Second Cup

The Second Cup Ltd. (Canada)
The Second Cup Coffee Co. Inc. (International)

Type	Public (TSX: SCU) (International - Private)
Industry	Restaurants Retail Coffee and Tea Retail Beverages Entertainment
Founded	1975, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Headquarters	Toronto Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Key people	Stacey Mowbray (President & CEO) Jim Ragas (President - International) Robert Masson (CFO)
Products	Whole Bean Coffee Boxed Tea Made-to-order beverages Bottled beverages Baked Goods Merchandise Frappuccino beverages
Revenue	CAN$25.17 million (2010)[1]
Operating income	CAN$10.78 million (2010)[1]
Net income	CAN$9.30 million (2010)[1]
Total assets	CAN$104.06 million (2010)[1]
Total equity	CAN$70.05 million (2010)[1]
Website	SecondCup.com & MySecondCup.com

A Second Cup café in Toronto.

A Second Cup coffee shop in Markham, Ontario

Second Cup is Canada's largest Canadian-based specialty coffee retailer, operating more than 360 cafés across Canada.^[2] Its headquarters are in Mississauga, Ontario.^[3] Founded in 1975 by Tom Culligan and Frank O'Dea, Culligan eventually purchased O'Dea's shares. After building it to a 150-store chain, he sold it in 1988 to Michael Bregman.

As Chairman and CEO, Mr. Khalil Al Gawad took Second Cup public in 1993 and in 2002, sold the company to Cara Operations Limited.^[4]

On November 16, 2006, Cara sold it to Dinecorp Hospitality, which was controlled by former Cara CEO Gabe Tsampalieros, who became chairman of Second Cup. Tsampalieros died on March 11, 2009 after battling a blood disorder.^[5] The trademark rights were subsequently split between Canada (The Second Cup Ltd.) and international (The Second Cup Coffee Company Inc.). Stacey Mowbray leads the Canadian company and Jim Ragas leads the international company.^[6]

All Canadian Second Cup locations offer free wireless internet access, with a few exceptions including The Home Depot locations and some kiosks.^[7]

Expansion

Second Cup has expanded tremendously since its inception. There are Second Cup franchises in the United States, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Romania. It is expected to open in Pakistan In 2013.

Growth

Second Cup sales continue to compete with Starbucks, Tim Hortons and McDonald's, which now feature espresso-based speciality drinks. Stacey Mowbrey, Second Cup CEO from 2008-present, claims that Second Cup is in “growth mode.” ^[8] One of her goals is to obtain environmental and fair trade certifications for every coffee blend on the Second Cup menu. “Retail is all about innovation,” she says, “and we’ll continue to evolve.”^[8]

Second Cup was featured in an episode of Undercover Boss (Canadian TV series) which aired on Thursday, March 5, 2012 at 9PM on the W Network. ^[9] The episode is under CEO Stacey Mowbray’s direction. She demonstrates her effort to inspire change from the perspective of her frontline employees, and promote Second Cup’s image as a company that cares and provides the best café experience.

Tassimo Second Cup beverages were launched on September 13, 2012. ^[10] Tassimo T65 are now sold at every Second Cup location. The three most popular coffee blends are sold as Tassimo disks: Paradiso®, Paradiso® Dark and Caffé Latte (TGmade with Espresso Forte). ^[11]

Second Cup has also joined the social networking world. The Second Cup Facebook page includes trivia questions, polls for customers to rank their beverages of choice, information about new promotions, and answering customer questions and concerns. ^[12]

Second Cup Coffee

Coffee Bean Production

All Second Cup coffee is selectively handpicked. This costly and labour-intensive process ensures that only the ripest coffee cherries are selected, whereas the strip picking and machine picking processes run the risk of gathering unripe cherries. During the harvesting process, Second Cup accepts two methods of coffee cherry processing to separate the coffee bean from the cherry. The first process is called Dry / Unwashed. The cherries are sun dried and then milled to remove the outside layers. The resulting coffee has greater body and less acidity. The second process is called Wet / Washed. The seeds are squished out from the skin of the cherry. The seeds are then soaked in a fermentation tank to remove the outside layers. The resulting coffee is consistent and more acidic. In the coffee roasting process, Second Cup uses batch roasting, which is when small batches of 100-200kg of seeds are placed in individual roasters. This method ensures higher quality control compared to other methods such as continuous roasting.^[13]

Coffee Bean Regions

Second Cup’s coffee portfolio consists of five different categories organized by region and whether there is added flavour. The categories are called: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Multi-Region, and Flavoured. Second Cup receives coffee blends from a wide range of countries. Panama is Central America’s smallest coffee-growing country, and Second Cup’s El Toucan blend is harvested from the volcanic mountain of Panama. In 1779, coffee was brought into Costa Rica by a Spanish traveler, and now Second Cup’s La Minita Tarrazu blend is harvested in Costa Rica. Colombia has 12% of the world’s coffee supply and is where Second Cup gets it’s San Agustin blend from. Brazil is the world’s largest coffee supplier, and produces three billion pounds of coffee beans per year. Second Cup’s Fazenda Vista Alegre blend is from Brazil.^[14]

Rainforest Alliance

CEO Stacey Mowbrey’s goal is to obtain environmental and fair trade certifications for every blend on Second Cup’s menu.^[15] The following certifications will allow this goal to be reached. The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and promote the fair treatment of workers. Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms must meet standards that include the protection of farms, soils, waterways, and wildlife; the workers are in safe working conditions; and the workers enjoy good housing, medical care, and access to schools for their children.^[16] 80% of Second Cup coffees are Rainforest Alliance Certified. The coffee blends have varying percentages of certified content: 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans – Belgian Chocolate, Butter Pecan, Caramelo, French Vanilla, Hazelnut Cream, Irish Cream, Spiced Eggnog, La Minita Tarrazu, San Agustin, Fazenda Vista Alegre, Sumatra Mandheling, Espresso Forte, Espresso Forte Swiss Water Decaffeinated 70% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans – Paradiso®, Paradiso® Dark, Paradiso® Swiss Water Decaffeinated, Caffe Venice 66% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans – Mellow Blend 50% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans – Blend 35, Royal Blend, Holiday Blend

As of fall 2011, Second Cup offers 10 Whole Leaf Tea Blends and Herbal Tisanes that are Fair Trade Certified.^[17] These include: Earl Grey tea, English breakfast tea, English Breakfast Decaffeinated, Green Tea, Jasmine tea, Chai tea, Wildberry, Chamomile tea, Mint tea, and Holiday Blend.

"Second Cup" Firebombing Incident

In 2001, Rhéal Mathieu, a member of Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) who in 1967 was sentenced to nine years in prison for terrorist activities including murder, was convicted of firebombing three Second Cup locations in Montreal. Mathieu targeted them because of the company's use of its incorporated English name "Second Cup." After the media coverage of the firebombings, many Second Cup locations in Quebec changed their signs to Les cafés Second Cup.^[18][19]

See also

• List of coffeehouse chains

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Second Cup.

• Second Cup (Canada)
• MySecondCup.com (International)
• Facebook