Article
Why illy Caffè North America COO isn't afraid to compete with Starbucks
Barry Sheldon, president and COO for illy Caffè North America, is buzzed about the company's expansion plan for North America.
September 13, 2019 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
Although the Italian coffee company — illycaffè — serves 7 million cups of coffee every day across 140 countries, the brand isn't exactly a huge player in the North American coffee chain scene.
Barry Sheldon hopes to change that by focusing on expanding the company's branded coffee shop, Illy Caffè.
"Illy Caffè-branded shops in North America currently make up a relatively small percentage of our overall hospitality business," the president and COO for illy Caffè North America, said in an interview with FastCasual. "However, they are an important part of a cohesive approach to making our brand and the legendary illy blend more accessible, which includes expanding the occasions and places when and where illy can be enjoyed."
Over the past few weeks, illy Caffè, which has 259 global shops in 44 countries, has opened locations in Vancouver and San Francisco, bringing its North American total to 23. The brand hopes to add 10 more by the end of the year in large American cities, including New York, Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Although its North American cafe footprint is growing at a faster rate than any of the other areas it serves, the chain has a long way to catch up with major players like Starbucks, which has over 14,000 units in the United States.
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Barry Sheldon, president and COO for illy Caffè North America, is looking to grow the chain's North American presence. |
Sheldon is up for the challenge, considering that the chain's origins were born in 1933, from Founder Francesco Illy's dream of offering "the best coffee to the world."
And it's Sheldon's mission to keep that dream alive.
"It is central to our authenticity and is why illy is widely considered by experts as the reference for highest-quality Arabica," he said. "Moreover, Arabica that is purchased directly from growers within a sustainable model that is designed to improve growers' livelihoods and well-being. At the same time, illy's blend is becoming more visible and available to the growing numbers of coffee lovers who can appreciate our quality and connect with our company's values."It's a differentiation point that he said attracts not only customers but also successful franchisees.
"Visiting an illy Caffè is to experience authentic, modern Italian coffee culture, with coffee prepared by knowledgeable baristas trained by our University of Coffee experts to illy standards, while at the same time reflecting local cultural preferences," he said.
The shops are destinations where all that sets illy apart is on display, Sheldon said. Customers watch as baristas blend their coffee in a variety of ways from traditional espresso to innovations like the Cold Brew Aria system, for example.
"In addition, our franchisee partners value illy's longstanding commitment to sustainability, which includes the company's hand-in-hand work with farmers for the past 27 years to realize the dream of offering the best coffee to the world, and our commitment to improving the well-being of the world's coffee growers," Sheldon said.
It's one of the reasons that the Ethisphere Institute, a company that defines and measures corporate ethical standards, has named illy Caffè as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies seven years in a row since 2012.
"Overall, our franchisee operators have an opportunity to be part of the iconic illy brand and story as the global expansion of this unique concept begins to escalate," Sheldon said.
Laslty, the chian is family owned, which means its 100 percent independent.
"We chart our own course, and are able to hold ourselves accountable to all of our stakeholders," Sheldon said.
About Cherryh Cansler
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