Barista Equip on why the convenience and petrol sector is looking to coffee machines that deliver consistent quality with ease of use, and how its new distribution partnership will provide that solution.
When Barista Equip’s Brett Bolwell first saw the size of the Eversys Légacy machine and learned about its features, output capabilities and price point, he knew it was an exciting opportunity that could speak to a broad cross-section of the market.
“Eversys has an incredible DNA and plays at the high-end of the market but until now, I didn’t really think it had a machine that was suited to the mid-sector, which is a much larger representation of the Australian market,” Brett says.
“Légacy is a machine that can be used in convenient outlets, but even down to those that want to embrace it like a barista model and stand behind it. You can create that theatre with Légacy knowing that the extraction that comes out of it will be as good if not better than any traditional espresso machine.”
Brett is on the board of the Australian Convenience and Petroleum Members Association and says he is excited to present Légacy to the Association’s 7500 members at a Brisbane conference. He believes the industry will have strong growth over the next three to five years, particularly given the rise of electric vehicles and a predicted drop in revenue of fuel prices.
“This is an industry that’s going to be looking at how to focus their attention on retail, and we all know that coffee is the number one product in retail,” Brett says.
“I’ll be discussing the value proposition of automation in convenience and retail, what the benefits are for the long-term, and what the variety of options are. We have to give them solutions, which was one of my biggest decision-making reasonings behind jumping behind a brand like Eversys and supporting its Légacy model. It’s something we can put into the market for under $20,000 without the need for significant power upgrades, and super easy installation. We’re even looking at a fixed price service model for a set monthly fee.”
Brett adds that the attraction to coffee, convenience, and petrol, even from a barista’s perspective, has untapped potential.
“Baristas may not think of it as a career option but on average, overall wages are around 15 per cent higher in retail and convenience than what they are at a café, and they can be doing the same work with a lot more ease with machines like Légacy,” he says.
Barista Equip’s distribution of Légacy is a result of its new sub-distributor partnership of Service Sphere in Queensland. Service Sphere is one of two official distributors of Eversys in Australia. In October, Barista Equip will launch its new partnership to coincide with the launch of its new factory.
Barista Equip will also conduct installation and training of Eversys machines in the Queensland market, including its telemetry features with remote access to diagnostics, recipe upgrades, and serviceability reminders.
“As service provides, we can tell exactly what’s going on and share that information with users at no cost. It’s a very impressive unit,” Brett says.
Brett says there are already a significant number of Australian accounts looking at Eversys and what its machines are capable of achieving in the convenience sector.
“All the big players in the market know the brand and even though it hasn’t been around in Australia that long, it’s developed its own hype and a strong reputation. Every conversation I have about Eversys has been ultra-positive, people just love it,” Brett says.
“The convenience sector understands that they’re never going to get the dedicated staff they want, and they’re not capable of full-on training, it’s not in their genre. They just want a machine that delivers something that tastes amazing with a small footprint.”
And with Légacy just 36 centimetres wide, 60 centimetres deep, and 71 centimetres high, it’s a compact solution with remodelled grinders, coffee brewing chamber, and piston head adapted from previous Eversys models.
To Brett, its most impressive feature is its customisability. Users can choose up to four integrated grinders in the one machine and one power chamber, such as a chocolate hopper, which can also be divided in half and used with another powder, such as chai. Users can also house up to two types of dairy and non-dairy alternative milks.
He also likes that users can utilise the different steam wand technologies with full manual operation, semi-automatic, or go full automatic.
“I love that you have the ability to use it like a hybrid. You’ve got a lot of features for a little box. There’s no question this machine is the best,” he says.
Barista Equip is taking pre-orders for Légacy with market availability from February 2023.
For more information, visit baristaequip.com
This article appears in the October 2023 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
