Homefront stirs it up with bean counter and K-Cup king, Neil Madden
By Doug Eglington
Q. You’ve sold millions of pods. How did you get started?
In 1997, I was just a youngster selling pop out of my garage, like a kid at a lemonade stand. My family was in the traditional office coffee service business so when I set eyes on my first Keurig, I immediately understood that the coffee world as we knew it was about to change. It was early when I jumped on the “single-serve” bandwagon and, lucky for me, I’ve ridden the wave.
Q. Tell us about your start-up days.
You mean the tales of the crazy Saturday mornings during the “pod-rush”! In the beginning, we did very little advertising and were only open on weekends. Most of our walk-in traffic was word of mouth. Our “store” was in a hard-to-find industrial unit on a remote service road in the West End. Nevertheless, coffee lovers tracked us down from all over the planet.
At the beginning I would sit all by myself waiting for customers, praying that I’d earn enough money to pay for a receptionist. Then the crowds and the chaos set in.
We had kids running, jumping and climbing all over our warehouse. People were clambering to get their favourite flavours and there were line-ups two-deep at the till. It was like the Gold Rush in the Wild West. Some days, we’d log $7,000 worth of single-serving sales in just six hours. That’s when we knew we were onto something.
Q. Did you get in before the big retailers and the copycats?
You’d better believe it. We were in at the beginning and offered something no one else had, “Try before you buy.” Customers loved the fact that we’d let them mix and match brands and flavours.
Q. Do you have a favourite blend?
I drink “Freedom Ridge” out of a burnt-orange Le Creuset mug. Let me tell you a secret: Freedom Rich is the very same blend as McCafé, so don’t let anyone tell you McDonald’s doesn’t have good coffee! I’m friendly with Marley’s son Rohan and quite partial to One Love, which is 100% Ethiopian.
Q. Today, you’re not just a single-serving coffee guy are you?
Quite by accident, we’ve got four West-End retail locations and a large online presence. ECS has a variety of coffees from around the world, relationships with farmers and roasters in key markets, hundreds of choices and its own private label. But, as you might expect, we’ve now got plenty of competition in the single-serving market.
Q. What are “WWNT days”?
Embarrassingly, the abbreviation stands for “What was Neil thinking?” On those days, we sell off items that aren’t moving fast enough. The truth is, I don’t hit a home run with my product selections 100 per cent of the time.
Q. I’ll bet you’ve got a few favourites. What tops the list?
I aim to stock products that last and ones made in North America and Europe. I appreciate products like the Vitamix, which has a generous seven-year warranty.
Favourites? You’re putting me on the spot, but right now I’d say S’well water bottles, which are “green” and practical; and iCoffee, which is an authentic, even a little alternative method of brewing coffee. I also love the Kitchen-Aid Siphon Brewer and who could
forget the Mozart (third-wave, artisanal coffee pour)? And beyond a doubt, the Chemex coffeemaker.
Q. I’ve heard you’re going to rebrand in early 2016 if all goes well. Is that true?
That’s right. The name ECS is ridiculous these days. Initially, it was a quick abbreviation of Esquire Coffee Systems, the name I inherited when I took over the family business. But today, it doesn’t really reflect all that we do.
I’m hoping to do an exciting rebrand that will deliver a new, authentic, grass-roots experience. Stay tuned—I’m planning to re-invent kitchen housewares shopping!
Doug Eglington is a South African who sells European appliances to Canadians.
