A Short History of Percol
Innovation and quality are the key elements behind a successful brand. Percol, the pioneer and award-winner was the first coffee brand launched by Food Brands Group in late 1987. Ever since, Food Brands Group has been an innovator in the coffee market leading to wide recognition for quality and ethics.
"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 places. Each variety is as unique as the environment where it's 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. Enjoy the adventure."
Brian Chapman, Percol Founder
2006
In January 2006 Percol brought to life the sense of adventure and spirit of the countries where Percol's coffee is sourced with new eye-catching packaging. The unique designs have Percol logo in a different position on every single pack; Percol has placed its stake in the ground! It is showing Percol has visited the countries from where it sources its award-winning coffees.
New "Percol Fairtrade Honduras" and "Percol Fairtrade Decaffeinated Colombia" ground coffees are the first to hit the supermarket shelves.
Another Percol innovation - the launch of 8 cup ground coffee sachets specially developed for 8 cup cafetieres or filter machines. There are two varieties: Fairtrade Colombia and Fairtrade Organic Guatemala. The sachets are single use and easy to use with no measuring required, encouraging coffee drinkers to experiment with different varieties.
Percol wins the "Big Tick" from Business in the Community for the fourth consecutive year for its continued support of "Grounds for Hope" Coffee Kids Charity.(Coffee Kids)
Percol wins even more quality awards to add to its collection at the "Great Taste Awards" and "Organic Food Awards"- it now boasts 22 awards since 2002!
Percol holds the first ever coffee tasting school for journalists hosted by Brian Chapman together with a Percol coffee expert and a sommelier.
2005
Percol wins the "Big Tick" from Business in the Community for the third time for its support of Coffee Kids.
Percol is the exclusive Fairtrade partner at the English Heritage outdoor concerts. Percol Fairtrade coffee and tea is sold from a branded marquees at 23 concerts in venues such as Marble Hill and Kenwood House with more than 200,000 concert-goers.
Percol joined forces with "The Body Shop" and ran an impactful Percol on-pack promotion with a £5 off Body Shop voucher - redemption rate was in excess of 10%
2004
Brian Chapman visits Mexico to participate in the first ever Coffee Kids "Encuentro" where ALL project partners from Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala get together. They share ideas and experiences which lead to new initiatives in the communities where Coffee Kids works which improve the lives of coffee farming families, moving them away from their dependency on the income received through selling coffee.
Percol wins multiple awards at the Organic Food Awards 2004 including Best Organic Coffee with Rainforest Colombia Organic Ground Coffee and an award for the same variety of instant coffee!
Percol relaunches the first Rainforest Organic Colombia Instant Coffee, dropping the Sanctuary brand.
Percol launches Percol Original - Fairtrade coffee to challenge the big brands that does not compromise on quality using 100% Arabica beans. By reducing advertising and marketing spend Percol are able to sell Percol Original at less than £2.00 for a 100g jar and pay farmers around twice the amount for their beans than non-Fairtrade coffee companies.
Entire range wins endorsement from the Ethical Company Organisation and full listing on www.thegoodshoppingguide.co.uk
Receives the "Big Tick" from Business in the Community for the second year in a row for its continued support of Coffee Kids.
Percol launches a range of ground and instant coffees and teas in to the Catering and Vending market.
2003
Percol scoops up a total of seven awards at The Great Taste Awards.
Percol launches first single origin Fairtrade instant coffee: Fairtrade Colombia Freeze Dried Coffee.
Receives first "Big Tick" from Business in the Community Award for its support of Coffee Kids.
Launches first Rainforest Organic Ground Coffees from Colombia and Mexico. (formerly "shade grown")
2002
Percol rebrands and updates the packaging design bringing cohesion to the brand. It adopts the strap line "Perfect Coffee".As part of the rebrand, Percol introduces the Percol Promise which is a pledge to customers with a commitment to Fairtrade, organic standards and a promise for all sales of Percol coffee to contribute to Coffee Kids.
Just like an Oscar and one of Percol's proudest moments; winning the only awards for coffee at the Organic Food Awards for Fairtrade Organic Guatemala Ground Coffee and Rainforest Organic Mexico Ground Coffee.
1999
A key highlight for Brian Chapman: Percol is able to donate $25,000 to Coffee Kids from the sales of its coffee after supporting the charity for just one year; it is the charity's largest contributor outside the USA.
Percol launches two new varieties in the premium Café society range of instant coffees: Dark Americano & Decaf Americano.
Kogi Indian "Sanctuary" Coffee is introduced to the range - the first Rainforest Grown Instant Coffee on the market. A Rainforest Grown Ground coffee variety is also introduced.
Percol registers the Coffee Kids Charity in the UK and Brian Chapman sits on the board.
1998
Percol forms a long term partnership with Coffee Kids . Coffee Kids is an international non-profit organization established to help coffee-farming families improve the quality of their lives. (Visit www.coffeekids.org for more details)
Percol launches a Coffee Kids range of coffees with roast and ground and instant varieties.
1995
Launches Limited Edition Single Estate Ground Coffees. Includes first variety that is "Bird Friendly" endorsed by the RSPB.
1994
Percol is rebranded and moves from "Premium Coffee" to "Gourmet"
1993
Launches first Fairtrade Organic Espresso and first Fairtrade Organic Americano Ground Coffees.
1992
Percol is an early pioneer of Fairtrade coffee and launches its first variety; Fairtrade Nicaragua Ground Coffee, now winner of 3 coveted taste awards. This is quickly followed by Fairtrade Organic Guatemala and Fairtrade Colombia.
Percol Fairtrade Organic Latin America Ground Coffee is the first Percol coffee to be certified by the Soil Association.
1991
Percol innovates the coffee market with the introduction of omni-grind - the first coffee that can be used in either cafetieres or filter machines. Prior to this there was only one grind for a filter machine and another grind for a cafetiere.
1990
Introduces first single origin instant coffee from Colombia.
UK retailers follow Percol's successful lead by changing own brand ground coffees from a brick pack to a soft pack.
Launches Instant Espresso which has immediate success and is still available today with the same formulae.
1989
Percol innovates the coffee market by launching the now widely used soft pack for ground coffees in the UK with new technology to preserve quality.
Colombia, Brazil and Latin America were the first origin ground coffees launched in the UK and appeared in the soft pack.
Percol changes all ground coffees to 100% Arabica beans improving the quality and taste.
1987
Coffee lover Brian Chapman creates the Percol brand, combining his passion for coffee with his experience in the wine industry.
Percol "Night & Day" coffee, the first half caffeine coffee in the UK, receives Clio Gold Award for its pack design
Launches ground coffee in an innovative 500g re-sealable box with a foil lining with 4 varieties: Breakfast, All Day, After Dinner, Night & Day - the first half caffeine coffee in the UK.
