Not content with a thriving coffee shop brand, Notes then founded its own roastery in Canning Town. In 2018, the business opened its doors to a very welcome reception from the trade sector, supplying hospitality operators with wholesale premium, speciality coffee. In 2019, the brand continued to innovate, partnering with US-based instant coffee specialists, Voilà, to offer Notes’ premium coffee in an instant format, as well as launching its ranges in biodegradable, compostable coffee pods and Nespresso capsules to consumer and trade customers.
Sustainability and a viable future for our food and drink resources is close to the heart of the Notes team. What looks like a great coffee seller with a premium drinks focus is just the headline act. Behind the scenes, the business cares deeply about fair trade for small-holding coffee farmers and sources beans directly at prices that enable these traditional producers to continue raising crops in the same organic and sustainable way they always have.
Ethics and sustainability have never been higher on the agenda for consumers than they are now. Notes’ commitment to the environment and passion for their coffee shines through and is reflected in the success of the business. In 2015, Notes successfully led a crowdfunding round to raise £900,000 for growth, before a further bid in 2018 smashed its £600,000 target within 36 hours to eventually close at £1.19 million.
The board comprises co-founding directors Fabio Ferreira on product and Robert Robinson on operations; directors Alan and Maria Goulden, music store owners and hosts of the first Notes coffee shop enterprise; hospitality champion and Notes chairman James Horler, also of Ping Pong and a lead investor in Leon Restaurants; director Paul Kempe, an experienced start-up investor and a partner in Tileyard Music, which manages artists such as Ella Eyre and Sigala; Francis Norton of SJ Phillips; board member Lynda Halfon; and strategy director Edward Halfon, previously of Rothschild with a specialisation in the leisure sector, working on the acquisitions of Carluccio’s, Strada and Wagamama.