Lisburn Firm To Expand Production Of Coffee Pods

Pure Roast Coffee in Lisburn is being assisted by Invest Northern Ireland to expand production of coffee pods to meet substantial demand in Great Britain.

The company, which has already won new business this year from a major international restaurant chain for two million Easy-Serve-Espresso pods (ESE), has been assisted by Invest NI to increase productivity and efficiency particularly in its coffee grinding operation.

Invest NI has offered the company £42,600 to assist its development plans.

Peter McArdle, Invest NI's Acting Director of Food and Tourism, said: "Pure Roast Coffee has established an impressive reputation particularly among foodservice organisations in Britain as a supplier of products that offer convenience without any compromise on quality and taste. The new business will further enhance its position in the premium coffee segment of a £1.4 billion market that is experiencing very strong growth.

"Our support has been shaped to enable the company to increase productivity while maintaining its sharp focus on quality across its range of pods and ground coffee. This is in line with the recommendations for the future development of the beverages sector in Going for Growth – Investing in Success, the recent report of the Agri-Food Strategy Board, which urged smaller and medium companies to focus on the development of branded products aimed at markets outside Northern Ireland."

Martin Symington, Managing Director of Pure Roast Coffee said: "We are seeing a rapidly developing trend within the foodservice sector, especially in restaurants and canteens, towards coffee pods for convenience and consistency. They are very discerning customers who want the best flavoured coffee available that’s on a par, if not better, than currently available from specialist providers.

"The new business is a very exciting development for us and will see our output of ESE pods increase to around 20 million this year. As well as helping the company to meet the production demands arising from the new business in Britain, the improvements we are making in our grinding operations is also providing greater scope for our technical team to exploit opportunities that we've identified for new easy serve coffee products in international markets."

(CD/MH)