Photos courtesy of Kahwa Coffee.
Twelve-year-old Florida-based coffee roasting company and retailer Kahwa Coffee has landed a deal with the regional supermarket chain Publix, with a target of 130 in-store cafe openings by the end of this year throughout the Southeast, according to an announcement from Kahwa.
The Publix cafes featuring Kahwa coffees will be strategically placed near the entrance of each participating Publix, offering retail display space and a drinks menu that includes a new blend created specifically for the venture called Cubano.
It’s a major deal Raphael and Sarah Perrier, who founded the roasting company in St. Petersburg 2005 before opening the first cafe in 2006. The company has expanded its production capabilities and now operates 12 cafes — all but one Miami location are in the Miami/St. Pete market — while also supplying some 800 restaurant and other wholesale accounts, according to the company.
A new Publix cafe featuring the Kahwa brand.
“We are absolutely over the moon that Publix is working with a local Florida roaster,” Raphael Perrier said in the company announcement. “Consumers like to enjoy coffee as they shop and tasting the product is the best opportunity to create a lifelong customer and drive sales for Publix.”
Publix operates more than 1,100 grocery stores in seven Southeastern states. At least 18 of those stores currently have a Starbucks-branded cafe on premises, and the company says on its website that four more Publix stores with Starbucks bars are “coming soon.”
The first Kahwa cafes in Publix locations are planned for Winter Park and Bradenton, both in Florida.
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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