James Coffey decided to take his passion for coffee and turn it into a business, and so, Bean Delivered was born.
A decent cup of coffee was one of the luxuries many people missed during the Covid-19 lockdown. But Bean Delivered, an Irish coffee subscription service, has been delivering different coffees from various Irish roasters to customers’ front door each month.
With families, friends and colleagues staying in touch through the use of virtual meetings during the lockdown months, coffee has never been more popular, with the company’s sales skyrocketing.
“Bean Delivered has been coping surprisingly well during the crisis as with more people now working remotely and spending more time at home, coffee consumption has risen dramatically”
Before the pandemic hit, the Dublin City-based company availed of a trading online voucher, which has allowed them to upgrade their online store, create blog content, run a new digital campaign and make SEO (search engine optimisation) improvements. It also facilitated the company to devise a B2B plan to support business growth, as well as the needs of employees working from home.
“Bean Delivered has been coping surprisingly well during the crisis as with more people now working remotely and spending more time at home, coffee consumption has risen dramatically,” said founder James Coffey. “We did, however, have to put some plans for a couple of projects and concepts on hold but hopefully we can return to them later in the year.”
“We think supporting local is so important and during times of crisis, even more so”
In order to keep business going, the company is offered discounts to customers and they also received support from Local Enterprise Office Dublin City through the business continuity voucher.
“One of the first things we did in March was offer customers a three-month, one-off subscription for €50 – a discounted offering of over 15 per cent which was as close to cost price as we could make it,” said Coffey.
“Secondly we invested in equipment which would allow people to brew better coffee at home. This is something we had thought about for a long time and since we started stocking it, have sold out twice and regularly have to send French Presses, Aeropresses and coffee grinders to all parts of the country. Investing in this stock was a risk for us, but thankfully, one which has paid off.
“We have also updated our website, web hosting, created a host of new collateral and been able to lock in longer term contracts with vendors thanks to the trading online voucher from our Local Enterprise Office,” he added.
James Coffey says the ethos at Bean Delivered has always been to support local, Irish coffee roasters. He believes the combination of helping others and relying on support is vital and would advise other companies to do the same.
“We think supporting local is so important and during times of crisis, even more so. It’s one of the reasons we have been successful to date and during Covid-19, Bean Delivered was very fortunate to have several resources to lean on for help and guidance – from our LEO to friends in other businesses as well as family members being extra supportive.
“Being able to sound out ideas, discuss new plans, and just have someone to listen to us has helped us survive and be successful during this crisis. I’m also aware that everyone isn’t lucky enough to have the fantastic support we have and I would recommend they reach out to their LEO to see if there is support available, or at the very least, reach out to us as I’m always more than happy to have a chat, or a virtual cup of coffee,” he concluded.
If you’d like to order coffee from Bean Delivered, visit www.beandelivered.ie.
Published: 10 July, 2020
