What does it take to get the attention of a generation raised on espresso, lattes and cappuccino? Well, NHS Supply Chain realised that the coffee shop is usually the first or last experience a guest has when visiting a hospital, and will therefore be among the most memorable points. That’s why, in partnership with customers and key suppliers, it has established a coffee shop programme to support caterers in their quest to constantly achieve a level of excellence that attracts customer loyalty and fuels ongoing success.

Indeed, an extensive range of competitively priced beverages, food and non-food products required to support the Coffee Shops are available through NHS Supply Chain, and this has helped to revolutionise a business opportunity that is at last able to perform to its optimum.

Solutions for a Changing Marketplace

NHS Supply Chain is committed to providing an innovative and dedicated end-to-end supply chain service that can meet the needs of every NHS healthcare organisation in England. This service has needed to change and evolve in order to keep pace with both NHS medical practices and general lifestyles patterns, which have altered dramatically in recent years.

Today, for instance, people are having shorter stays in NHS hospitals, particularly as an increasing number are admitted as day patients. This is of course having a direct and substantial impact on the requirements for food and drink.

There's no doubt that lifestyle changes over the last 10 years have had a major impact, too. These include an increase in disposable income, changes in lifestyle habits encouraging more eating out, more choice of restaurants catering for a wide variety of tastes, the spread of strongly branded chains, and increased tourism. It seems we’ve not only moved beyond the basic necessities of life, but almost beyond goods themselves. So the areas of growth are things that make us feel better about ourselves. With this in mind, the ‘front of house’ services in hospitals have to keep pace with a changing market to maximise income opportunities, and that exactly where NHS Supply Chain come in.

Looking to the High Street

Through its suite of world-class logistics, procurement and customer support services, NHS Supply Chain is at the heart of the nation’s health system. It understands the importance of value to its customers, and works hard to create partnerships with a range of suppliers to deliver sustainable value to the NHS. Indeed, as experts in logistics and procurement, NHS Supply Chain continually seeks innovation in every aspect of its customer service, generating new opportunities, embracing fresh challenges and satisfying the evolving needs of its customers.

One of its challenges has been to respond to the changes in hospital catering, finding the answer on Britain’s high streets. Nowadays, beans mean business. High-street coffee shops have sprung up all over the UK, creating a whole new market that would have seemed inconceivable a few years ago. Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Coffee Republic, Caffe Nero and a host of smaller players have all spotted the opportunity and are battling for prime locations as they fuel the growth of the coffee society.

In fact, the expectation levels have risen dramatically when it comes to coffee and snacks, not least in locations such as railways stations, airports, and of course hospitals. Consequently, the positioning of the new Coffee Shops though NHS Supply Chain is responding to a very real demand – a relaxed, friendly environment with a choice of quality food and drink. Together with high quality, visible branding, this will allow the NHS caterer to attract and retain customer loyalty in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

With this in mind, extensive consultation and consideration was given to the content and quality of both the food and non-food offer. This has resulted in a core range of Coffee Shop products being made available through NHS Supply Chain for the four key food regimes – ambient, chilled, frozen and fresh. In addition, a new and extensive range of catering tableware products are on offer, including beverages (hot and cold); confectionery and snacks; soups; sugar/sweeteners/ milk portions; desserts; sandwiches; fresh fruit; preserves/spreads; condiments/sauces; catering disposables; tableware and crockery.

An Ethical Approach

Up and down the country the public are knocking on doors from the town hall to the local supermarket asking for more engagement with ethically-sourced products, and this is driving companies, large and small, to respond.

Traditionally, tea and coffee have been at the forefront of this revolution, but today a wider range of products are available, including increasingly popular 'brands' such as Fairtrade, Rain Forest Alliance and Ethical Tea Partnership. The current range of ethically-sourced products available through NHS Supply Chain includes a broad range of tea and coffee together with orange juice. It is, however, constantly seeking out new products, such as confectionery and snacks, and customers will have access to an ever-wider portfolio of ethically-sourced products as the Coffee Shop concept expands and evolves.

There is no doubt that people in Britain today are clearly moving towards more ethical lifestyles and are starting to realise that their actions all have consequences. As British shoppers increasingly look to shop with a clear conscience, the market will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. And NHS Supply Chain will mirror this trend.

Complete Autonomy

NHS Supply Chain will not be involved in the direct running of each individual Coffee Shop – it will
simply facilitate the process by providing the key tools. Indeed, the management of each outlet
will be the responsibility of the catering manager, again underlining the autonomy to develop a
thriving, profitable business.

Once a customer has given a commitment to join the Coffee Shop programme, NHS Supply Chain will work hand in hand with them in order to support the launch an establishment of the concept. The level of support available to Trusts is related to both the level of commitment given and the level of support required. In return for giving its commitment to the programme, the Trust will also automatically enjoy the benefits of membership of the NHS Supply Chain Coffee Shop Partnership. Members will enjoy a range of benefits, with best practice amongst caterers being encouraged.

A Solution for Every Scenario

NHS Supply Chain can offer a number of solutions, with several options being clearly delineated:

Level 1: A trust formally commits to using NHS Supply Chain for all of its Coffee Shop consumable products. NHS Supply Chain will also support the Trust in developing the Coffee Shop, including signage, some operational equipment, dispensers and point of sales displays.

Level 2: Here a Trust gives additional commitment to purchase sandwich products and/or fruit though NHS Supply Chain, as well as consumable products. As well as the Level 1 benefits, further support is available to the Trust by the provision of additional equipment such as panini toasters. At this stage, it will be possible to facilitate promotional activities such as Meal-Deals, too.

Level 3: Depending upon the circumstances, further hardware and equipment may also be required, such as furniture or dishwashers. NHS Supply Chain can help Trusts to buy the necessary equipment through existing NHS Supply Chain/OGC framework agreements.

Level 4: Where refurbishment and/or building work needs to be undertaken, NHS Supply Chain will endeavour to introduce a third party to undertake this work.

Big Brand, Big Opportunity

In today’s consumer environments, of course, it is also vital to have a brand that people recognise and trust and, with this in mind, all Coffee Shops that are part of the NHS Supply Chain programme will branded under ‘Kenco Time-Out’ – which reflects the key role that Kraft will be playing.

Kenco has been at the heart of good coffee making since 1923, and has used its passion for real coffee to develop a wide range of single origin, blended, whole bean, ground and instant coffee to give customers the ability to choose the perfect coffee for any occasion.

Ian Parr, the senior customer manager at Kraft Foods, commented: “Kenco is delighted to be working in partnership with NHS Supply Chain using quality solutions in the growing market of the bespoke coffee shops.”

An Instant Success

With around 20 Coffee Shops expected to be opened by the end of 2007, this new concept is proving to be an instant success, with Mike Bennett, catering manager at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Blackpool, explaining: “Using the product range, supplier base and delivery network via NHS Supply Chain and Coffee Shop partnership, in conjunction with Kenco, has allowed me to provide a high-quality coffee house service with minimum outlay.”

To find out how you can take part in the Coffee Shop programme, please contact:

Nigel Watson (business manager) 01924 328842
Gareth Hudson (ambient food/beverages) 01924 328840
Kim Haskins (sandwiches) 01244 586765
Gareth Jones (fruit) 0118 980 8611
Jill Poole (catering and tableware) 01924 328738
Peter Davies (catering liaison manager) 07887 648889