Crimson Cup’s operations and roasting facility are moving to a new 20,000 square-foot space at 1925 Alum Creek Drive, just a short drive from the roaster’s currently facility at 700 Alumn Creek Drive. The company will be working out of both addresses, using their current space as an innovative coffee laboratory.
Crimson Cup Founder Greg Ubert says they needed a larger space with different features to enhance their capabilities.
“They are going to have higher ceilings, dock doors – all the things that make an operation more efficient,” he says. The first phase of the company’s expansion is to move into this new space, which Ubert says will happen by the end of November.
“The second phase, which we are equally if not more excited about, is the coffee laboratory and test facility,” he says. “We will have the facilities to train, [and] we’ll also be able to have more tours so people can see what we do.”
The space will feature mini roasters for roasting and testing coffee. Ubert strives for constant innovation with Crimson Cup developing their own products from syrups to drinks – basically anything you would find at a coffee bar. The laboratory will provide an area for roasters to be concocting and testing a variety of new offerings.
Their efforts have led to some unique drinks so far. There’s the counter-intuitive but ever popular frozen hot chocolate and the recently released hop-infused coffee. Crimson Cup also just came out with protein performance frozen drinks that could substitute as a meal.
“We innovate on products because we just have a very simple objective, we want to be the best in the marketplace,” Ubert says.
Training coffee shop owners is another aspect of their objective to be the best.
“Our mission is to have the best coffee house products and teach businesses how to be successful,” Ubert says.
The training goes beyond just how to make coffee drinks. Crimson Cup’s coffee classes teach owners techniques like how to increase sales and lay out a store properly, what the cost of good and labor should be, as well as things like grassroots marketing.
“The other pieces that we put into play, it’s really a holistic business approach which actually makes us rare in the industry,” Ubert says.
Crimson Cup hopes to become the premier training facility in the Midwest. More people are starting to understand and appreciate the expertise and innovation behind coffee, and the company is excited to be able to share that with more people with the new facility.
“We believe in small business, we believe in small business owners,” Ubert says. Customers and independent coffee shop owners are successful because of the training, giving Crimson Cups the means to expand.
With the expanded facility, Crimson Cup will also add 20 new positions to their workforce over a three-year period. Positions range from directors to operations to sales and marketing. Crimson Cup will add a few positions with the initial move and usher the rest in over time.
For more information, visit crimsoncup.com.
