Office coffee delivery is one of the key cogs that keeps your business running smoothly – whatever the weather, whatever the pressure, so long as the office coffee is delivered on time and ready to greet people in the morning, there is a reassuring feeling that everything will be just fine.
In 2015, if your office coffee service agreement is being renegotiated there are a number of things that could impact the overall cost of coffee deliveries for your business. Today, your caffeinated heroes at Corporate Essentials are taking a moment to share some information that might be useful when planning your coffee expenditures for the rest of this year.
Brazilian droughts, coffee rumors and price reality
Market speculation is just that – speculation. But we can tell you that there genuinely was a drought through much of 2014 in Brazil, the world’s largest growing region.
And common sense can tell you that when the largest coffee growing area in the world receives too little rainfall, that is going to play havoc with the availability of coffee beans for everyone from mass market brands like Folgers down to the little roaster up the road from your NYC office.
Basically, retailers with unprotected agreements will be paying more for their raw materials – and they will be passing that price increase along to you as a consumer. So, unfortunately, the Brazilian drought does matter to your office coffee delivery service – but perhaps not as much as you think.
Last October saw a genuine spike in the price of Arabica beans, which hit a two-year high of over $2.00 per pound. By working with an office coffee distributor that has a clear understanding of the budgetary constraints of your workplace, you are likely able to pick and choose products that are less impacted by price fluctuations.
More importantly, by getting into a new office coffee agreement sooner rather than later, you may be able to lock in a preferential price based on the products your office consumes regularly.
Market fluctuations matter
Moving our focus from the cut and thrust of commodities trading, you can take a look at what the general economy is doing to get an idea about some of the other factors that impact your office coffee delivery prices.
The overall feeling in the US is that the economy is in better shape – people in general have a bit more money to spread around which eases the impact of inflation and leads to price dips in all sorts of areas. One of the biggest indicators of the cost of anything that arrives by delivery is the cost of fuel, which anyone who has filled their tank lately will know has dropped and normalized significantly in recent months.
While the impact of this may seem minor, every little change does make a difference. Many companies will eliminate unnecessary fuel surcharges as local economies continue to strengthen – this can lead to a lower price for your coffee delivery service.
If you are currently locked into an agreement that includes additional fees like fuel surcharges, approach your coffee vendor and ask for a reduction – or removal – of those fees as a good faith reflection of the overall market condition and your working relationship. It never hurts to ask.
The coffee order balancing act
As we just mentioned, working with one of NYC’s best office coffee delivery services is a great way to get a good price on your office coffee products. Consider the products you actually need, those products your staff most want and what you can do to achieve a good balance between those needs and the budgetary constraints you may face with the powers that be.
When choosing your office coffee machines and products, consider the coffee products they will require carefully to ensure the order meets your needs without busting your budget, including:
- Single serve: keeping a good variety of products your staff will enjoy without having to order forty different sets of cups, capsules and pods every month can be as simple as doing a quick staff survey to see which products are in greatest demand. Bulk ordering can save you money, provided you have the storage capacity to keep it – but if your staff are not thirsty enough to drink all of that stored coffee before it is past its best by date, you will have wasted money.
- Bulk brewing: a great way to economize is by providing excellent coffee in fast-brewing systems that your teams can really rely on for meetings and special events. This reduces overall catering costs, often can be incorporated in your normal office coffee delivery order and adds an additional option for the coffee-loving individuals that make up your workforce and frequent visitor list.
- Make local friends: taking an interest in your local area’s favorite local coffee roaster is a great way to both save money and boost your local economy. Ordering fresh-roasted beans from a local place is a very subtle way of advertising yourself as a locally-invested firm, minimizes the need for merchants to up charge products for your office coffee delivery order and provides some of the freshest coffee you could possibly get for your workplace.
- Non-coffee options: because office coffee culture is nothing without an inclusive angle, be sure you discuss other, non-coffee options with your teams or the office coffee delivery service might be far more than you imagine. Because you are bringing this amazing perk into the office, because you are saving your staff time, effort and cold hard cash, anyone who is not catered for in your break room will take it to heart – so include them all. Again, making a selection of fresh, local items can prove more cost-effective than you realize, so work closely with your coffee service provider to ensure all needs are met in the most efficient way possible.
Considering the variables for your office coffee order is a great way to plan ahead for the cost of office coffee delivery in 2015 and every year. If your New York office is looking to shave dollars off the office coffee budget, or simply hoping to find better products for the money you are currently spending, contact our team of experts at Corporate Essentials.
Office coffee delivery is the heart and soul of our business, and we relish the opportunity to bring the best service to our customers in and around NYC for the most reasonable prices.
