Retail Food Group-owned Gloria Jean’s and Di Bella Coffee have taken home a swag of medals at the inaugural ‘North American Golden Bean Coffee Roasters Competition & Conference’ held in Portland, Oregon.
After running the ‘Golden Bean’ competition successfully in Australia for the past ten years, organisers have now taken the format to North America where espresso coffee culture is steadily growing in popularity.
With more than 50 coffee houses throughout North America, Australian-based coffee franchise, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, was awarded six medals, including gold for Franchise/Chain Espresso, and took out the prestigious title of Overall Franchise/Chain Champion.
After launching in the USA just last month, Brisbane founded specialty wholesale brand, Di Bella Coffee, was awarded six medals including silver in the Single Origin category.’
Gary Alford, RFG CEO commercial, said the awards proved Australia has the cream of the crop when it comes to expertly roasted coffee blends.
“Australia’s world leading espresso coffee culture has seen the country produce household names in the global coffee market,” said Alford.
“Gloria Jean’s Coffees, for example, is an established brand with more than 800 outlets worldwide, run from Australia.”
Alford said RFG is planning to further expand the presence of its coffee brands in the North American market over the coming year.
“Ultimately, these awards prove that Australia has what it takes to be a major player in the global coffee market, and that we have the ability to really shake up the emerging espresso market in the USA,” said Mr Alford.
“There is a growing appetite for high quality, barista crafted espresso coffee in North America, and RFG is focussed on growing our presence not only in the coffee franchise sector, but also in the specialty wholesale market through the launch of Di Bella Coffee.
“We are particularly excited to be launching a retail online ordering platform for Di Bella Coffee in the USA next month to get Australia’s favourite specialty coffee into even more American homes.”
RFG’s US-based coffee franchise, It’s A Grind, was also awarded six medals in the competition across the Espresso, Milk and Decaffeinated categories.
