Round-the-clock Melbourne's top quality coffee

For many, Melbourne is the world capital of coffee. Excellent coffee varieties are offered in hundreds of the city's cafes. Coffee production and consumption have become a phenomenon of our times. Good coffee can be found relatively easily but often only until early afternoon. Elliot Haralambous, one of the ‘Pod & Parcel’s’ founders, told the SBS Greek Program and its segment ‘Small Business Secrets’, that he had an innovative idea.

Melbourne-based Greek Cypriot Elliott Haralambous, one of founders of "Pods and Parcel" Source: Supplied: Pods and Parcel

The good coffee need 

Melbourne-based Elliot Haralambous started his business about a year ago. Until then he was employed as a strategic consultant to major Australian businesses. He told SBS Greek that many times during his late afternoon breaks he had the need of some good coffee. His colleagues felt the same.

But after 4 pm there were no cafes open in the area in which he was working. So inevitably, he had to drink instant coffee or another low-quality coffee product.

It was then that he wondered if there was something to be done to get quality coffee anytime. So, he and his partners, Ben Goodman and Jai Felinski, undertook some market research. They contacted coffee shops and stores in Melbourne, then took their coffee and put it in coffee capsules compatible with popular market coffee machines.

Issues that deserve attention

"When you start a business, you have to calculate everything. There are times when the cost can be doubled up to three times" says Elliot.

"Many times, for one reason or another, a producer may stop supply and it could take up to two to three months to restore the operation of the business as normal", he says. 

The young entrepreneur believes that cooperation with partners is important and he needs to spend endless hours to develop the product correctly.

"When this is not so, then things are rolling slowly. When you start a business, you must devote enough time to build professional contacts", he stresses. 

 

Things that need attention

The customer is a top priority of the ‘Pods and Parcel’ founder.

"I am trying to promote my products according to customer requirements and needs. Although at the beginning we had some ideas of what a customer really wants, we quickly realised that it is the market that determines its terms. You must be willing to change and adapt easily to the market's conditions. If you do not follow the wishes of your customers, then they will leave very quickly. "

 

Success secrets

So far Haralambous's small business has a presence in Melbourne and is planning its expansion in Sydney. "We want to create a new base in Singapore or Hong Kong or elsewhere in Southeast Asia."

He declares that trusting one’s business partners and suppliers is the secret of a successful business. "You have to trust your partners, your suppliers and your customers. Without trust it is very difficult for a business to survive out there. Although money determines our professional relationships, we also need to go beyond signed contracts. And if we do not invest enough time in the partnership, then we will not survive"

Elliot also says that Australia is well placed in the global food and beverage market and he explains. "Our country has several excellent products, many of which we enjoy only here, at home. The question that should concern Australian business owners today is how to sell their quality products overseas."