The Dublin-based coffee and tea group will now focus on revamping its Irish business to attract younger consumers
Bewley’s UK operations are mainly focused on selling its own brand and Grumpy Mule retail packaged coffee Photo credit: Grumpy Mule
Irish coffee and tea group Bewley’s has sold its UK coffee roasting and distribution business to its long-term partner Cafédirect for an undisclosed sum.
Dublin-based Bewley’s, which also operates a single café in the Irish capital, said the deal will allow the group to focus on the evolution of its business in Ireland following a recent rebrand aimed at “appealing to a wider audience”. demographics’.
Bewley’s UK business is primarily focused on the sale and distribution of its own brand packaged coffee and Grumpy Mule in retail packaging to third party pubs and other hospitality businesses.
“We are delighted to transfer our UK operations to Cafédirect. As our relationship has grown over 15 years, it has become clear that we are strategically placed to help each other with our separate long-term goals. This allows the Irish team to really focus on changing the face of Bewley’s in Ireland where we are constantly innovating and investing in our team, brand and manufacturing facility,” said Jason Doyle, Managing Director Bewley’s Coffee and Tea.
Founded in 1991, Cafédirect became the first coffee brand in the UK to carry the Fairtrade label in 1994 and became the first B Corp certified coffee company in the UK in 2018.
The London-based wholesaler said the deal with Bewley’s, which has been supplying Cafédirect for 15 years from its coffee roasting facility in Dublin, will increase its out-of-home presence. The transaction also includes a long-term agreement for Bewley’s to continue to exclusively supply all of Cafédirect’s retail coffee.
Research from the New World Coffee Portal shows that Cafédirect is a leading brand in the home coffee market in the UK.
Seven per cent of UK consumers surveyed named it their preferred brand of ground or whole beans to buy from retailers, making it the 10th most popular, albeit drastically behind Costa Coffee and Lavazza (30%) and the UK’s own brand coffee. supermarket (32%).
