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Modern dispensers are easy to use and stylish
By Karen L. Wagner
Coffeehouse retailers face all sorts of choices when it comes to finding the right bins for storing whole bean coffee. But what’s always been important—functionality and design—remains.
The keys to functionality are freshness, ease-of-use and repair/maintenance. Bins should keep the beans fresh, allow customers to easily manipulate the spout without damaging the bin or spilling too many beans, and require limited regular maintenance and no special expertise when parts need to be repaired or replaced. Good-looking design is in the eye of the beholder. But bins should be attractive enough for customers to notice and they should enhance the décor of the store, rather than stand out like a sore thumb.
Fortunately, manufacturers continue to offer improved functionality and better-looking designs. And, come to think of it–selling in bulk, with its environmentally friendly benefits, is definitely in style. Here are a few examples of what the market is offering for whole bean storage bins.
Superior cast
Although it is primarily a custom fabricator, ADF, Inc., Ladysmith, Wis., has two standard designs for coffee bean storage. One design has a capacity of 8 pounds, while the other holds 12 pounds of beans. Both styles are made of cast acrylic, which is more durable than extruded acrylic and will hold up better to the chemicals used on flavored coffee, which discolors plastic bins.
“The cast material is the way to go,” says Doug DeWitt, co-owner of ADF. Cast acrylic, he adds, also lasts longer, up to two years, while regular acrylic only lasts about six months.
Maintenance on the bins is simple. “All coffee bins should be washed with Dawn dish soap, water and a soft cloth. If you use anything harder than that, like cleaners or Windex, it will discolor the acrylic,” DeWitt says.
At less than $50 per bin, the pricing is competitive, DeWitt says. Plus, orders can be completed in about two to three weeks.
The “wow” factor
While both retailers and customers like the convenience that these self-serve bins offer, the risky part is waste. Bins without adequate portion control means spilled beans, and that cuts into profit margins. One of the advantages of Rosseto’s EZ SERV® gravity bins is the paddle wheel dispenser, which can be turned left or right for the desired amount of beans, explains Gil Gold, vice president of the Skokie, Ill.-based manufacturer.
“When you turn it, you have more control over the amount that you want,” he says, noting that bins with pulling mechanisms offer less control. “So, you have a lot of waste and spill.”
Another advantage of the bins, which range from a capacity of about 5 pounds up to 20 pounds, is that they’re easy to take apart and clean, Gold says. This feature is especially important because there is so much concern about avoiding germs in public places, he says. Taking the bins apart involves three simple steps: pulling the knob open, removing the paddle wheel and washing it, Gold says. “I think this is the main advantage now of the EZ SERV bin. It’s easy to clean.”
What’s also distinctive about Rosseto bins is that they have the “wow” factor, he says. The wall-mounted bins are crystal clear so the coffee beans show through and make for a nice presentation–so they function as both a storage place for beans and an attractive design element, Gold says, adding that when customers see them, they want to touch them. “It’s a minimal expense with maximum results. This is, I think, the formula everyone is looking for,” he says. One unit contains three dispensers and prices start at about $400.
Something for everyone
Plastic Parameters, Inc., Scarborough, Ont., offers several designs to meet different budgets. Most of the bins feature a free-flow dispenser, which allows the customer to control the desired amount of beans. The newer designs use the company’s patented ball mechanism to dispense the beans. “Our ball only functions north-south, you don’t have to turn it sideways,” says company president Harold Waldman, noting that the sideways functioning dispenser tends to confuse customers.
According to Waldman, a common retailer’s complaint is that storage bins require too much maintenance. Waldman says his company solves this problem by offering bins that require little maintenance other than regular cleaning and can be easily repaired.
The newest style of bins offered by Plastic Parameters is the 500 series, tube-shaped bins that can be wall mounted or placed on counters. The tubes are made of acrylic and include a polycarbonate liner, which protects the acrylic from discoloration. Retailers can put graphical elements, such as a description of the coffee beans, between the liner and tube, Waldman says. The liner can be easily removed for cleaning, while the container itself requires only a wipe down with a damp cloth, he says. The standard design is 18-inches high, with a capacity of 10 pounds.
Waldman says the most popular design with coffeehouse retailers, however, is the company’s 900 series bins, which have fronts made of molded, nickel-plated plastic. A gold-plated option is also offered. Retailers like the upscale look, Waldman says.
A similar design, the 700 series, offers a metal-framed bin with plastic inserts that can be changed out for a different look, such as wood. This series also offers a bin that can be turned into a double-decker, so retailers can reduce the amount of less popular types of beans or easily add another flavor around the holidays, for example, without having to take up additional space with another bin. “It gives the merchant flexibility,” he says.
The different series bins come in an assortment of sizes and capacities. “There’s no other maker out there that has our variety,” Waldman says.
