Profiles In Pizza: Essential Brands By Tom Boyles

Having the benefit of traveling throughout Australia and attending tradeshows all across the globe, PMQ’s Pizza Australia staff has the privilege of seeing and understanding many facets of companies that restaurant owners do not get to see. Many know these companies only by their name or products. In each issue of the new PMQ’s Pizza Australia we will be profiling different companies and people to give you a better idea who and what is out there to help you succeed. While these companies do have products to sell, all of them also have knowledge and experience that they can share too…even if you aren’t a current customer. This is what makes the Australian restaurant business one of the best in the world. For this installment, we talked with the owners of the Essential Brands Group of Companies (Espresso Essential & Essential Slush Co.). If you don’t know much about who they are or what they are about, we hope this will give you a better picture.

When and did you begin your career in the pizza/restaurant/equipment supplier industry? We established our company in 1999 and immediately recognized that the pizza and restaurant industry was something that our machines and products would benefit shortly after getting started. Our products and machinery is a perfect match or Italian restaurants and pizza shops.

What area do you specialize in (design, food, equipment, consulting, etc.)? We are a one-stopshop, we supply everything from hand-made fully automatic real bean espresso bean to cup machines, freshly roasted coffee beans, all chocolate and milk products, and all other consumables. Our passion is to be able to supply our customers with everything that they need from the one business; this allows them ease of dealings and makes their business more efficient in turn.

What is the one best piece of advice you can tell restaurant owners? Value adding your business and integrating your products and services allows you to provide a complete service to your customers. Why let your customers go down the road to a competitor and get a café quality coffee while they wait or after they finish a meal when you can pick up that business as well? In many cases, the coffee offerings make your shop a destination for an otherwise untapped demographic.

What is the most common mistake you see restaurant owners making? To be honest, not understanding their market and their competitors.

Learn what the consumers in your backyard want and pay attention to not only what your competition is offering, but also at what they aren’t offering.

If you had to make a prediction, in what areas do you see the biggest opportunity/ potential for restaurant owners in the next two years? Having the ability to value add and integrate your business will allow you to edge out your competitors. The population is vastly becoming lazier and lazier, and therefore if you can provide a prompt and one stop service to your customers, they will keep coming back. With rising interest rates, etc., the cost of production is not getting any cheaper, by value-adding your business and vertically integrating as much as you can, will cut out more middle men and allow your profit margins to grow.

What brands and/or type of service and/ or equipment do you provide? Fully automatic real bean to cup espresso and premium hot chocolate machines. Full range of freshly roasted coffee beans to your specifications in addition to all consumables, products and point of sale to use with our equipment.

What are a few marketing ideas or tips you can offer restaurant owners? Outline your market, consider your demographics and carefully analyze your competitors, paying particular attention to the ones who seem to be hurting your business, then see what they are doing to edge you out and better them, and see what your less competitive competitors and ensure that you don’t follow any of their downfalls. In the old saying, if you cannot beat them, join them! Either be a point of difference in the market to make you and your business stand out. If this is not an option, and then follow your competitors and build of their successes.