Sara Lee Foodservice, a supplier of coffee, tea, meat and bakery solutions, officially opened its doors today to the first North American Douwe Egberts Cafitesse Academy.
Facilitated by Douwe Egberts’ coffee experts, the Academy aims to enhance education and raise awareness of the benefits of Cafitesse, ultimately providing foodservice operators with a more profitable coffee solution.
Located in Suffolk, Va., the Academy will act as a training destination for hundreds of sales and service members to become experts on the Douwe Egberts liquid coffee system, Cafitesse.
“A great sales force needs to provide more than just information, they need to be trusted partners,” said Jan Pieter Schretlen, general manager, Sara Lee Foodservice beverage unit. “The Cafitesse Academy’s innovative approach brings participants together to learn, taste, smell and experience Douwe Egberts Cafitesse liquid coffee. Upon completion, participants will be better partners to their operators, helping them tackle the variety of coffee issues they face daily.”
The Academy consists of a three-day intensive course that covers Douwe Egberts brand legacy, coffee cultivation and production, as well as sensory exercises. Additionally, common operator issues are addressed through coffee system comparisons that demonstrate Cafitesse as a user-friendly, efficient, and easy-to-maintain liquid coffee system that delivers high-quality coffee. The Cafitesse coffee system is intended to provide operators higher profits while reducing labor costs and minimizing product waste.
The first Cafitesse Academy opened in 2008 at the Sara Lee Joure manufacturing facility in the Netherlands. Sara Lee has brought the concept to the U.S. to help strengthen coffee knowledge and understanding of the Douwe Egberts Cafitesse system and heritage to both employees and customers.
“Cafitesse Academy brings to life the 250 plus years of quality, innovation and heritage that makes Douwe Egberts so unique,” said Chad Black, senior training manager of beverage solutions. “By the end of the year, we will have hundreds of individuals trained and dedicated to providing a more profitable solution to operators whose customers expect a quick and great tasting cup of coffee, every time.”
Douwe Egberts Cafitesse is highly concentrated roast and ground coffee that is packaged in a “bag in a box” and utilizes a proprietary disposable dispensing nozzle. The coffee maintains high quality by being flash frozen immediately after produced, locking in aroma and flavor. Once the product reaches the customer, it is ready to be thawed and placed in a Cafitesse coffee machine for dispensing. A single carton of the liquid coffee concentrate (0.52 gallons) can serve the same number of cups as 50 pots of traditional filter-brewed coffee. The system reduces time and waste for foodservice.
