The London Coffee Festival- The Biggest Coffee Party on Earth!
The London Coffee Festival is the UK's largest conference of coffee retailers and suppliers. The event was held last weekend, 23rd-26th September 2021, and gave coffee aficionados the opportunity to experience the wide world of coffee under one roof. The whole Parcelly team are huge coffee lovers, so we certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity to get caffeinated and talk fulfillment with the many cool brands in attendance.
The event had 200+ retailers including Lavazza, Nespresso, Illy and Taylors of Harrogate to name just a few. Despite the name, this festival was not limited to just coffee. Retailers such as Teapigs, Oatly and Alpro meant that whatever your beverage preference, the LCF had something for you. Latte art masterclasses, experiments in coffee and sustainable solutions were just some of the interactive experiences attendees could take part in.
The Parcelly team attended the event on Friday, September 24th, and had the opportunity to talk delivery and logistics with many brands across the industry. As a product that many of us need to have when we want it, no matter where we are, there are many great synergies between coffee brands and Parcelly's Hyperlocal Fulfillment solution! We discussed hyperlocal warehousing, urban logistics and everything first- and last-mile with a range of coffee retailers.
Consumers' expectations around delivery and fulfillment have grown massively during the online explosion from the Covid-19 pandemic. More than two-thirds of consumers used dark store retail formats during the pandemic, choosing click-and-collect or having orders fulfilled from a non-essential retail store. A dark store is a retail space that isn't open for in-store shopping, developed to exclusively fulfill online orders. It is a solution growing in popularity and is definitely here to stay as 84% of consumers say they will continue to use dark stores post-pandemic with demand being highest amongst millennial demographics.
What if we told you that our solution enables you to receive products from your favorite coffee retailer in under an hour? Our technology platform instantaneously activates any space for on-demand delivery and storage where and when it's needed, giving you access to your favorite brands on-demand like never before.
Overall, despite consuming far too much caffeine, the London Coffee Festival was a great experience and is definitely an event we will look out for again in the future. This event was our first in-person event since the Covid-19 pandemic and we look forward to many more in the months to come!
