ASSOCIATED ENLISTS PRIVATE-LABEL JAVA TO PERK SALES

RICHARD TURCSIK

SEATTLE -- Associated Grocers is looking to brew up some extra sales and profits in the coffee category with its line of "JavaworkS" private-label coffee that the wholesaler here plans on roasting in-house.

Associated Grocers is using a program supplied by Java Trading Co., Mercer Island, Wash. In the past six months, the line has been expanded to more than 75 stores supplied by the cooperative wholesaler, and many have set up coffee bars to sell the product by the cup. Over 12 stockkeeping units are available.

Currently Java Trading is roasting the green coffee for Associated Grocers, but Associated Grocers plans to bring the program in-house within the next two months by using the patented Java Trading Co. Roasting System.

In Java Trading's program, the coffee is roasted by an air convection process in roasters supplied by Java Trading and located in the retailer's store or warehouse. Because a computer chip controls the roasting, the beans are never over-roasted or burnt, which can happen with a conventional drum roaster.

The retailer buys green coffee beans exclusively from Java Trading Co. In turn, Java Trading gets a fee from every pound of coffee roasted on the system. The coffee is then sold as a private-label product by the retailer at a price point determined by the retailer.

"The JavaworkS brand gives consumers the assurance of top-quality fresh roasted coffee, while providing consistently high gross margins for retailers," said John Booth, vice president of marketing at Associated Grocers.

"The whole JavaworkS program was developed in the belief that success in the highly competitive specialty coffee market can be achieved only by providing a superior quality product to consumers -- and exceptional service, support and profit potential to our retailers," he added.

Booth said Associated Grocers will promote JavaworkS as a "user-friendly" coffee, and is supporting it with a "Make Life a Little Smoother" ad campaign.

"Our goal is to be approachable by and mindful of the end consumer; informing shoppers how to enjoy JavaworkS coffees at their best, responding quickly to changing consumer trends, and reinforcing purchase decisions," Booth said.

Retail members of the cooperative contacted by SN said they have been pleased with the results.

"We have a lot of customers who say the JavaworkS coffee is good, and it has been selling well," said a store-level source at Gaub Co., North Bend, Wash.

A spokeswoman at Hilltop Markets here said JavaworkS is sold whole bean and is also used in ready-to-drink lattes, hot coffee and cappuccino at the store's coffee bar.

"We've carried JavaworkS for about six months and it does very well. Starting with the employees to the customers, we hit that JavaworkS every morning. We are real pleased with the product," she said.

Jack Thompson, the former "Throwin' Samoan" NFL quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now president of Java Trading Co., said his firm is looking to partner with supermarkets across the country.

"We are going to retailers and saying, 'Let us be your coffee roasting partner. We will provide you with this technology that will allow you to roast award-winning coffee. We will be your ongoing coffee marketing arm. Our responsibility is to keep you, our grocery partner, totally up to date with coffee,' " he said.

"We are providing the ability for grocers to roast their own proprietary private-label coffee at the point of consumption. They can put our system in a distribution center, warehouse or high-volume store," said Scott Gootee, vice president and team leader for Java Trading's Grocery Roaster Program.

Because the coffee is roasted near the point of consumption, Java Trading's product is said to be fresher than national supermarket brands, which are often roasted at one central plant and trucked across the country.

Gootee said the roasters only take up about 25 square feet of space and are easy to operate. In addition to Associated Grocers, units are also in use in a Costco membership warehouse in Kirkland, Wash., and a Sam's Club in Springdale, Ark., where the program has been "very successful." Java Trading is also negotiating with accounts in Hawaii, the Midwest and the New York area, he said.

Java Trading offers two sizes of roasters: a quarter-bag roaster that can roast 100 pounds an hour, and a half-bag roaster that will roast 200 pounds an hour. Both can roast a pound of coffee in about eight to 10 minutes. Depending upon the variety and country of origin, a bag of coffee can weigh anywhere from 130 to 150 pounds.