The Bunn Headquarters in Springfield
The brand is seen in many establishments all around the world where beverages are demanded. Like many companies of its time which would eventually evolve from its initial operations; Jacob Bunn actually started the business as a grocery store in Springfield, Illnois, USA, over 170 years ago. It then grew into Bunn Capitol Wholesale Grocery Company and was later managed by George R. Bunn who founded a beverage equipment division in the late 1950’s. George Bunn is a man with foresight. Why? With 500 billion cups of coffee consumed worldwide each year and a 7% annual growth rate in coffee shops as of current statistics, his first invention in the 1950s was a step in the right direction. Back then, people used cloth filters which were often not properly rinsed off before the next cup is prepared, resulting in an unpleasant taste in his drink. Hence, he began experimenting with common household textiles and eventually designed the world’s first flat bottom coffee filter that delighted customers who cited the absence of bitterness due to its ability to evenly extract coffee. Restaurants and diners in USA begun to adopt BUNN’s technology particularly when the 1960s saw more people taking coffee breaks and their palate were also more refined.
George R. Bunn
While coffee started off the company, it soon became clear that the beverage industry is filled with vast possibilities and needless to say, an extremely profitable area. People no longer have to go all the way to their favourite coffee shop; what if convenience stores could have automatic and self-service solutions for various drinks? Or even restaurants and hotels for that matter? BUNN steadily built its company around liquids and currently serves a variety of areas in the industry such as Quick Serve Restaurants, Full Service Restaurants, Healthcare, College and Universities, Amusement and Leisure, Office Systems, Lodging and Hospitality, C-Stores and Specialty. Its offerings for these channels include coffee, tea, espresso, hot dispensed, cold dispensed, frozen dispensed and water.
MORE THAN A “BREW & POUR”
Coffee and tea dispensing solutions
No doubt the operations of a BUNN coffee decanter is fairly simple but its technology is far from it. Senior vice President- General Manager (international Division) , Mr Brian Wisniewski explained that in espresso machines, each cup of coffee can be different even though the bean used is the same. This is due to the technical know-how of a barista in determining the temperature, extraction and brewing time but BUNN has perfected the art of producing a consistent cup each time. The advancement has led to the World Cupping Championship endorsing BUNN brewers in its competition. A contestant is given 3 cups of coffee where 1 is different from the 2 and he/she is supposed to determine which cup is not up to par. The competition requires 2 cups of coffee that are 100% alike and BUNN’s brewers are able to meet this stringent demand despite how beans can be easily affected by temperature, extraction and brewing.
A customer does not just walk in, buy a beverage dispenser of his need and figure out how to operate it with a manual. In Mr Wisniewski’s opinion, operators should consider getting the right size of machine for their operations as many businesses also sell drinks and if your delivery is slow, customers would just hop to the other operator. To ensure clients get the best results from their selected equipment, a BUNN Business Consultant walks them through their decision with its unique Profit Calculators that immediately show profit profiles for different beverage categories. It is an everyday practice to guide our customers and take the time to understand their operations and the impact of capacity into the operations, said Mr Wisniewski. This level of customer service is a reason for international chains to use a BUNN brewer as it is also able to design specific units to match a customer’s unique needs.
GUIDELINE TO YOUR IDEAL BUNN EQUIPMENT
Presenting various segments of the industry with opportunities to grow their beverage business, BUNN has a systematic guide to helping businesses select the best solution.
• Use the Beverage Destination Key Guide to identify the area of service.
• What beverages are customers asking for?
• Estimated average daily volume consumption per customer? (select measurements)
• Are multiple stations required?
• Table service or self service?
• Intervals of beverage service and what holding solution will be needed to ensure drink quality?
• Electrical and plumbing requirements? What about countertop layout restrictions?
• Neccessity of merchandising display
SOLUTIONS THAT SPELL INNOVATION
Since the flat bottom coffee filter captured the attention of America, BUNN has continued to propose new ideas in enjoying coffee. Office Coffee Service or known as the OCS market started with the introduction of the Model X Pourover commercial coffee brewer that sought to simplify brewing no matter a customer’s location. The domestic market came to know this name in 1970s when it launched the B8 model that featured a brew-on-demand internal hot water tank and while commercial tea brewers worked with powdered tea, BUNN’s TL3 was patented as the first brewer to serve tea from real tea leaves.
Ultra Frozen Drink Dispenser
The 1990s heralded technology and BUNN was right on the beat. It patented Digital Brewer Control™ (DBC®) a brewer / grinder electronic interface that ensured proper coffee-to-water ratios. When demand for cold drinks grew, it designed the first U.S.-made, electronic-sensored frozen drink system (CDS2) while BUNN Gourmet Ice® features a reversing auger design that quickens freeze time and reduces air mixing with product. Automation continued with Soft Heat® that automatically manages gradual heat through a server docking station. The BrewWISE® system is a RFID communication between grinder, funnel, and brewer while the Infusion Series® that brews coffee and tea in one machine with precise extraction control are amongst its long list of innovations.
The trifecta® brewer (right) and
specifically designed G2 Grinder
Its latest trifecta® Air Infusion Brewing technology is a BUNNexclusive brewing process that works to improve the quality of fine coffees and teas through three programmable phases:
Wetting: Controls saturation of coffee grounds and specialty loose leaf teas to achieve suitable ratio of water-to-turbulenceto-pause for the selected varieties.
Extraction: Injection of air into a pressurised chamber to activate Air Infusion to agitate grounds and leaves.
Hydrolysis: Pressure in the chamber releases and slowly presses the beverage through a filter that separates the grounds and leaves but preserves oils and aromatics.
Undeniably, drinks bring in higher profit margin than food – one can run a solely beverage outlet but hardly a food outlet without drinks. From studying consumer insights, the manufacturer sees that Asia is moving towards ice tea; flavoured or otherwise while coffee-influenced drinks continue to grow within the middle class. With its beverage equipment spanning a range of capacities, operators are able to select drinks to complement their menu, in any setting and with the system configured to specific requirements; each cup of coffee, tea, juice, frozen beverage or specialty beverage served to customer will be of consistent quality. Aside from good products, customer service is paramount. An interesting fact, Abraham Lincoln once patronised Jacob Bunn’s grocery store – that sure says something about Bunn’s belief in customer ser vice. Five generations later, the same value is upheld with a full-fledged support system including Business Consultants, service centres, downloadable catalogues and product manual, an online guide to product selection and the interactive Dr. Brew online platform for customers to post their questions – truly upholding the company’s brand promise of A Partner You Can Count On™.
