MAY/JUNE 2015
H
business elite canada
11
INCREASED DEMAND FOR
FAIR TRADE ORGANIC
23 Degrees Roastery recently aligned with
a food service company, Yu said, which will
put their brand into hotels and restaurants
also looking for a premium product. “Lo-
cal, fair trade, and organic are the big three
buzzwords when people are actually look-
ing at products these days, and companies
are realizing that. They can’t get away with
distributing really bad coffee anymore be-
cause people are much more aware. You
can thank Starbucks for that actually.”
Down the road, coffee lovers may find
themselves walking into a 23 Degrees
Roastery café. Holmes has a “good han-
dle” on the warehouse, he said, allowing
Yu the opportunity to dedicate full-time
hours to the launch of a specialty café,
most likely in the Toronto area. The con-
cept has already drawn interest from po-
tential investors.
“I like the corporate model, I like the chain
model only because you have more con-
trol of your stores and more control over
everything, but the franchise can work if
it’s done properly.”
These days,Yu has little time to think about
anything that isn’t coffee-related. Launch-
ing a successful business, and maintain-
ing that success, is an intense process but
he’s thankful for the support the business
has received, from the large chains stock-
ing their products to the consumer who
purchases one bag from their favourite
specialty shop. His co-workers and staff
can also be proud of how far 23 Degrees
Roastery has come in four years, and the
role they’ve played in bringing the compa-
ny to its current state.
“I’m so proud of the people that are here.
Pulling together a team of people that you
can work with is key to making any busi-
ness successful,” he said. “You cannot
do everything on your own. The people
around you all have to be supportive and
have to believe in the vision, and that’s
hard to find.”
To learn more about 23 Degrees Roast-
ery and their selection of certified organic
fair trade coffees, visit 23degreesroastery.
com.
