The Canadian Expat Association recently had the opportunity to speak with Mark Cunningham, Vice President of Operations and Business Development with Second Cup International.  Second Cup has seen a significant increase in the number of cafes that have opened up abroad with 58 cafes spread largely throughout the Middle East.  Whether you are in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan or Syria you can enjoy a great cup of coffee and experience a prime example of Canadian branding and savvy marketing prowess.  We took this opportunity to see if there were any lessons that could be learned.  We found several.

“The Middle East is an interesting market” explains Mark “Specialty coffee is relatively new there.  Couple this with the fact that there is generally no alcohol, we are finding that coffee cafes fill a similar roll to what pubs do in Canada.” Mark further discussed the difference in coffee culture between the Middle East and Canada.  He explained that in Canada the industry average for customers to request their coffee ‘to go’ is about 75%.  In the Middle East, the average is close to 80% of clients requesting their drink ‘to stay’.  Whereas in North America the coffee cafe is an A.M. business, in the Middle East coffee is a late night business.  The differences to the North American market is illustrated even further with the fact that in North America the average food to drink ratio at coffee shops is 1:1, this means that the average person is Canada will buy one food item for every drink they order.  In the Middle East that average is 2:1 (2 food items for every drink).

With these significant differences one wonders about the formula that is making Second Cup such a success.  After all, they can now claim to be one of only a small handful of truly global players in the specialty coffee market.  Mark pointed to two areas that have made Second Cup what it is today on the world playing field, “Canadian branding and local independent ownership.”

Curious about what “Canadian branding” really means, we pressed Mark a bit on this one.  “For Second Cup, Canadian branding means Canadian colours, taking advantage of the powerful yet clean and crisp images of Canada like our mountains, rivers and lakes.  It means actively supporting Canadian events like the Terry Fox run in Dubai and Canada Day.  It means occasionally putting unique Maple flavoured items on our menu boards.  It doesn’t however mean that we wave the Canadian Flag in our cafes.”

“Canada represents an obtainable dream to many people in the Middle East.  Canada has a strong image

Second Cup considers the fact that all stores are local and independently owned as key to their success.  Yes, the owners are well trained, but they are given freedom to work within their culture.  They know what the clients want and after going through Second Cup’s training they understand the values and expectations of the head office.

The formula seems to have worked.  Second Cup is growing at a phenomenal rate and further growth seems to be in the forecast. This is exciting to see as doom & gloom seems to be the phrase of the year for many organizations.

So, it appears as though there are lessons for all Canadian companies to be learned from Second Cup.

First and foremost- don’t lose sight of where you are from.  The Canadian brand is a solid one.  It is represented by identifiable attributes from our country: clean, crisp and wholesome images.

Second- there is no need to have flags waiving in people’s faces to get them to recognize the brand.

Third- allow the product to be integrated with the local culture.  Culture dictates needs and wants and thus consumption.  As cultures differ even from neighbourhood to neighbourhood it makes sense to get local involvement in the management of your organization when you are in other countries.

Actually, most Canadians have no need to study these lessons as they are already apart of the fabric that make us up.  Just keep them in mind and you can’t go wrong.  Isn’t this exactly what Canadians are about?  We are intensely proud of the geography of our beautiful country.  We are not so nationalistic to force the flag down someone’s throat.  Above all, we respect the multiculturalism of this world and find success within it.

Kudos to you, Mark and Second Cup.  You are a fine example of a truly Canadian company.

Expats, when you are out and about keep your eyes open for a Second Cup.  Drop in and say hello.  You are sure to feel welcome and guaranteed to get a great cup of coffee.

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