New designs, same concept
Over the years, Crown Plastics, Plymouth, Minn., has come out with new features and designs for the company’s whole bean storage bins. But the basic concept has remained the same, says company president Tom Van Beusekom. All of Crown Plastics bins feature gravity-feed dispensers, which offer automatic stock rotation. “From their inception, we have continually offered product enhancements in the form of stackable bins, self-closing product delivery gates, bins with false fronts and bins with brass or chrome fronts for use in the more upscale shops,” says Van Beusekom.
Crown Plastics offers bins made of regular acrylic for unflavored coffee beans and a more expensive type of acrylic along with a polycarbonate material for flavored coffee beans. “To my knowledge, we’re the only manufacturer that offers both types,” he says.
Van Beusekom says the company’s current best-selling product is the Affordable Elegance line, which features false fronts and decorative brass trim. “The false fronts give the appearance of having a full bin at all times, even though the product may be low,” he explains. “This allows the retailer to store a minimum amount of product in the bin, which ensures product freshness at all times.” He adds that the feature is also especially valuable for the slower-moving bean varieties.
The Affordable Elegance line is available in single, double, and triple units; each bin holds about 7 pounds of beans and can be installed on a shelf or counter. Other available units range from 5- to 15-pound capacity bins. Van Beusekom says the bins require regular cleaning with a mild dish soap and water to remove the oils from beans. “The regular cleaning aspect cannot be overstressed,” he says. “With proper regular maintenance, these bins should last indefinitely.”
Bins and fixtures, too
At Trade Fixtures/Newleaf Designs, Little Rock, Ark., retailers can buy storage bins as well as the fixtures that hold the bins. The manufacturer has in-house research, development and engineering teams that will custom design a case to hold the bins according to the space and design requirements of the retailer, says Scott Williams, marketing manager for Trade Fixtures/Newleaf Designs. “That really is one of the things that a lot of coffee companies and others like about dealing with us,” Williams says. “It’s all done in one shop.”
A typical 4-foot section holds 12 to 18 coffee bins and also includes space for the grinder, packaged products and accessories, such as bags, Williams says.
The most popular bins with coffee retailers include a Trade Fixture bin that measures 4 inches wide by 8 inches tall and holds about 5 pounds of coffee, says Paula Draeger, the company’s category manager for coffee and tea. “People like that because it is only 4 inches wide,” noting that most retailers have limited space in their stores. The other popular bin is the Newleaf Designs, which holds 8 to 9 pounds of coffee. Draeger says longtime customers like the Newleaf bin for its simple one-piece construction, meaning they don’t have to worry about missing parts.
The bins are made of durable polycarbonate. “If [the bin] gets dropped or banged around, it will withstand that,” she says.
Along with the popular gravity feed bins, Trade Fixtures/Newleaf Designs also offers the traditional scoop bins. Both offer first-in, first-out inventory control, an unusual feature for scoop-style dispensers. “The older product is always going to get dispensed all the way through, instead of just covered over with newer product,” says Williams.
The average cost of the gravity-feed bins used for coffee is between $80 and $90, while the scoop bins average $50, Draeger says.
A blend of my own
“Bins are a 24-hour coffee salesman,” says Maryann Oletic, president of Innovated Products Mfg., Inc., a Brampton, Ont.-based bin manufacturer. “But consider getting it for them,” she adds. “The most successful coffee shops use their bins as an opportunity to help customers better understand coffee,” she said. “Interaction is key; if the barista or owner has the time, they should encourage customers to experiment with the different coffees on display, creating their own unique, personal blend,” she said. “That will keep them coming back.”
Innovated makes stainless steel and acrylic bins in many styles that require very little maintenance, she said. “Coffee is territorial, it leaves its own coat of oil and acrylic can take on the flavor of the coffee. Our stainless is easy to clean and lasts forever,” said Oletic. The most popular are front load with angled doors, a popular design introduced 20 years ago that has withstood the test of time. The 101 holds 10 lbs. of beans. It is 10.5 inches wide and stands 17 inches tall. Prices range from $160 to $600.
“The tri-bin 314 is the second most popular for its convenience,” said Oletic, whose line includes large scale, custom bins with cabinets that feature grinders.
The green advantage
Williams of Trade Fixtures, says now is good time for retailers to either add to their bulk selections or even begin offering bulk coffee. The bulk option is viewed as an environmentally friendly way to sell products because it saves so much energy and resources by eliminating so much pre-packaging, he says. Customers may try a small sample of product before buying a 1 lb. bag of pre-packaged coffee beans that they may end up not liking, Williams explains.
There are also economic advantages for the retailer.
“Bulk, generally as a rule of thumb, will save retailers along the lines of 15 to 30 percent because you don’t have the middleman markup—all the advertising and promotion that goes with the packaging,” Williams says.
He adds that retailers have said that bulk products outsell pre-packaged by at least a 2-1 ratio. So, selling in bulk reduces costs and increases sales, while it also allows for portion control and less pre-packaging, Williams points out. “This thing here’s a win-win-win for the retailer, the consumer and the environment,” he says.
All the more reason to keep style and function in mind when selecting your whole bean storage bins. scr |
