MANILA, Philippines — Robert SF Francisco loves coffee, probably even more than the standard coffee lover does. His romance with the beverage began early—it was associated with many positive things in his everyday life. “Over a cup of coffee one evening,” Francisco shares, “the birth of my coffee world with my family was created.”

It wasn’t such a surprise that he would end up with coffee as his main source of livelihood. “I started my small coffee sideline in 1992 to ’93, then officially and professionally later in 1993 as a retailer with the family cafe, for which I was the operations manager,” recounts Francisco.

“To be able to do my work well, to know my work, and to understand it, I had to self-learn…who would teach me? At that year, no one was knowledgeable, so I reversed-engineered espresso machine and roasting,” he shares.

Trial and error

Francisco read extensively and in his words “copied, tried and experimented until I got the right product. Since ’94, whatever I did was crafted by roasting every batch that was produced, (and this) was from my passion to learn more, so I would not only time the cooking of coffee but watch it closely as colors change to my desired color, which of course generally produced the final aroma and taste and flavor.”

From 1994 to 95, conversations with roaster and expresso machine suppliers during trips to the U.S., Singapore and Italy validated that what he had learned on his own was accurate. “Years later, our coffee freshness, quality and superior taste were recognized through family-owned cafes and the other establishments I supplied.

Somehow, Boyd U.S.A. got a wind of us, at the same time we were informed that a joint venture with a U.S. roasting company would be interesting. By 1998 negotiation started, and by 1999 Boyd Coffee Phil was born,” he shares.

Francisco had decided to link up with the U.S. company for what he says was, “the need to have a big brother in the industry. In the mid 1990s, anticipating the coming in of foreign brands, I saw it fit to become stronger by affiliating my roasting coffee company then, San Francisco Coffee & Roastery Inc., with a veteran and pioneer in the Specialty Roasting Industry.

Where else better to look than America, so that’s what we did. Boyd U.S.A. (which has a century of coffee roasting and brewing experience) had similar if not identical coffee business principles, practices and philosophy—from coffee quality selection to coffee roasting standards (safety and quality)—so it was not hard to do a joint business venture.”

The Einstein of coffee

Boyd Coffee Philippines has since continued to provide Fresh Roasted Coffee and Total Coffee Solutions designed specifically for each client’s needs. Business is a steady buzz from opening till closing at the Sheridan Street, Mandaluyong City warehouse-type center of operations, where the aroma from the much loved beans can become just too difficult to resist.

Walk-ins can buy a pack or two of freshly roasted coffee of their choice, or pick from the variety of machines from Francisco’s wide selections at his Coffee Factory Store for their personal use. Cafes or restaurants can have the entire coffee station, from equipment to staff training and supplies, put together from there as well.

The latter would mostly entail what Francisco calls “Bespoke Coffee.” “This coffee that we at Boyd’s create for clients is specifically theirs,” he explains, “because they get involved in the creation of their own product. This makes the client proud of their own creation. It becomes better than the others because it was created by the one wanting it. It becomes the client’s own creation.”

This same venue is also where Francisco, referred to as “the Einstein of Coffee,” conducts monthly courses on Coffeology, a proprietary course on coffee developed by BCCPI to educate clients on anything and everything about specialty coffee. The course covers each step coffee beans take, from farm to cup.

Francisco has helped maintain Boyd Philippines’ status as a leader in the industry by applying a C2C (consumer to consumer) approach. His objectives are to provide the best coffee in both safety and quality, customer satisfaction, great service, and delight to the clients, employees and investors or shareholders. This he does by employing “all possible efforts to attain the objectives without sacrificing integrity.”

“Whether as a cafe or wholesale roasting company distributing Astoria Espresso Machines and Fresh Roasted Coffee, (it all) falls part of my interest in the food and beverage industry,” Francisco affirms.

Coffee biz for all?

Apart from coffee as a beverage and as part of a large or SME business, Boyd Philippines offers a concept perfect for start-up entrepreneurs—the coffee cart business. “It requires a small investment,” he says, “it’s easy to operate, mobile, applicable to any market, requiring minimal space, and is highly profitable in the correct location.”

With much enthusiasm, Francisco explains just how this business concept is so ideal: “The entrepreneur would find the ideal location, make the necessary arrangements, run and manage the business and the crew (which could actually just be anywhere from one to three people, already including the accountant).

Boyd Philippines will provide the business concept, give a short entrep course, help put together the cart (which is a flexible arrangement that could significantly reduce the initial investment), the machine(s), and staff training. Initial investment would only run to R.5M, max.

“They may buy my coffee, or they may choose not to. If they set up their carts somewhere in Batangas, for instance,” he says, “I would encourage them to serve the local coffee. I would have at least helped them start up.”

There really is very little risk in this opportunity, he stresses. “In any business, the secret is wanting it and loving it. Have fun and enjoy it. To do so, one has to understand the business implants securely and be ready to continue to learn.

Choose a reliable partner,” says Francisco, “the partner being a co-investor or business associate in terms of supply and technical support. A coffee business needs a supplier with integrity and support, one that is experienced and knowledgeable, an expert and authority on the product.”

Boyd Philippines would provide this ideal support system because, Francisco assures, “we have a great track record of satisfied and very happy clients, from the start of orientation to coffee from farm to cup, training coffee preparation, coffee business opportunity, barista training and coaching, bespoke coffee. Great customer service and attention. Coffee with safety, quality and integrity.”