Coffee Planet goes Dutch through Jumbo retail deal

The Netherlands deal is the first time Coffee Planet has set up overseas operations although it already has a presence abroad through franchise agreements in Oman, Malaysia and Pakistan. Jaime Puebla Show more

The home-grown company Coffee Planet has signed its first deal with a major retailer outside the UAE.

The partnership will involve the coffee roaster selling a range of new blends in Jumbo, the Netherlands' second-largest supermarket chain.

"We are going into 340 of their stores, which is all of their stores currently, and they will be expanding up to 500 by the middle of next year and 600 the following year. So we have a fantastic position with them in each of their stores," said Robert Jones, the managing director of Coffee Planet.

"There are three whole bean products, of which one of those is also available in ground, so four in total."

Coffee Planet's roastmaster worked with Netherlands-based partner Autobar Coffee Roasters to develop the blends, which will be roasted under licence locally.

"One of our brand pillars is that we want to maintain the freshness because that's when the quality is the highest. So in the UAE for example, our customers are enjoying our coffee usually within days of it being roasted, which is optimal," said Mr Jones.

"We are very particular in terms of the brand or the characteristics of the brand."

The Jumbo category manager Gijs Kroeze said the new brand would help to improve the coffee offering in its stores.

"Our new partnership with Coffee Planet also reflects our passion for sourcing the very best quality produce from around the globe," he said.

"Having seen the company's great success specifically in the UAE and other countries in the Mena region, we look forward to a successful partnership to support both brands' objectives for the future," added Jumbo's Mr Kroeze.

The Netherlands is the fifth-highest consuming coffee market in the world and close to other coffee-loving countries such as Germany, Sweden, Finland and Belgium.

"From a strategic point of view our aim was actually to choose a market that was geographically located strategically within that cluster of densely populated coffee drinkers," said Mr Jones.

The deal came about after the company accompanied Dubai Export Authority on a trade mission to Europe last year.

"Through that we met a food and beverage professional who identified with the brand, fell in love with the brand and just basically worked with us to bring it to the Netherlands," said Mr Jones.

The Netherlands deal is the first time the company has set up overseas operations, but it already has a presence abroad through franchise agreements in Oman, Malaysia and Pakistan, as well as the UAE.

In addition it has stores opening in Qatar and distribution channels in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Africa and Azerbaijan.

Coffee Planet launched in 2005 after spotting a gap in the market to offer coffee in convenient locations such as petrol stations. Having originally imported coffee from London, the company set up its own roastery in the UAE in 2008.