Regarding consumer preferences, mixed beverages (regular & plant-based milk) represent an important share of consumer preferences. Having worked in both the Romanian market and now the USA market, could you highlight some of the most important similarities you have observed between these two markets, particularly in terms of the coffee industry or consumer preferences?Įven if HoReCa in US is still perceived as a filter coffee market, I see quite a few similarities between US and Romania: restaurants and hotels have a keen interest in top-quality coffee, premium & modern equipment (traditional and fully automatic), and excellent services from their coffee suppliers. This initiative was highly praised by our customers and entailed new customer wins, as well as a significant contribution to our growth in 2021.Īnd more importantly, I wanted to keep the team intact, even under these very difficult circumstances, and the Group support was critical to keeping all our employees. Our sales team visited the top clients and promoted the Julius Meinl offer. Secondly, we decided to support our distributors and customers with equipment and more flexible payment terms. These locations were open for to-go orders or home deliveries (bakeries, QSR) and people were very supportive of their local businesses, so they were buying regularly. The first strategic decision was to shift our focus towards locals, towards more residential neighborhoods outside the touristic areas or the usual hotspots that were empty. Together with the team, we had multiple meetings to identify different ways/solutions to sell coffee in a restricted OOH channel, since we were not present in retail. Being present only in the hospitality channel, and with all OOH channels closed, I remember our sales were down by 90% for 2 months in a row. And in an instant, our business priorities changed. Then, in March 2020, the Covid outbreak changed the world we knew. Coming from a totally different culture, my focus for the first year was to know and connect with my team and distributors, understand the market, build the organization and set up the ambitions for the short and medium term. How did the unforeseen challenges presented by the pandemic affect your transition into your new role at Julius Meinl in North America? Specifically, how did you navigate the unique circumstances and adapt your strategies to ensure the continued success of Julius Meinl in the North American market? You have relocated to the USA shortly before the pandemic. The consumption occasions and channels are different, so I learned to approach them with tailored strategies, to be flexible and fast in an industry where the consumer wants to drink the coffee “now”, to look at the consumer and market trends, adapt fast and adjust with agility, to focus on where our core expertise is, on what we do best. I spent almost 5 years leading the commercial organization for Julius Meinl Romania and I am very proud of my team and our achievements, the most notable being that we doubled the turnover and built a solid foundation for future growth. The brand’s presence and visibility in the retail channel (modern trade) also increased exponentially, Julius Meinl becoming one of the top preferences for the Romanian consumers in terms of premium coffee.
Julius meinl usa full#
I am very proud to say that with the support, passion, and full commitment of the sales and marketing team, we managed to build long-term strategic partnerships with a myriad of hotels and restaurants, which was a decisive step for the company’s expansion in Romania, turning Julius Meinl in one of the top coffee brands on the local market. I took over this role in a critical moment for Julius Meinl – the company was not growing anymore, on the contrary, so I needed to act fast for the short term and build for the long term. I had very clear and specific goals from the very beginning: to define the sales strategy for the coming 5 years, to build a strong sales team, and become the market leader in the HoReCa channel. I joined Julius Meinl Romania in the fall of 2014 as a National Sales Director, managing both HoReCa and Retail channels.
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