Like the changing of the coffee used to make a refreshing morning cup, the brands sponsoring and exhibiting at the 2014 Melbourne International Coffee expo have been shuffled. Sunbeam and Jura are out, De’Longhi and Nescafe Dolce Gusto are in, and Breville is retaining a presence but switching focus from an Oracle to the Boss.
Following on from the success of the 2013 iteration, which saw Breville debut its Oracle automatic manual espresso machine, along with its first batch of co-branded Nespresso units, the company has decided to pivot from premium coffee machine manufacturing to blending, telling Appliance Retailer that it recently signed on as the official blender sponsor of the World Coffee in Good Spirits competition.
This competition requires participants to create separate hot and cold coffee-based alcoholic beverages, which in 2014 must incorporate the sponsor’s drop: Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge. Breville will be stationing The Boss, its freshly launched premium blender, in the competition zone, with participants using it to prepare ingredients for their specialty drinks.
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De’Longhi and Nescafe Dolce Gusto have joined the MICE roster for 2014, presumably exhibiting new models from their fully automatic, capsule and manual ranges. We fired off some questions to De’Longhi regarding their plans and will publish their responses when we receive them.
Sunbeam and Jura have decided to withdraw from the event after impressive showings in 2013. Jura reports that it has decided to focus its efforts on the 2014 Good Food & Wine Show. Head of sales George Liakatos said Jura is expanding its Good Food & Wine Show presence from two appearances in 2013 to the full five in 2014.
“We did two shows last year, Melbourne and Sydney, and it was hugely successful so we thought why not extend it now and do all the shows? I think it’s just a good platform to engage directly with consumers,” Liakatos said.
Sources say Sunbeam decided not to renew its involvement because it thinks the show predominantly attracts a trade audience, mostly cafe owners and baristas, while the brand is focused primarily on consumer engagement.
The 2014 Melbourne International Coffee Expo is being held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 15-18 May 2014. In addition to hosting the World Coffee in Good Spirits competition, the World Latte Art and World Cup Tasters championships will also be staged. The first two days of the show (Thursday 15 and Friday 16 May 2014) are trade only, while the weekend days (17-18 May 2014) are open to the general public.