Campos Coffee Chef Dutch owned for 1.5 years

Since then, Ronchi says, Campos has maintained the same core focus on serving local cafes; Nothing has changed in the procurement regions of Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia either.

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Ronchi says the parent company’s support will lead them to explore the idea of ​​cracking the global market. “It gives us the opportunity for international growth.”

Campos will use JDE Peet’s expertise to improve the sustainability of packaging such as takeaway cups and coffee bags, and look for ways to reduce waste. It’s also considering how it might expand into different product categories like instant coffee or ready-to-drink cans.

But he insists the company is in no rush. “We sometimes don’t move as fast as our competitors, but that’s very conscious,” he said. “For us, it has to be something that we’re really proud of … If we do it, it has to be right.”

Ronchi said the coming year will see a major push into the Victorian capital, which it hasn’t been able to properly focus on for the past two years due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

Campos supplies its beans to around 700 coffee shops across the country, 70 per cent of them in NSW. It has three flagship stores: the first in Newtown; one at Newstead in Queensland and the newly opened dig at South Yarra. The flagship stores give the specialty roaster an open ear. “This is a great way for us to get first-hand feedback from consumers on what they want in cafes, and it feeds directly into how we can help our cafe partners,” said Ronchi.

The South Yarra store opening is his seventh cafe opening. “I know what it’s like when no staff come. I know what it’s like when the machine doesn’t work.”

It is also intended to prove a point. “The importance of having coffee shops yourself shows that they can be profitable. We don’t just run them as a marketing thing.”

At the time of the acquisition, Campos reported fiscal 2021 revenue of $50 million. Under its new ownership, Campos is no longer allowed to release those numbers as freely, but Ronchi says it’s grown over the past year across all channels of hospitality, grocery, retail, online sales and its own flagship stores.

Ronchi does not see Campos as competition to other specialty roasters, but to other beverage categories. He is particularly concerned about the popularity of energy drinks among Gen Z. “A lot of young people aren’t into coffee, they’re drinking energy drinks that are high in sugar and taurine. It changes your taste buds,” he said.

But that’s not enough to shake his confidence in the Australian coffee industry’s overall resilience.

“You meet friends at a coffee shop, so you have a drink. You’re not going to buy a can of energy drink to have at the table.”

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