Brian Chapman, Founder of Percol

Brian Chapman

Brian Chapman was born in London in 1946. It was growing up during the 1960's, spending time in buzzing Italian owned coffee bars, filled with music and the jingle of coins in the jukebox, that his real passion for coffee first began.

After leaving school Brian had planned on career with Merchant Navy inspired by dreams of sailing the globe on the Southern Cross. But instead he embarked on a series of jobs which gave him a unique insight and respect for customers which has lasted with him until this day. Brian's early career included working out of Dover with the cross channel ferries; Promoting ITN's successful TV programme Ready Steady Go; and for a wine importer and coffee broker.

Brian's first big break came when he landed a job with advertising agency CPV International and then moved onto SH Benson, which was then the largest UK agency. It started a career in both the creative and business side of the advertising industry, plus a stint of working in New York which gave him the perfect experience to plan and launch his own brands.

In 1970 Brian started his first business with just £, some coffee broker friends and a great deal of luck. He found initial success selling coffee to catering and vending businesses. His growing confidence saw him negotiate a partnership with a much larger firm, S Daniels who specialised in supplying canned goods to all leading supermarkets in the UK. The partnership gave Brian the opportunity to fulfil his true ambition - to launch a coffee brand into the retail grocery market.

His first coffee was a huge success and Brian was dubbed the 'Coffee King' by the press and Sainsburys sold over one million jars in the first week! This was a huge success which he duplicated later in his career with hot chocolate.

Thrown into the limelight Brian realised that he needed to know more about where coffee actually came from and where it was produced. This sent him on a lifelong adventure of discovery that would shape the rest of his career.

In 1979 Brian turned his attention to wine launching a plastic bottle aimed at a younger audience. The Sunday Times coined a phrase to describe the new product "Now, you can really squeeze the bottle dry". At that time the majority of people drank either beer or spirits so the new bottle drew younger people into wine and changed the perception of wine in the UK. It was a huge success selling over 1 million litres in the first year alone.

Brian began travelling the world discovering more about coffee and wine. He discovered the correlation between wine and coffee and the effect of soil and climate on flavour, taste and aroma. With this he gained unique into the communities that produce both coffee beans and grapes and in particular their integral role in creating both the farmer's livelihoods and the infrastructure of these communities. He came to realise the need for sustainable farming within these poor communities to maintain these great tasting coffees.

Brian started Food Brands Group in 1983 and launched Percol coffee in 1987. With no advertising but a commitment to putting all resources into quality and value he has grown it to become one of the most recognised coffee brands in the UK. Percol is not just a pioneer of Fairtrade and organic coffee but also of country of origin and single estate coffees such as Rainforest which is high grown in remote areas - these types of coffee simply didn't exist in the UK before Percol started bringing them here. Percol puts quality first and has won virtually all quality awards available in the UK in recent years.

Brian's experience is captured Percol's ethos. He says; "I've always held a firm belief that coffee was more than just another beverage you kept in the cupboard. Coffee should be an adventure, taking you and your senses to some of the world's most exciting place. Each variety is as unique as the environment where it is found. Percol coffees will connect you with the people who grow, buy, drink and live coffee. We want to ensure a sustainable future for coffee communities and therefore great quality coffees for years to come."

Brian also works with the Coffee Kids Charity. In his travels Brian was lucky to meet Bill Fishbein, himself equally as passionate about coffee, and who had given up his own livelihood to start the Coffee Kids Charity which helped mothers and children in the coffee growing communities. Supporting the Coffee Kids charity allowed Brian's beliefs in Fairtrade to come full circle by actually giving back to the communities who produce coffee, especially when crops fail. Coffee Kids Charity helps to invest in the future through projects which benefit the community long-term including health, education and micro-enterprise projects. Brian sits as a board member of the Coffee Kids charity and started the UK branch in 1999.

Brian continues to create and launch innovative products in the retail grocery sector, the most recent being Mini Quick, a self heating snack brand (September 2006) and All New Rocket Fuel, a strong Guarana fuelled coffee (October 2006). Brian heads up the UK's widest range of Fairtrade and premium soft drinks which include both AJs and Greenleaf Fairtrade juices, Simply Mega and Cruz Organics.