Imbibe Coffee Roasters – proving that a different way of doing business is possible: "There's huge satisfaction in giving"

What makes a successful business? That all depends on your definition of success. For many, more than anything else, it means being profitable.

Some might add that it’s also about creating, or selling, the best product. Others will argue that true success involves making a positive impact on the world.

Rarely does a company achieve all three. But that is what a small, independent coffee roaster, located in Dolphin’s Barn, has done.

Specialising in roasting high quality beans, Imbibe are widely regarded as one of the best in their field.

The operation is the brainchild of Gary Grant, a Dubliner who had a career in financial services until the crash of 2008. That’s when he started to sell specialty coffee imported from the UK. At this stage, he was operating between his living room and a van.

After nine hard years, the business was finally on a firm footing.

BUILDING BRIDGES

Then came Brexit. Gary realised it was no longer viable to import coffee from the UK so Imbibe began their own roasting. In that sense, Brexit presented more of an opportunity than a problem. At this stage, Imbibe had an established client-base so the hardest work had already been done.

“When I started the roastery, I wanted to do two things that were different from anyone else,” Gary Grant says. “Selling rare coffee was the first thing. That wasn’t a rip-roaring success, but we were one of the first to do it consistently.”

The coffee they were selling was exceptionally good – but there was another vital aspect to Gary’s vision.

“From the day we started roasting, we went into partnership with Women’s Aid,” he adds. “Had we given them 1% of profits, it would have been a minimal amount, and it would have been about optics. But we decided the only authentic thing to do was to give them 1% of turnover – that’s 1% of everything.”

Another 1% of turnover is given to staff. Take the relatively high wages, bonuses and pension schemes and you can see they’re well looked after. And rightly so: Grant is quick to heap a praise on his team.

“They all know they’re valued,” he smiles. “I certainly hope they do.”

The head of quality at Imbibe is a Q grader (the coffee equivalent of a sommelier) – one of only six or seven in Ireland.

“We’re really focused on the quality of our product,” Gary continues. “We’re really good at what we do. Everyone that works in the business knows more about coffee than I do. Our success is a testament to them.

“There’s a coffee school in Copenhagen that’s one of the best in Europe. I made sure they all went there. It’s something they all take really seriously.”

A further 1% is allocated towards Projects at Origin – helping locals in the countries where the coffee is grown.

“One of our exporters showed me a photograph from a co-op that we were buying the bulk of our coffee from,” Grant relates. “It showed kids, who happened to be the same age as my own, crossing a river on a tree trunk to get to school.

“We’re all a product of a fluke of birth. My kids will never have to cross the river on a tree trunk to get to school, but these kids in Colombia do.

“So we funded a bridge at that very crossing. Since then, we’ve done three more. We’ll be doing another within the next six months.”

LESS FORTUNATE

In all, 3.5% of Imbibe’s turnover is allocated to different causes before the company takes a cent. The .5% we haven’t discussed yet is put towards local initiatives, including Capital Strength – a gym next door to Imbibe in Dolphin’s Barn.

Additionally, Grant and his team provide coffee to hospitals around Dublin, free of charge.

“They’re nice things to do that don’t cost us a fortune,” he explains. “There’s huge satisfaction in giving. I get a real kick out of doing it.”

While there’s no way the effect can be measured, Grant believes that their altruism is good for business, which is booming. When the Covid pandemic hit, Imbibe started selling online, and that is working well. It might be surprising then, that Grant decided to put a hold on any further expansion.

“I decided to stop growing the wholesale business last year,” he says. “We’ve turned down a ridiculous amount of cafes who wanted to buy from us.”

And it’s here where we get to the heart of the Imbibe philosophy.

“The business could probably have doubled or tripled in size,” he explains. “But a big problem today is our failure to recognise when we have enough.”

It’s a lesson Grant learned in the early days of the company.

“We were not doing well financially. It was harrowing. It was a really awful time. It shaped me. It led to a realisation that – now – I do have enough. What would be the point of growing beyond that? I have a lot of issues with the iteration of capitalism that we’re living in, where companies grow without any apparent goal.”

Imbibe is proof that a different way of doing business is possible. And if an independent coffee roaster in Dublin can afford to give away 3.5% of their turnover, why can’t  multinationals do something similar? Scaled up, it would make a huge difference.

“The accumulation of wealth seems to be their only goal, and they’re doing that to the detriment of staff,” he posits. “I always use Amazon as an example. They announced utterly insane profits last year. Their net income was $59 billion.

“Then a couple of months later, they announced they were laying off staff to replace them with AI. So the people who got you into this position – you’re going to fire them to make even more money?

“It is possible to treat your staff well, treat your suppliers well, and help out those less fortunate than you, and still run a profitable business.

“If a large multinational announced they were going to give 1% of all the revenue to a very good cause, they would attract a truckload of business.”

DOING AMAZING THINGS

In the end, it is up to the consumer to drive change. Currently, it’s barely possible to go to the supermarket, support a football team or buy a cup of coffee, without feeling like you’re funding a warmonger or environmental destroyer.

“I’m not naive,” Gary Grant says. “I realise that businesses don’t have to help people. But I think today we accept too much. You see people making purchasing choices that are against their own interests. I’m not preaching to people to stop using Spotify, for example, but there are other less shitty platforms.

“If you look at the eight or nine music platforms available, Spotify are among the worst in terms of paying artists. It would take somebody five minutes to switch. Consumers could shut down Spotify in months. Yet, people don’t take the time to do it. It may be the only power that we have left, but it’s a pretty big power.

“People choose not to wield it, because there’s an acceptance that ‘this is how it is now.’ And I just think that that’s fundamentally wrong.”

Another reason Grant doesn’t wish to continue growing relates to the integrity of the product. “There’s a quality factor,” he says. “As a group we’re very keen to put out the best coffee possible. That’s of huge importance to us. There are no 200-seat Michelin restaurants and although Michelin isn’t a thing for coffee, we have a self imposed standard. We feel that, if we were to grow bigger, we’d lose something around that”.

Imbibe will continue doing things their way: roasting great coffee and giving away more of their turnover.

“This year we’re going to get it to 4%,” Grant reveals. “There’s a guy in Ethiopia who started an orphanage, called the Ardent Children’s Centre. Because there’s a civil war, there are huge health issues. He’s helping young kids, giving them an education. He’s doing amazing things. And we’re supporting that.

“It seems to be a common reaction these days to look for the shitty things. But there are still good people out there. That’s always going to be our focus.”

• Visit imbibe.ie for more information.

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