quality seals accrediting the production of responsible coffee: the Utz and the Fair Trade certificates for the line of products Filosofia Q, which were awarded in 2004 and 2006. These two designations certify the involvement of the company in promoting ethical business.
Teas are another novelty in the company catalogue, together with the aforementioned capsules. Novell describes them as "unique premium beverages with characteristic flavours" with beneficial "elements for health".
Growing through branches
"We are convinced that the client buys from us because of the way we are and we need to grow by reproducing in each market the model that has made us what we are." Thus Dolors Novell defends the company's expansion through branches, which are set up by sending representatives from the Barcelona team to the market in question to begin the expansion. "These people are there for a season until the new branch is working, new people are found and trained in the philosophy and values of the company and from here on the branch begins to operate," she says, describing the procedure.
Today, they have seven branches in Spain and three abroad, specifically in Italy, the UK and the US, at the same time as establishing a presence in China through a joint venture and a network of their own cafés in Hong Kong. The fact of focusing growth on the model of creating branches is what, in the eyes of Novell, "makes it a slow procedure". International sales make up less than 10%, but they are working to establish their presence and raise this figure.
The United States is the most recent venture: "We have had someone there since April and we have taken a leap forward with the Catalan Gourmet d'Acció," the programme that promotes the export and promotion of products from Catalan companies in the food sector. "We already knew the country from going to fairs, but the interviews we organised with buyers were what helped us to adapt our offer to the demand," says the manager.
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| Participants in one of the editions of Catalan Gourmet USA. Ceded |
In the short term, as a company with its main clientèle in the service sector, Novell does not rule out again trying the North American market through the Generalitat de Catalunya, with its initiative to internationalise the Catalan food sector, an industry that is made up of more than 450 Catalan companies with potential for expanding in foreign markets.