Two entrepreneurs with a thirst for success have launched what is believed to be the world’s first subscription service designed to champion independent coffee shops.
Friends Rob Oakley and Alex Baker, from Warwickshire, have teamed up to create Kuppso Coffee Club, a unique game-changing app which is set to inject a huge boost to the area’s café culture as well as its economy.
The app has just launched in Leamington Spa and neighbouring Warwick but the pair hope to eventually take it UK-wide. It is rooted in their shared passion for community, encouraging more footfall away from national chains and into local independent coffee hotspots.
Rob, who also runs his own marketing consultancy, said:
“We don't want to be price led. We want to be entirely about community and supporting independents. I’ve been working with small to medium businesses, putting growth plans and marketing strategies together for them, so it felt quite well aligned in terms of what I've been doing for the past five years."
“To date, Kuppso users don’t necessarily fall into a certain demographic. Coffee is the most consumed drink in the UK, therefore it will tend to attract quite a broad audience. They might be a remote worker, a creative, a fitness-conscious parent, or a cyclist—but they all share a love for quality coffee and indie culture and that, for us, is what it’s all about.”
He added: “It's going to be difficult over the next year or so and hospitality businesses are going to really feel the squeeze. There's a few things that are really impacting hospitality – such as the National Insurance increase, minimum wage going up, as well as the price of energy and the price of coffee. The business rates relief will be going down from 75% to 40%. It's not an easy time for them so if we can improve the situation by bringing more people to their door, that’s great."
“If you compare this as a marketing strategy in terms of the budget you spend, for example, through Facebook or Google, or a print advert and the sort of the footfall that you can generate off that, Kuppso is great because you're not really paying for that footfall. You're getting new people through the door. Yes, you’re getting discounts on the coffee through it, but it's that exposure you get as a business.”
Simple to use, Kuppso allows customers to either subscribe or buy coffee packs, giving access to a range of hot drinks from a selection of independent partner venues with options for four, eight or 12 coffees a month – and by doing so users are rewarded with great coffee for as little as £2.50.
It marks the latest partnership for the self-confessed ’coffee nerds’ who met whilst band members after leaving university – and they’re hoping it will be just as harmonious!
Rob, 40, said: ”Alex and I have been working collaboratively with many similar clients, so we’re used to working really closely together. We're both really ideas people and the concept behind Kuppso is something that's always been in our minds. It's something that we both felt was interesting and different. It feels like a good fit in terms of the skillsets we both have."
”This model not only ensures affordable, high-quality coffee for our customers but also drives footfall, revenue and visibility for local businesses."
“But also, I think it's the fact that we live in somewhere like Leamington and Warwick, where we've got these amazing little businesses, we’re both big fans of coffee and big fans of nice little Independent businesses. It all sort of ties in together as something that just feels right, but also quite compelling, and different and fun to work on.”
Alex, 38, said:
“Because it’s a subscription, it means there are people who are going to come back time and time again and everybody wins, really, because, as user, with your subscription you can get the coffee slightly cheaper and as a business, it attracts a repeat footfall and audience."
“It's been really well received so far and the fact that in three months we've got 12 or 13 partners and a whole load more who want to join, it really shows that it's working.”
Rob and Alex hope to build on what is set to be a successful launch in Leamington and Warwick, by introducing their app to other areas of Warwickshire in the coming months, starting with Kenilworth, Stratford and Rugby.
The price point is also attractive to the customer who can expect to pay from as little as £2.50 per standard 12-ounce drink, depending on the length of subscription they take out. Everyone who downloads the app is gifted a free coffee and, in line with Kuppso’s sustainability ethos, a complimentary reusable cup, worth £25, is delivered to all new subscribers.
And Rob and Alex are already brewing plans to later introduce extra benefits for subscribers including exclusive offers on the wider menu and corporate incentives.
