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This past weekend, coffee lovers from around the world gathered in Louisville for the annual Coffee Fest. The highly anticipated coffee festival and trade show attracted coffee shop owners, roasters, and enthusiasts nationwide.
One of the best aspects of this year's festival is the beloved sweet snack accompaniment to coffee: a soft-baked Classic Cookie. For the first time, Classic Cookie exhibited at the show and had a great time. Here is what happened when they attended.
What Good Are Packaged Classic Cookies In Coffee Shops?
Cookies have long been a staple product sold in coffee shops. These sweet treats have been cherished for their ability to perfectly complement a cup of coffee, creating a delightful and satisfying combination.
With their popularity among customers, Classic Cookie snacks have taken off as great sellers in coffee shops.
1. Success From Other Coffee Shops
Classic Cookie snacks have started to become very popular among coffee shop owners. Before attending Coffee Fest, Classic Cookie was encouraged to attend with the success of their cookies in some coffee businesses around the United States.
Classic Cookie has received positive feedback from coffee shop owners who started selling the product in early 2023. Over 80% of coffee shops that have placed wholesale orders with Classic Cookie have reordered. Some stores are selling 5-6 cookies each day.
Some of these stores include the following:
Everyday Works - Dallas, TX
Everyday Works has seen Classic Cookie's soft-baked products succeed in the retail area of their coffee shop. The retail space flanks customers on each side while they stand in line to order.
Elixir Express - South Bend, WA
Elixir Express uses Classic Cookie snacks on their mobile coffee cart. Due to space constraints, weather conditions, and not being able to bake on the cart, Elixir puts the cookies in baskets and hangs them for customers to grab when they checkout.
Make Good Coffee Co. - San Diego, CA
Similar to Everyday Works, Make Good Coffee Co. has a retail section of their coffee shop where they sell soft-baked Classic Cookie snacks. The retail-ready cookie boxes are easy for them to tear off the perforated cardboard and set on their shelves.
Door 204 Coffee - Watford City, ND
Door 204 is very successful with its Classic Cookie sales. Using three countertop caddy displays, the coffee shop sells its cookies at checkout as a great grab-and-go option for customers.
With the success of cookie sales at these shops and others, Classic Cookie was convinced to attend Coffee Fest to try and reach more shops.
2. Success Among Coffee Fest Attendees
Classic Cookie attended the Coffee Fest in Louisville to interact with more coffee shop owners. Only four hours from their factory in Sevierville, TN, the brand quickly became a hit among show attendees.
Many prospective coffee shop owners were interested in the cookies. The snacks do not require them to buy an oven or source ingredients to bake homemade cookies. This saves owners time and money so they can focus on other aspects of their business. For current coffee shop owners, they loved the cookies as a great grab-and-go option for their expanding retail presence.
All-in-all, attendees were pleasantly surprised by how tasty the soft-baked and crispy mini cookies were. They loved the co-branded packaging and were amazed by the long shelf-life of the snacks.
The high interest in the cookies helped Classic Cookie open up several new wholesale accounts. The flavors these new customers loved the most were:
The new wholesale customers are excited to sell the product to their customers.
What Else Happened at the Show?
While Classic Cookie engaged coffee shop owners at their exhibitor booth, Coffee Fest had other programs going on to teach and entertain trainees: the Latte Art World Championships, cupping and roasting demonstrations, and educational panels at the Conversation Corner.
1. Latte Art World Championships
The Latte Art World Championship competition was an exciting part of Coffee Fest. The 64-competitor, bracket-style, sudden-death format features head-to-head competition as "a match" between the competitors. The competitor receiving the highest score from the three judges advanced to the next round, eliminating the loser. Competitors produce one free-pour drink for the judges (no etching, tool, powders, etc. - just milk and espresso), which is then scored against the competitor at the facing machine. (Coffee Fest Louisville)
This year's winner was Matty Bolchi, a barista who had won previous competitions in New York City and Seattle. This was his 20th competition in 10 years and his 5th championship. Mitchell Gibson and Lane Tanaka followed him as the 2nd and 3rd place finalists. (Full Louisville Bracket)
2. Cupping & Roasting Demonstrations
The cupping and roasting demonstrations are a great part of Coffee Fest. This area showed attendees how their baristas can make their coffee cups clean, sweet, and acidic. The demos also displayed how to get coffee cups to have a great aftertaste and feel in the mouth.
3. Conversation Corner
The Conversation Corner is part of Coffee Fest's education program. In this area, new and experienced coffee shop owners, workers, and leaders gather together to discuss topics important to current business trends. Some of the topics at Louisville's show included:
Bar Design: Principles For Success by Chris Deferio (Owner/Founder of Keys to the Shop Consulting):
Session Description: Everyone loves a beautiful bar. That is until they have to work on one that was improperly designed. Then we curse the architect and all involved for creating such a beautiful monster. With the rise of social media and the increased ability to see what others are doing in their shops, we tend to emphasize aesthetics and forget about function. This leads to needless staff and customer frustration that ends up negatively impacting your bottom line. In this session, Chris will be covering design principles that take into account a coffee shop's menu, workflow, ergonomics, and more. These insights will help owners create a bar that baristas love to work on, is intuitive for customers, and yes, looks good too. (Coffee Fest Louisville)
Food For Thought: Panel Discussion on Food Menu Development
Panelists: Joe Dininger (Heine Bros Coffee), LaChrista McArthur (The Barista Coalition & Hello Love Coffee), LaToya Cook-Bradley (Brew & Sip Coffee Bar), Nathan Quillo (Quills Coffee)
Session Description: Know how to make a great espresso, but not sure what sort of food your cafe should serve? An expert in latte art, but confused about what types of pastries are on trend this year? Join this panel discussion on menu development for your cafe or coffee shop, and hear from a range of business owners and consultants skilled in creating menus that customers love. (Coffee Fest Louisville)
Specialty Coffee Success No Matter the Size of Your City with Justin Shepherd (Spencer's Coffee)
Session Description: Justin Shepherd is the owner of Spencer’s Coffee, which operates three distinct locations in the midsize college town of Bowling Green, Ky. A disaffected journalist, Justin acquired the business in 2005 at the age of 24, growing it from a fledgling coffee shop into a regional staple with a workforce of more than 60 and annual revenues upward of $3 million. Through his transitions from barista to manager to CEO, he has made every conceivable mistake but come out the other side stronger and wiser, and is thoroughly convinced that great cafes can have an outsized impact in their communities. (Coffee Fest Louisville)
Another Great Show
Coffee Fest Louisville 2023 was a success for Classic Cookie. From talking with various coffee shop owners to learning more about the industry as a whole, the cookie team was grateful for the chance to attend.
Would you like cookies with your next coffee? Check out our soft and crispy packaged cookies that are the perfect companion to your cup of joe: Soft Baked Cookies & Crispy Mini Cookies
Do you have a unique cookie story you want to share? Email us at contact@classiccookie.com for a chance to have your machine featured.
Are you a coffee shop owner looking for more grab-and-go options? Fill out a Wholesale Application to get started with Classic Cookie.
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