Reference no: EM133615444
Addictive Coffee
(please do not google this company to complete the assignment)
Mike Ralls launched Addictive Coffee Roasters as a lifestyle choice for those "fueling (their) healthy obsessions," as the tag line says. He enjoys surfing, boating, skiing and other outdoor activities.
"The Addictive Coffee name has nothing to do with the coffee, but rather with his addiction to alcohol which consumer much of his young adulthood. Mike has been sober for 15 years now and has started a coffee brand that is his personal story and has been a passion of his for over 12 years. The word "addictive" takes on another meaning in that it also references his active, healthy lifestyle while recovering from alcohol addiction.
He and his wife, Jen, have blended his coffee operation harvested from beans in higher elevations at locales over 4,000 feet in Central and South America into a fitness craze. She works for FitBit, is leads a healthy lifestyle alongside her husband.
In the spirit of tech startups, Ralls started his self-taught roasting obsession in his garage. It soon morphed into a chemist's dream, when he started to hone his Colombian, Guatemalan, Ethiopian and African blends by the hour at a rental roasting business in the East Bay. Ralls is ready to introduce his coffee creations to the market, focusing on millennials who see a more artisan coffee blend rather than commercial blends like Starbucks, Peets, or even Blue Bottle.
At 7 years old, Mike sold lizards and snakes before later graduating as a young man to sell futons while he lived in Boston. When he entered the corporate world as a business development manager, he discovered an unhealthy environment he escaped from. "I focused on what's important in life - eating right and surfing, and I've always loved to create things from scratch," he said.
A different kind of getting high that simply involves life and work's passions, his dedication to developing brews from his home found its way to a friend's San Rafael airplane hangar. There, he perfected an ice cream made with real coffee.
Using the location on Francisco Boulevard, Ralls has produced up to 1,000 pounds of coffee a day, with the coffee gracing the shelves of smaller grocers like Andy's, Scotty's and Mill Valley local markets. "I roast small batches with attention to the development cycle. That's how you get to the high quality. It's like the attention paid to wine grapes," Ralls said. The Zen of coffee roasting has taken the couple to Peru, where they visited Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca empire renowned for its spiritual essence. From there, the Ralls met coffee farmers, and Mike furthered his roasting education.
His need to advance a sustainable, eco-friendly operation has taken off with a unique packaging design, with coffee bags deemed completely biodegradable with plant-based material upon the removal of two labels. The design expanded into a single-serve product line that may be placed in compost. Everything was looking up. Mike is a hustler and is in the field daily promoting his coffee. There are a lot of good roasts out there, but sometimes the face doesn't match the roast. Getting in front of people demonstrates his loves of what he does. It's amazing to see his excitement.
Mike understands the importance of Social media as a way to get customers attention. He is particularly interested in YouTube and setting up a channel to humanize his brand. REVIEW THE POWERPOINT PRESENTION IN THIS MODULE: 10 WAYS TO USE YOUTUBE TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS, AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS?
1. How can Mike use YouTube to connect with his existing customer?
2. What type of YouTube videos might you suggest Mike develop showcasing his product to solve customer problems?
3. What specific content might his target resonate with and therefore bring awareness to the Addictive brand that proves Mike's own expertise in the area of coffee making?
4. How can Mike integrate customer testimonials in his videos?
5. How might Mike utilize the importance of CTA (calls to action) to increase exposure and visibility?
6. Once YouTube content is created, how might Mike continue to "spread the word"?
7. What is the first three YouTube videos Mike should create and introduce?